Knowledge | RBC Industrial

Knowledge

Lessons learned and technical articles related to mechanical power transmission equipment

Bearing Lubrication: NLGI Grades, Base Oils, and Relubrication Intervals

Liber Holdings, Dale Betz

Bearing Lubrication: NLGI Grades, Base Oils, and Relubrication Intervals

Bearing Lubrication: NLGI Grades, Base Oils, and Relubrication Intervals Most bearing failures are lubrication-related. Matching the grease to the operating conditions is the single most effective way...

Sep 23, 2026 Knowledge

V-Belt vs. Synchronous Belt: Load, Speed, and Maintenance Tradeoffs

Liber Holdings, Dale Betz

V-Belt vs. Synchronous Belt: Load, Speed, and Maintenance Tradeoffs

V-Belt vs. Synchronous Belt: Load, Speed, and Maintenance Tradeoffs Choosing between a V-belt and a synchronous (timing) belt comes down to how much torque you need to move, how fast the drive runs, a...

Sep 21, 2026 Knowledge

Jaw Couplings: Service Factors, Spider Ratings, and Sizing the Right Coupling

Liber Holdings, Dale Betz

Jaw Couplings: Service Factors, Spider Ratings, and Sizing the Right Coupling

Flexible couplings connect the motor to the driven machine while absorbing misalignment and shock. The jaw coupling is one of the most popular designs in industry because it is simple, needs no lubric...

Sep 10, 2026 Knowledge

Bearing Lead Times in 2026: Why 5-7 Weeks Is the New Baseline and How to Plan Around It

Liber Holdings, Dale Betz

Bearing Lead Times in 2026: Why 5-7 Weeks Is the New Baseline and How to Plan Around It

If your maintenance team still plans bearing replacements on a just-in-time basis, 2026 is the year that stops working. Industry lead-time data now puts standard North American bearing lead times at 5...

Sep 8, 2026 Knowledge

Reading a Motor Nameplate: Volts, Full-Load Amps, Service Factor, and Frame Size

Liber Holdings, Dale Betz

Reading a Motor Nameplate: Volts, Full-Load Amps, Service Factor, and Frame Size

When a motor fails, the nameplate is the single most important document in the plant. Ordering a replacement without reading it correctly is how a 48-hour repair becomes a two-week ordeal. Here is wha...

Sep 8, 2026 Knowledge

Gear Rack and Pinion: Converting Rotary to Linear Motion with Stock Rack

Liber Holdings, Dale Betz

Gear Rack and Pinion: Converting Rotary to Linear Motion with Stock Rack

Rack and pinion is one of the oldest and most reliable ways to convert rotary motion into linear motion: a pinion (a small spur gear) rolls along a straight rack, and every rotation of the pinion adva...

Sep 3, 2026

Miter Gears vs. Bevel Gears: Picking the Right Right-Angle Drive

Liber Holdings, Dale Betz

Miter Gears vs. Bevel Gears: Picking the Right Right-Angle Drive

When a shaft has to turn a corner, most engineers reach for either miter gears or bevel gears. They look related because they are: both transmit power between intersecting shafts, both are typically m...

Sep 1, 2026

Predictive Maintenance on a Parts Budget: Vibration, TCO, and Bearing Life

Liber Holdings, Dale Betz

Predictive Maintenance on a Parts Budget: Vibration, TCO, and Bearing Life

Predictive maintenance used to be a demo — something to show off at trade shows. In 2026 it is a purchased technology. According to the industry research from the week of August 17, 62% of discrete ma...

Aug 27, 2026

Quadra-Flex vs. Jaw vs. Roller Chain: Choosing the Right Flexible Coupling

Liber Holdings, Dale Betz

Quadra-Flex vs. Jaw vs. Roller Chain: Choosing the Right Flexible Coupling

Quadra-Flex vs. Jaw vs. Roller Chain: Choosing the Right Flexible Coupling Flexible couplings are the most underappreciated components in a power transmission train. They are small, cheap, and invisib...

Aug 20, 2026

Emergency Procurement Is a System Failure: The 5-Step Fix

Liber Holdings, Dale Betz

Emergency Procurement Is a System Failure: The 5-Step Fix

Emergency Procurement Is a System Failure — Fix It With This Playbook 2026's lead-time climate has turned "emergency procurement" from an occasional fire drill into a weekly occurrence for many plants...

Aug 18, 2026

Martin-Flex Couplings: When Torsional Flexibility Is the Answer

Liber Holdings, Dale Betz

Martin-Flex Couplings: When Torsional Flexibility Is the Answer

The Case for a Rubber-Element Coupling Not every coupling problem needs more steel. When a drive transmits shock loads — a crusher hitting rock, a compressor hammering on pressure spikes, a conveyor s...

Aug 14, 2026

Stock Gears: Pressure Angle, Pitch, and Material Selection for Replacement

Liber Holdings, Dale Betz

Stock Gears: Pressure Angle, Pitch, and Material Selection for Replacement

Gear Replacement Is Not a "Close Enough" Game Gears must mesh correctly or they will tell you about it — loudly. Noise, vibration, heat, and accelerated wear are all symptoms of mismatched tooth geome...

Aug 13, 2026

1
2
3
4
5