Oilers/Plant Tenders (HHC) Civil Service Practice Exam

Disable ads (and more) with a membership for a one time $2.99 payment

Prepare for the Oilers/Plant Tenders Exam with our comprehensive quiz. Utilize flashcards and multiple choice questions with hints and explanations to excel in your civil service test. Start your preparation now!

Each practice test/flash card set has 50 randomly selected questions from a bank of over 500. You'll get a new set of questions each time!

Practice this question and more.


What is the primary purpose of crossing a belt when connecting two pulleys?

  1. Increase friction

  2. Rotate the shafts in opposite directions

  3. Reduce wear on the belt

  4. Adjust speed ratios

The correct answer is: Rotate the shafts in opposite directions

The primary purpose of crossing a belt when connecting two pulleys is to rotate the shafts in opposite directions. This configuration is particularly useful when the application requires that one pulley turns in the opposite direction to the other, which can be essential for machinery that operates with components needing opposing motions, such as in conveyor systems or certain types of mechanical drives. When a belt is crossed, the portion of the belt that loops over the pulley causes the direction of rotation to reverse. This is crucial in applications where the opposing rotation is necessary for functionality; for instance, in machinery where one component must feed into another seamlessly and in the correct orientation. While increasing friction, reducing wear, and adjusting speed ratios are important characteristics of belt systems, they do not specifically address the core function of crossing the belt itself. The cross connection is designed explicitly to achieve opposing rotations, making this the correct understanding of its primary purpose.