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Long live the slip ring

by John Lewis, Regional Technical Editor -- Design News, October 15, 2001


The Honeybee Rotary Band Contact features long-wearing beryllium copper contact bands.

An alternative to conventional slip rings, the Honeybee Rotary Band Contact (RBC) features a contact design that targets service life and electrical noise. Rather than brush contacts, the RBC makes use of flexible bands of gold-plated beryllium copper.

Axially retained by a lip on the planet assembly's Vespel polyimide spacers, these "flex-band" contacts are designed to maximize the rolling contact with the RBC's stationary ring bands, thus minimizing wear. And the consistent nature of the rolling contact also keeps electrical noise at bay: Honeybee estimates the noise levels at roughly an order of magnitude less than a comparable brush contact.

On the downside, the flex band contacts cost more than brushes and have an aversion to dust and other contaminants, requiring seals for the contact area. The RBC's layout and number of planet assemblies varies according to current-carrying needs and packaging constraints.

Kin Yuen Kong, Honeybee Robotics, 204 Elizabeth Street, NY, NY 10012; Tel: (212)966-0661; Fax: (212)966-0835; E-mail: kykong@hbrobotics.com

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Submit your ideas and rough drawings for this section to John Lewis, Designer's Corner, Design News, 275 Washington St., Newton, MA 02458

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