O

TTechnik pur I KOMMUNIKATION & IIoT

Ethernet elegantly transmitted

How Ethernet-capable slip rings transmit real-time data besides electrical power and control signals

Slip rings have in no way served their time in the "IIoT" era – on the contrary. In the

digitally networked production too, slip rings supply rotating plant elements – such as

e.g. rotary indexing machines – with electrical power and transmit control signals and

data, often also in combination with liquids and gases. The important point here is a long

and reliable service life, which can only be achieved with long maintenance cycles and

the necessary slip ring robustness. Kübler's new slip ring generation, with the product

families "SR120", "SR160" and "SR250" is Ethernet-capable and transmits, besides the

electric power up to 120 A and control signals, also high volumes of data in real-time.

By Dr. Reinhold Weiland

ne of the bases for high-

performance, self-organizing and

resource-saving production plants

is the collection and transmission of

operating data between plant elements,

used also for plant control. Following the

increasing digitization, the volume of data

to be transmitted and the required

transmission speed are ever increasing.

Often, in such highly-efficient facilities, the

main process steps are carried out on

rotary indexing tables in order to save

space. The electrical power supply of the

active elements mounted on the carousels

and data communication with other

peripheral plant components take place

via slip rings. Beverages filling is an

example, which includes individual process

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steps (filling, closing and labeling) – Kübler is

offering here suitable slip ring solutions.

Long maintenance cycles and interference-free transmission

The efficiency increase, highest availability

and strongly increasing digital networking in

modern production facilities lead to

significantly increased demands on the slip

rings used. Besides transmitting high

electrical currents and signals, the slip rings

must be integrable in the digital network and

transmit reliably Ethernet-based data.

Demands relate to maximum facility

availability – including long service life – and

very long maintenance cycles. Discussions

with facility operators showed in addition the

desire to collect information about the

operating condition of the slip ring, in order to

take it into consideration within the

framework of predictive maintenance.

Reliable transmission

of power and data

Kübler's new slip ring generation offers the

solution for applications in industrial

automation. The slip rings of the "SR120",

"SR160" and "SR250" product families are

Ethernet-capable and transmit, besides

electrical power and control signals, large

data volumes in real-time. The development

Kübler's high-current slip ring "SR250H" transmits current up to 80 A and Ethernet-based data with up to 100 MB per second.

and the market launch of the "SR250"

products range now allows transmitting

currents up to 120 A without disturbing the

transmission of the Ethernet data. High-

quality, very reliable contact systems are the

basis of the long service life and maintenance

cycles of these slip rings. Various actuators,

sensors and drives are mounted on the rotary

indexing tables, depending on the application

or on the process step within a complete

facility. Consequently, also the requirements

for the slip rings are different. Thanks to their

modular construction, Kübler slip rings can

be individually adapted to the requirements.

Many applications require, besides the

transmission of electricity, also the

transmission of gaseous or liquid media.

Kübler offers its customers a solution also for

these applications: ready-to-mount

assembled combinations of an electrical slip

ring and a suitable media lead-through

ensure its customers a significantly simplified

and fast installation in the production plant. »

Pic

ture

s: K

üble

r,

Foto

lia;

TTechnik pur IIND. KOMMUNIKATION & IIoT

It can also be used for almost all Ethernet

protocols and can totally be integrated in the

slip ring housing. The standard connectors

mounted on the housing allow easy

integration of the slip rings in the network.

Beverage bottling

plants use rotary

indexing tables in

various processes

– an application

for slip rings.

Universal and reliable

As standard, the transmission of Ethernet

data in Kübler slip rings is based on a

contacting transmission technology. A

specially developed electrical shield concept,

combined with a high-quality, reliable contact

system, allows the slip rings to transmit very

reliably, in addition to electrical currents up to

The "SR120" slip ring offers

innovative contact technology

and maximum flexibility for power

and data transmission.

120 A and electrical signals, also Ethernet-

based data. It allows achieving transmission

rates up to 100 MB per second. Data

transmission is independent of the Ethernet

protocol and can therefore be used

universally For transmission rates beyond

100 MB/s, Kübler uses a non-contacting

transmission technology, which allows

achieving transmission rates up to 1 GB/s.

Integrated sensors

The collection of suitable operating data is

the basic prerequisite for the control and

optimization of the production processes and

the efficient timing of the production orders.

In modern facilities, this is achieved thanks to

extensive installation of sensors in all plant

elements, up to the product. Suitable sensors

also allow generating information about the

operating condition of the single components.

Thanks to predictive maintenance, they

contribute to prevent unscheduled facility

downtime due to defect or wear of single

components. This aspect is gaining

importance not only in the area of industrial

automation, but also in other branches and

applications. Within this context, the need for

slip rings with integrated sensors to perform

efficient condition monitoring is increasing.

They collect information about the operating

condition of the slip ring such as, for

example, the remaining service life, but also

data relating to operating parameters such as

the temperature and the angular position.

Kübler achieves this with suitable sensors

integrated in the slip ring. Kübler also

produces the sensors for measuring the

angular position. This gives the "traditionally

passive component" slip ring an increasing

active role and it is to be expected that this

trend will continue. (MG)

The author: Dr. Reinhold Weiland is

Manager of the Transmission Technology

business unit at Kübler in Germany.

INFOLINK: www.kuebler.com

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