Analysis of Electrical Through Hole Slip Ring Faults: Why Short Circuit, Burnout and Breakdown?

Introduction

Electrical through hole slip rings are increasingly appearing in a variety of applications. This includes everything from automated production lines to aerospace equipment and even amusement park facilities. However, these slip rings often suffer from some faults during operation, among which short circuits, burnouts, and breakdowns are the most common. So, what exactly causes these failures, and how can we prevent them? Let's continue to look:

 

Common Signs of Failure

1. Appearance

l Color Change

When an electrical through hole slip ring is short-circuited or burned, the insulation will carbonize due to high temperature and gradually turn black. Due to excessive heating, the metal conductive ring may change from its original metallic luster to dark brown or blue.

l Physical Damage

When a short circuit occurs, the insulation layer will be subjected to strong thermal and mechanical stress. This will cause the insulation layer to peel off the conductive ring or directly break.

l Conductive Ring

In a high temperature environment, the strength of the metal will decrease. The large current generated by the slip ring during a short circuit will burst out a huge electromagnetic force, causing the conductive ring to twist and bend.

 

2. Performance

l Abnormal Resistance

When a short circuit occurs, the resistance of the electrical through hole slip ring will drop sharply and approach zero. This is because the short circuit causes the current to bypass the normal conductive path and flow directly between the short-circuit points, resulting in a significant reduction in resistance. The opposite is true when the slip ring is burned.

l Voltage Fluctuation

In the case of a burn, due to the increase in resistance, an additional voltage drop will be generated at both ends of the slip ring, affecting the voltage distribution of the entire circuit.

l Signal Interruption or Distortion

If the electrical slip ring is used for signal transmission, a short circuit or burnout may cause signal interruption or severe distortion. For example, during data transmission, a short circuit may cause the signal to be directly grounded or short-circuited with other signal lines, resulting in data loss or confusion.

 

Analysis of Slip Ring Causes

1. Manufacturing Defects

The finished slip rings may have problems such as uneven insulation materials and internal impurities. Tiny bubbles in the material may cause partial discharge under the action of the electric field, gradually damage the insulation and eventually cause a short circuit.

2. Improper Installation

Wrong alignment, fixing or wiring of the through hole slip ring will cause circuit damage. For example, if the concentricity deviation between it and the shaft is too large during installation, it will cause uneven force and generate excess friction heat, causing a short circuit.

 

3. Environmental Factors

In a high humidity environment, moisture may penetrate into the slip ring. The accumulation of dust and dirt will also affect the conductivity of the slip ring. They will enter the gap of the slip ring, form a conductive path, and cause failures.

 

4. Overload Operation

When the current or power carried by the slip ring exceeds its designed capacity, excessive heat may generate, causing the insulation material to age, soften or even burn.

 

5. Frequent Starting and Stopping

Frequently starting and stopping the equipment will bring strong electrical shocks to the slip ring. This means instantaneous high voltage and current, resulting in poor contact between the equipment and the slip ring.

 

6. Poor Maintenance

If you use the slip ring for a long time, but not cleaning the carbon deposits and oxides on its surface, the conductivity and resistance may be affected. Also, it is impossible to find potential problems in time without checking the insulation condition.

 

Measures to Prevent and Reduce Failures

1. The Design:

l Material Selection: Select high-quality conductive materials for through hole slip ring, such as silver alloy, copper alloy, etc., to ensure stable current transmission. Insulating materials need strength, temperature resistance, polytetrafluoroethylene is very suitable.

l Structural Design: Design reasonable electrical slip ring size and shape to make it evenly stressed during rotation and reduce mechanical wear.

l Heat Dissipation: We can set heat sinks or ventilation channels around the slip ring to dissipate heat in time to prevent insulation damage or short circuit due to overheating.

l Electrical Parameters: The electrical parameters of the slip ring should be determined according to the actual application, including current, voltage, power, etc.

 

2. Use and Maintenance

l Installation and commissioning: Install the slip ring strictly according to the instructions, accurately locate its installation position and reinforce it. Ensure the concentricity of the slip ring and the shaft to reduce the probability of mechanical friction and electrical failure.

l Environmental control: Keep the environment clean and dry. There should be no obvious dust and dirt around the slip ring, as they may enter the inside of the slip ring and affect the conductivity. If necessary, dehumidification equipment and moisture-proof agents are also often used.

l Maintenance and inspection: Check the degree of wear of the conductive ring and brush regularly after use, and replace the worn parts in time. At the same time, check the working status of the protection circuit.

l Overload and start-stop: Arrange the load according to the rated parameters of the slip ring to prevent excessive heat from being generated due to excessive current and damage to the slip ring. If the equipment must be started and stopped frequently, we can consider soft start technology.

 

Conclusion

In short, through careful planning in the design stage and legal use and maintenance, the through hole slip ring problems will be significantly reduced. If you have other questions or doubts during these processes, please feel free to contact ByTune! Our experts will be here to answer your questions and provide you with custom slip ring solutions.