A slip ring is an electromechanical device that facilitates the transmission of power and electrical signals from a stationary to a rotating system, enhancing mechanical performance in various applications. There are several types of slip rings, including traditional, pancake, mercury contact, and wireless slip rings, each with unique designs and principles of operation. Key applications include wind turbines, intelligent lighting, medical equipment, and robotics.

1. ELECTRICAL ROTARY CONNECTOR
SLIP RING Prepared by
Ujjwal Kumar Choubey
ujjwalchoubey80@gmail.com

2. SLIP RING
A slip ring is an electromechanical device that allows the transmission of power and
electrical signals from a stationary system to a rotating system.
It can be used in any electromechanical system that requires rotation while transmitting
power or signals to simplify the operation.

3. WHY SLIP RING?
Slip ring is also known as an electrical rotary
joint or rotating electrical connector.
It is used in various electrical machines to
improve mechanical performance.
If a device rotating, it may be possible to use a
cable with longer length. But it is a quite
complex setup.

4. TYPES OF SLIP RING
Below classification is based on working principle:
• Traditional Slip Ring
• Pancake Slip Ring
• Mercury Contact Slip Ring
• Wireless Slip Ring

5. TRADITIONAL SLIP RING
The slip rings consist of two main components:
metal ring and graphite or metal brush contact.
According to the application and design of the
machine, the number of rings and brushes are
decided.
The rings are mounted on the rotor and it is
rotating. And brushes are fixed and mounted on
the brush house.

6. TRADITIONAL SLIP RING
The rings are made up of conductive metal like
brass and silver. The rings are insulated from
each other by nylon or plastic.
As the rings rotates, the electrical current is
passed through the brushes.
Therefore, it makes a continuous connection
between the rings (rotating system) and brushes
(fixed system).

7. PANCAKE SLIP RING
A pancake slip ring has the conductors
arranged on a flat disc as concentric rings
centered on the rotating shaft. This got the
name from its round and flat shape. That
make it look similar to pancakes.
Other names for this component is flat slip
rings or disc slip rings.

8. PANCAKE SLIP RING
Pancake slip rings consist of two plates facing
each other. Contact rings are arranged in a circle
on one plate and the spring contacts are attached
to the opposite plate.
The main difference to conventional slip rings is
that the transfer points are not arranged
linearly, but vertically to the axis of rotation.

9. MERCURY CONTACT SLIP RING
In this type of slip ring, mercury contact is used as a
conducting media.
It works on different principle which replaces the
sliding brush contact with a pool of liquid metal
molecularly bonded to the contacts.
During rotation the liquid metal maintains the
electrical connection between the stationary and
rotary contacts.

10. MERCURY CONTACT SLIP RING
The mercury contact slip ring features low
resistance, stable connection and less noise. And it
provides the most scientific and economical option
for applications in industries.
However, the use of mercury poses safety concerns,
as it is a toxic substance.
Leakage of the mercury would result extremely
serious contamination.

11. WIRELESS SLIP RING
Wireless slip rings do not rely on the typical
friction-based metal and carbon brush contact
methods that have been employed by slip rings
since their invention.
Instead, they transfer both power and data
wirelessly through a magnetic field, which is
created by the coils that are placed in the
rotating receiver and the stationary transmitter.

12. WIRELESS SLIP RING
Wireless slip rings are considered an upgrade from
or alternative to traditional slip rings, as it reduced
the mechanical contacts.
That makes it more resilient in harsh operating
environments and require less maintenance.
However, the amount of power that can be
transmitted between coils is limited; typically a
traditional contact-type slip ring can transmit more
amount of power compared to the wireless slip ring.

13. APPLICATION
• Wind turbines
• Intelligent lighting
• Bottling machine
• Medical equipment
• Packaging machine
• Robotics
• Satellite
• Camera