COMPAC propeller shaft bearings just do not break. That is the conclusion from Carl, a Thordon Bearings’ service engineer who has devoted considerable time and energy attempting to smash one to pieces.
Carl’s latest exploit, caught on camera by a Cinema 16 crew filming at the Canadian Centre for Inland Waters, Hamilton, Ontario, sees the Thordon Bearings employee drop a COMPAC bearing 12m (40 ft.) above solid ground simply to “let it bounce on the concrete”. “It’s the first time I have done this on purpose. Be prepared to have your mind blown,” he said.
The two minute video footage, posted on YouTube, shows the elastomeric polymer COMPAC bearing hitting the ground at considerable speed but the impact fails to cause any damage whatsoever.
“There you have it: strength, flexibility and durability. We have been making bearings for 45 years so we know our stuff, he concluded.”
Craig Carter, Thordon Bearings Head of Marketing and Customer Services, said: “Other types of propeller shaft bearings would be totally damaged and unusable if they endured impact forces far less than the ones we put our bearings through during tests. This is one of the reasons why we can offer a 15-year bearing wear life on COMPAC seawater-lubricated propeller shaft bearing systems.”
Carl can be viewed failing to destroy the COMPAC bearing by inputting Can Thordon COMPAC survive the impact? into a YouTube® search or by clicking the picture below.