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An electrical slip ring is an electrical device which allows the transmission of the power and data while in a constant rotation of 360 degrees. This helps the slip rings to be the best suitable unit to be used for the joints in the automation industries. But how much maintenance is required for the regular working for the slip rings?
To answer we need to know what the parts of the slip ring assemblies are:
The slip ring assembly consists of many different parts:
.Housing: The housing is an aluminum alloyed cabin in which rings or the contact brushes are kept to provide shielding from the external environment.
.Contact brushes: The contact brushes are made in order to provide a point of contact for the electricity to flow through to the rotor.
.Conductive rings: The conductive ring helps to maintain a constant rotating motion and conduct electricity at the same time.
.Insulation: The Insulation ensures that the several conductive rings and the contact brushes are insulated from each other so that there is no cross connection of the signals.
.Brush holders: The brush holders ensure the brushes are always in contact with the conductive ring and ensure a continuous connection.
Maintenance of the slip ring Devices
The maintenance of the equipment or the device completely depends on the type of damage that has been caused during the operation. For this, all the parts of the slip rings need to be regularly checked. The parameters the temperature, dust, lubrication, corrosion, vibration, noise, etc. all these need to be checked and compared with the same under standard conditions. They need to be checked at the time of the starting of the machine, during operation, at the time of shutting down and after the shutdown is complete. The variances during all these three stages need to be considered daily to find the condition of the device and then take the decision of maintenance and replacement of the parts. This is a very complex procedure and very time consuming as well as costly.
So, there were many research and development projects conducted and the result was an advanced breed of slip rings. They were of advanced fiber brushes which helped to reduce the corrosion and dust generation due to the friction of the brushes on the conductive rings. The conductive rings are also given a polished surface to reduce friction and grooves to keep the brushes in place in case of vibration and prevent the displacement causing a cross connection. Also, the cross-connection is reduced by the help of insulation of the rings and the brushes and the entire arrangement is placed inside an alloyed aluminum housing to reduce corrosion due to the effect outside material on the slip ring parts.
The evolution of the slip rings has brought about a transformation of many industries. They are the reason for the increase in the automation, productivity and the working conditions in the industrial sectors.