a plastic conveyor belt formed of a large number of plastic belt modules includes outer belt modules having integral sideplatges . the sideplates are of heavier material and higher strength , for withstanding stress around the outside of curves and for withstanding edge wear in certain types of conveyor systems . in a preferred embodiment , each sideplate has a depending guide member which may include a hold down tab . in one embodiment , plastic connecting rods which serially connect belt modules are discontinuous in length , made up of several coaxial pieces which are held in place by press fitting at the outer ends . this enables the rod to be of high shear strength in areas of high pulling force , e . g . at the outside of a radius conveyor belt in a curve , but of lower strength extruded construction elsewhere .