Slip rings aren’t known for making electricity or improving business and technology, yet they are an important piece of devices, machines, and hardware that does all of the above.
While not many people know about slip rings and its use in the modern devices, they are made to fulfill a simple purpose in mind – to eliminate wire winding problems.
However, along the way, slip rings provided way more benefits and with production of various types, they are now being used globally across many industries.
And in this article, you’ll find out everything there is to know about slip rings, its components, how they work, and how exactly they benefit business and technology industries.
How Slip Rings Work and What is Their Purpose
Slip ring is a small device that is made of only a couple of components. The main components include a ring and a brush (or a wiper) where one of the two components rotate while the other component remains stationary.
Such rotation of components against each other provides a strong contact that is able to transmit electrical signal, power, and data. Some extensive slip ring types can even transmit fluid, coolant, water, or other mediums.
Other than transmission, slip ring’s main purpose is to bridge the gap between a rotary part of a device and a stationary part. Therefore, you’ll always be able to find slip rings in devices that feature a rotary aspect.
For a device that was built to solve a wire winding problem, it proved itself to be a lot more valuable, which is why today, you can find slip rings in so many more devices you haven’t even thought of.
But how do slip rings help make electricity? Keep on reading to find out!
How Slip Rings Help Make Electricity
While slip rings don’t make electricity directly, they play an important part in machines and devices that do make electricity.
For example, slip rings have a very important function in wind turbines. It helps transfer the kinetic energy all the way from the wind turbine blades to the rotor. Also, then it helps transfer the same energy from the rotor to the generator which is the main component that produces electricity from a renewable source.
However, slip rings are also used to control the speed of the blades, and even to add resistance to the generator.
Therefore, a slip ring is a versatile device that alone can’t do much, but it can fit so many different situations and provide itself very valuable.
And we shouldn’t forget one of the main purposes of slip rings, which is to transmit electrical signals and power while connecting rotary and stationary parts of devices.
Even though a slip ring can’t actually make electricity, it can pass it through by sliding contacts between the ring and the brushes.
Slip Rings and Their Improvement of Business and Tech Across Different Industries
Slip rings are very beneficial to rotary machinery and equipment, and luckily, thanks to modern engineering, this type of equipment is now available across many industries, including tech and business industries.
Any type of a machine that has a rotary aspect to it is most likely relying on slip rings.
Without a slip ring to provide a very convenient solution to the problem alongside plenty of additional benefits, these machines wouldn’t function as efficiently and another device would’ve been invented.
Since you can find slip rings in devices such as radars, medical imaging equipment, wind turbines, robots, monitoring devices, and even the aviation industry, the use of slip rings is benefiting these industries through the use of devices.
One of the biggest benefits of slip rings in the tech industry is the transfer of signal and electrical information between rotary and stationary parts of a device.
And from all slip ring types, ethernet slip ring or fiber slip ring provide the biggest benefits by being a reliable choice in devices that need such signal and data transferred as reliably as possible.
The biggest strength of slip rings is the ability to provide extensive cable twisting for devices such as scanners, medical imaging equipment (CT or MRI), and other applications where slip rings also solves wire winding problems.
Moflon produces the industry-standard slip rings that fit all of the applications mentioned above, but they even produce custom slip ring solutions as per request.
General Benefits of Slip Rings in Mechanical Devices
The biggest benefit of a slip ring is the ability to connect a rotary and stationary part of a device and yet provide efficient and hazardless performance of the mechanical device, while at the same time, providing electrical connection and transmission of signal on joints of a rotary assembly.
Since slip rings have a smooth start of the rotation between the brushes and the ring, it can handle great weight capacity ensuring that slip rings make a great fit for heavy machinery such as excavators.
Slip rings also get to adjust the speed of an induction motor by adding resistance to the winding, and they have a smooth acceleration that is ideal for devices that require a progressive start.
It’s important to note that slip rings can also improve mechanical performance or simplify device’s operation. On top of that, with so many different slip ring types, they can do much more than just signal and power transmission.
Slip rings can also transmit fluid, coolant, water, and many other mediums.
Conclusion
Slip rings are a small device that can’t do much on their own, but when they’re purposely used in devices with a rotary aspect, they provide a very valuable service
Even though they can’t make electricity, they are very helpful in devices that can make electricity, even from renewable sources such as the wind turbine.
Generally, wherever slip rings are used and placed, they tend to improve the efficiency, remove hazards, and simplify operation at a very affordable cost.
Slip rings can’t only do one thing and be a solution to one problem, but its versatility adds additional uses and benefits that definitely benefit the business and tech industry, among others.