Slip Rings for Turntables

Mercotac® Brushless Slip Rings have long stood as the favored choice for a many industries and applications, including turntables, due to numerous benefits such as:

• Enhanced durability
• 360 degree continuous rotation
• No maintenance
• Low resistance
• Cost effective

A turntable is a rotating device used in many manufacturing processes such as packaging and automated manufacturing. They are a circular or disc-shaped platform that usually rotates horizontally so that materials or products move from one station to another. Each station typically has an operation performed on the item after which it moves to the next station for another operation. Many times, there is a need for sensors, power, or other electrical devices to be mounted on the turntable. In these cases, the turntable uses a slip ring for the electrical connection between the rotating platter and the stationary components of the machine. This allows control signals, data transfer, and power for seamless rotation without twisted wires.

Brush-style slip rings rely on direct physical contact between the brushes and rings for the electrical connection during rotation and so suffer from wear, electrical noise, and limited lifespan. In contrast, Mercotac brushless slip rings establish a reliable electrical connection without using rubbing physical contacts, leading to improved reliability, extended lifespan, and a strong electrical connection.

Another example of a turntable is a Rotary Palletizer. To give better access these machines, Rotary Palletizers use a rotating turntable which turns a pallet, as products are stacked. Mercotacs’ 435 or the 430 model brushless slip ring, which features 4 conductors, is commonly used in rotary palletizers to provide low-contact resistance electrical connectivity between the rotating turntable and the stationary components. In automated palletizing stations they can also be used in the robotic arm.