Slip rings
Rotary electrical contacts that pass power, signals and data from a stationary structure to a rotating one. Compare the main types, see where each is used, then build your specification with an engineer checking it.
Slip ring types
Choose by construction
The shaft arrangement, current and data needs usually decide the type. Each page compares series on circuits, current, speed and size.
Capsule slip rings
Compact solid-shaft units for low-current signals and power where space is tight.
Through-bore slip rings
Hollow-centre designs that let a shaft, pipe or cables pass through the middle.
High-current slip rings
Rings sized for heavy power transfer, from tens to hundreds of amps per circuit.
Pancake slip rings
Flat, disc-style rings for installations with very little axial height.
Ethernet slip rings
Rings designed with controlled impedance for reliable fieldbus and Ethernet data.
High-speed slip rings
Designs rated for continuous rotation at thousands of rpm.
Large-diameter slip rings
Bespoke large-bore rings for gantries, turrets and platforms.
Fibre optic rotary joints
Optical rotary joints that pass single- or multi-channel fibre signals across rotation.
Marine and subsea slip rings
Sealed or pressure-compensated rings for winches, ROVs and offshore systems.
Rugged and military slip rings
Rings built and tested for shock, vibration and EMC in defence and aerospace.
Open and frameless slip rings
Separate rotor and brush assemblies for integration directly into a machine.
Rotary unions and hybrid joints
Combined electrical and fluid or pneumatic transfer in one rotary assembly.
Applications
Slip rings by application
Requirements, standards and the complete system for each use, from wind turbine pitch systems to CT gantries.
Slip rings for wind turbines (pitch & yaw)
The pitch slip ring sits in the hub and must feed pitch motors, auxiliary supplies and the pitch controller's fieldbus into a rotor that turns continuously for years, often in cold, damp or salt-laden air.
Slip rings for cT scanners & medical imaging
A CT gantry spins the X-ray tube and detector array at high speed on a ring roughly a metre across, while kilowatts of power go onto the rotor and multi-gigabit image data comes off it.
Slip rings for robotics & robot wrists
End-of-arm tools that need unlimited rotation - screwdrivers, grippers, rotating heads - cannot be fed by a twisting cable harness, yet still need power, industrial Ethernet and often compressed air.
Slip rings for packaging machines & rotary indexing tables
Index tables with more than two stations, or that turn in one direction only, cannot use a back-and-forth cable loop, yet the fixtures on top need power, valve signals, fieldbus and compressed air.
Slip rings for cCTV & pan-tilt cameras
A camera head that pans continuously needs its video, network and motor supplies to cross the pan axis without a cable stop.
Slip rings for radar & antenna positioners
A rotating radar antenna needs high-power RF in and out, plus power, encoder signals and data, all running 24/7 for decades.
Slip rings for rOVs & subsea winches
An ROV umbilical or tether runs from a rotating winch drum, so high-voltage power and fibre-optic telemetry must cross the drum axis while the winch pays out and hauls in.
Slip rings for cable reels & reelers
A motorised cable reel feeds a moving crane, stacker or mining machine, so the drum turns as the machine travels and every conductor in the reeling cable must cross the drum axis.
Slip rings for cranes & slewing machinery
Slewing cranes and excavators rotate their upper structure continuously, so drive power, control and bus signals must cross a large central axis, often through a hollow shaft shared with hydraulic swivels.
Slip rings for defence turrets & weapon stations
A turret or remote weapon station rotates continuously in azimuth while carrying high-current drive power, gigabit Ethernet, sighting video, CAN bus and sometimes fibre across one interface.
Slip rings for gimbals & drones
Stabilised camera and sensor gimbals on UAVs need unlimited pan while passing power and many signal lines, but every gram and millimetre counts.
Slip rings for rotating test rigs & dynamometers
Test engineers need strain, torque and temperature signals from sensors bonded to shafts, rotors and blades spinning at thousands of rpm.
Slip rings for bottling & filling machines
Rotary fillers carry sensors in the bowl and valves on the carousel that report fill level, temperature and pressure, all of which must cross the rotating axis.
Slip rings for stretch-wrapping & flow-wrapping machines
Stretch wrappers rotate either the load (turntable) or the film carriage (rotary arm or ring) around a fixed load, and the moving side carries motors, pre-stretch drives and sensors.
Slip rings for amusement rides
Rides such as carousels, Ferris wheels and multi-axis spinners need power for lighting and secondary motors plus sensor and control data across their main rotation.
Slip rings for stage revolves & entertainment
A theatre revolve carries lighting, sound, video and automation that need power and data while the stage rotates slowly through many turns.
Slip rings for welding positioners & turntables
A positioner rotates the workpiece while welding current returns through it, so hundreds of amps must cross the rotating axis without arcing or resistance drift.
Slip rings for mixers & process vessels
Rotating drums, heated rolls, agitators and mixers need heater power and temperature signals on the rotating side.
Slip rings for satellite communication antennas (SATCOM on the move)
SATCOM-on-the-move terminals track satellites from moving vehicles, ships or aircraft, so the antenna must rotate continuously in azimuth while passing Ka- or Ku-band transmit/receive signals and power.
Slip rings for marine mooring swivels & FPSO turrets
Turret-moored FPSOs and floating platforms weathervane around a fixed mooring, so power, signals, fibre and fluids must pass through a swivel stack at the turret.
Spec builder
Configure a slip ring
Choose circuits, current, data, speed and shaft type. Add a motor, drive or encoder if the slip ring is part of a larger axis.
- 1Products
- 2Performance
- 3Environment
- 4Volumes
- 5Your spec
Engineer support
Talk to an engineer about your slip ring
Tell us what you need, whether it is this part, an equivalent or a complete axis built around it. An engineer will review your requirements and reply, normally within one working day.
- Reviewed by an engineer, not an autoresponder
- Like-for-like and better-fit alternatives
- Standard, modified and custom options
Prefer to configure it? Use the spec builder.