Overview
ISO 5290:2001 defines the principal characteristics of grooved pulleys for joined and single narrow V‑belts used in industrial power transmission drives. Known as the effective system, this International Standard treats the effective width of a groove as the basic dimension and specifies groove profiles, effective diameters, tolerances and inspection methods for grooved pulleys matching groove sections 9N/J, 15N/J and 25N/J.
Key topics and technical requirements
- Groove profiles and angles
- Permitted groove angles: 36° (9N/J only), 38°, 40°, 42°. The standard links groove angle selection to effective diameter ranges (see Table 4).
- The effective width (w), groove depth (h), sidewall bevel and land heights are defined and toleranced for each section.
- Profile dimensions (examples from Table 2)
- 9N/J: effective width 8.9 mm, groove depth 0.6 mm, effective nominal width 8.9 mm.
- 15N/J: effective width 15.2 mm, groove depth 1.3 mm, effective nominal width 15.2 mm.
- 25N/J: effective width 25.4 mm, groove depth 2.5 mm, effective nominal width 25.4 mm.
- Effective diameters and series
- A preferred series of nominal effective diameters (based on ISO preferred‑number series) is provided; certain values are recommended or especially recommended (Table 3).
- Smallest allowed effective diameters: 9N/J = 67 mm, 15N/J = 180 mm, 25N/J = 315 mm (Table 5).
- Geometrical inspection & tolerances
- Inspection methods reference ISO 9980 (limit gauges, groove spacing locators with balls/rods, checking balls with correction terms).
- Run‑out tolerances (radial and axial) are specified by effective diameter ranges (see Table 7).
- Quality, surface finish & balancing
- Pulley quality and balance follow ISO 254.
Applications
ISO 5290 is directly applicable to the design, manufacture, inspection and procurement of grooved pulleys used with narrow V‑belts in industrial power transmission systems. Typical uses include:
- Design and specification of pulley components for conveyors, pumps, compressors, machine tools and other belt‑driven equipment
- Manufacturing tolerancing and final inspection of pulleys
- Maintenance, replacement and procurement of matched pulley/belt systems to ensure reliable belt seating and power transmission
Who should use this standard
- Pulley and belt manufacturers
- Mechanical design engineers and OEMs specifying belt drives
- Maintenance and reliability engineers
- Quality control and metrology labs
- Procurement specialists requiring standardized interchangeability
Related standards
- ISO 254 - Pulleys: quality, finish and balance
- ISO 1081 - Vocabulary for V‑belts and grooved pulleys
- ISO 9980 - Geometrical inspection of grooves for effective-width systems
- ISO 8419, ISO 3, ISO 286-2 (referenced for related tables and preferred numbers)
Keywords: ISO 5290, grooved pulleys, narrow V‑belts, effective diameter, groove sections 9N/J 15N/J 25N/J, belt drives, geometrical inspection, industrial power transmission.
