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Slip Ring

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luiHS:
 
Hi.

Does anyone have experience with the Slip Ring components?
I am designing a Ferris wheel for a scale model, and I need to connect supply and data voltage for lighting effects with digital LEDs type APA102, the ferris wheel will be rotating with a stepper motor or a modified servo. 3 wires, Mass, + 5v and Data are needed.

The only solution I have found is to use these Slip Ring, but it is a component that I have never used before and I don't know how they work and what problems they can give, if they need any maintenance and what durability they have. The signals are low voltage and low current (5v, 600mA).

The ferris wheel is just a drawing, it will has its axis, and spokes, coupled to an electric motor step by step, and with optical sensors to know the position of the baskets. The lighting system is much more complex than what is seen in the drawing, the spokes and baskets will install APA102 digital LEDs, and the circumference of the ferris wheel will be transparent resin with internal LED lighting, and we will try to illuminate it with Laser. It is possible that each basket also installs a sensor to detect when there is a ball in the basket.

Regards.

PD: discarded wireless systems, because that would force to put batteries in the ferris wheel, and replace them every so often, that solution is not viable.

 

Marco:
No idea about cheap slip ring reliability, but alternatively you could use magnetic coil power transfer and hide a micro in the wheel to drive the leds.

jonovid:
used video cassette recorders have a head drum with two sets of magnetic coils power transfer & data
if u use switched-mode power at say 1or 2 KHz head drum coils maybe made to transfer your power ?   :-/O

luiHS:
 
Thanks for your suggestions.

The magnetic coupling with two coils, is something that I thought also a long time ago. The problem is that it is not only about transferring power supply, it is also necessary to transfer data signals.

The microcontroller cannot be in the ferris wheel, because the effects of lights are interactive and depend on signals external to the ferris wheel. So I can't put a magnetic coupling just for supply voltage.

The use of two coils, one for supply and one for data, I think it is much more complicated than using a Slip Ring, it is also about making it as simple and cheap as possible.

beanflying:
I have a few of the cheap ones left over from a project I could take some close up pics of if you like tomorrow (post midnight here). Providing you are not hanging a lot of weight on them Ferris Wheel speeds will be fine.

I didn't look at if they can be disassembled but if they can be then I will pop the top on them for fun too.

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