RBIConnections

A Monthly Communication From
RBI Bearing, Inc.

Volume VI--lllIssue 2

February 2008
2008 ConExpo - We'll Be There!

ConAgg L-R: Hank Aleliunas, Mark Balog, Mike Kenney ConAgg
L-R: Hank Aleliunas, Mark Balog, Mike Kenney

If you're going to the combined CONEXPO-CON/AGG and IFPE show in Las Vegas next month please stop by and see us! The show runs from March 11 - 15 and we are in Booth S13952 located within the PTDA Pavilion on the 2nd floor of the South Hall.

RBI USA and Canada will be well represented - if you would like to set a specific appointment please use our online scheduler! See you there!


100 Year Snowstorm Cripples China

Over 30 million people from 10 provinces in China have been affected by a heavy snow since last Friday.

A total of 5,144 houses have collapsed under the weight of snow. The weather is estimated to have caused losses of 810 million yuan (112 million U.S. dollars).

Traffic, power and telecommunications were cut in more than 50 towns of the province.

In central China's Hubei Province, three power transmission towers along a major line of the Three Gorges Dam and a link in the central China transmission system were felled on Wednesday morning by heavy snow and thick ice, putting the provincial electricity supply under greater pressure.

Conditions are expected to worsen and the provincial electricity company said it will take at least 50 days to repair them.

Hubei experienced its longest low temperature period since 1969. It witnessed 10 continuous days with temperatures below 0.5 degrees centigrade during 11 days of snowfall from Jan. 11.

The provincial meteorological bureau is forecasting further heavy snows or snowstorms from Jan. 25 to 28, with average temperatures below freezing. The low temperature will be the longest time since 1954 in the provincial capital Wuhan city if it continues to the end of the month.

In southwest Guizhou province, 13 districts and towns are still living without electricity after snow cut coal supplies by road to a power plant.

Power supplies have resumed in four towns and about 11,000 of people have been carrying out repairing work, according to the local electricity bureau.

By Wednesday afternoon, 3,400 travelers were still stranded on roads in Guizhou. Fourteen highways had reopened on Wednesday afternoon. More than 20 million yuan (about 2.8 million USD) of materials were sent to stranded passengers and drivers.

The heavy snow, the worst in a decade in many places, has hit most of the country since Jan. 12, leaving homes collapsed, power blackouts, highways closed and crops destroyed. Seventeen people have died in snow-related accidents.


RBI Monthly Prize Package Giveaway!

   

FEBRUARY 2008 WINNER
Lee Garber
Industrial Supply Co.
Plymouth MN
China Update

A monthly look at recent events in China
Click the title to read the story

China bans free plastic bags

Beijing unveils official "Watercube"

China to launch manned mission in Olympic year

China braces for Olympic wedding blitz

Workers test the lights of the National Aquatics Center in Beijing on January 19.

 


RBI Milestones
Anniversary
Hank Aleliunas - Roselle
1 Year
Tina Tucci - Roselle
3 Years
Todd Moore - Roselle
4 Years
Birthday
Brian Kleszyk - Roselle
February 6
Mark Balog - Roselle
February 6
Mike Kenney - Roselle
February 21

Technical Corner

How important is seal drag?
by Brian Kleszyk - Applications Engineer RBI-USA

For certain applications the seal drag plays an important role in how well the bearing performs.  Depending on the characteristics of the application, the bearing may specifically require light contact or heavy contact seals.  The table below outlines the pros and cons of both configurations.  RBI’s standard seals are light contact, but heavy contact is available.

Heavy Contact Seal
Pros
Cons
-Less likely to experience grease purging
-More protective against debris & contamination

-Higher torque needed to turn bearing
-More heat generation
-Limited speed permitted
Light Contact Seal
Pros
Cons
-Lower torque needed to turn bearing
-Less heat generation
-Higher speed permitted
-More likely to experience grease purging
-Less protective against debris & contamination
PDF Version

Have a question or topic you would like to see covered? Click here to ask Engineering!


Final Word
Only in America  

An inmate who injured himself breaking out of a Colorado jail is suing on the grounds that guards should have done more to stop him escaping. Scott Gomez Jr. claims he was badly injured when he fell 40 feet while attempting to scale down the outside wall of the Pueblo County jail. Prison authorities, Gomez complains, “did next to nothing to ensure that the jail was secure and that the plaintiff could not escape.”


RBI Bearing, Inc.

RBI Connections is a publication of RBI Bearing, Inc and is intended to provide useful company and/or industry news and information. We understand and respect your need for privacy. Email addresses in our files are from our customers or published materials. Please accept our apologies if you believe this email to be unsolicited. We are sorry for the inconvenience. Any personal information provided to us will be stored in a secure environment and will not be misused. RBI Bearing, Inc. does not make email addresses available to third parties for their use. RBI Bearing would like to send news releases and special promotions to you from time to time. If you would not like to receive these emails from us, please click this link and type the word "unsubscribe" in the subject. Unsubscribe © 2008 RBI Bearing, Inc.