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Can the GT2 belts lengthen themselves if they are tentioned too much?

I had them tensioned quite a bit until I saw the video from "Lost in Tech". I then decided to reduce the tension, but the dimensional precision was all over the place. So my guess is, that the belts are too long now?

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    $\begingroup$ Possibly, but I think overtensioning will damage your motor bearings first. Can you elaborate on how you determined that "dimensional precision was all over the place"? I would expect stretching to yield a uniform % error across different object sizes, possibly with a mess at a point where the part of the belt that rested on the pulley for long periods without use stretched less. If the errors are more random, it seems likely something else is wrong with your printer. You should probably also tell what printer this is on. $\endgroup$
    – R.. GitHub STOP HELPING ICE
    Commented May 4, 2022 at 13:25

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First of all there are two methods to achieve the belt be tensioned.

First method is when both ends of the belt hard attached. In this case if there is a fluctuation in the mechanical system then it will be absorbed by the belt itself. And in this case with big tension it will result in stretching over time with tension disappearing.

The second method is to use spring at one end. The spring will absorb all the fluctuations with little or no effect on the belt.

But I had really bad problems with GT2 PU belts (including steel reinforced), under big tension they degrade suddenly with big change in the geometry at some position. When removed they look twisted. Looks like some reinforcing wires slipped inside the PU body of the belt.

Once switched to rubber GT2 belts (fibreglass reinforced) I never had problems connected to the belts. I can tell that rubber GT2 belts have no noticeable change in the geometry over many years of constant use under high tension with the spring.

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As I've seen in todays video from Makers Muse, he also says that these belts can lengthen over time:

(Link with time code)

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