wrote:
On Tuesday, March 1, 2016 at 9:43:00 AM UTC-5, N_Cook wrote:

There will always be sources of O-rings because they are used in all
sorts of areas. Anyone know of other uses for the very thin flat drive
bands 0.5mm thick, other than old tape recorders and projectors?
Vacuum cleaner bands are for power transfer and always too thick ,even
sliced in half , retaining one fair face to go against the drive pulley.
Some old style photocopiers used to use thin 0.5mm and 20mm wide
rubber bands for paper conveyance, easily sliced down in width, but I
only ever saw one size of perimeter

There are dozens of sources for miniature drive belts, ribbed, notched and flat. There are many hobby applications (I use them for drive belts on a miniature R/C submarine I am building (a 5-year project)). But consider robotics and any of several other applications, hobby and commercial.

http://sdp-si.com/products/miniature...lleys-inch.htm

http://www.bostongear.com/pdf/upload..._pg117-131.pdf

http://www.globalspec.com/industrial...ure_drive_belt

Are only a very few.

I find it interesting that those who are "in the trade" tend to think within the trade and not outside it. A lesson I learned from a former colleague that struck home came to me as follows:

none of the linked items are what you'll find in a a tape deck, vcr or
slide projector. sorry, but they don't run off industrial timing belts. No
pinch rollers there either, or tires (VCR idler for example).