Slip Ring for Entertainment Rotating Equipment
Entertainment rotating equipment is usually set up in places such as amusement parks and theme parks, which are good places for people to socialize and relax. These equipment include many types, the most common ones are Ferris wheels, carousels, pendulums and sunset roller coasters. They can provide a different experience from daily life, allowing visitors to experience the novelty of looking down from a high altitude and enjoy the beautiful night view or natural scenery.
All these equipment require the use of slip rings. For example, the cabin of the Ferris wheel requires lighting, ventilation, sound systems, and security monitoring equipment. The slip ring transmits the ground power to each cabin through the rotating central shaft, providing this power to each cabin. For some special equipment, they also do this to achieve various lighting effects.
How They Benefit the Entertainment Rotating Equipment
Drive Equipment Motor
Entertainment facilities such as the medium-sized sunset roller coaster have a motor power of about 50 kilowatts. Slip rings can maintain power supply during the operation and acceleration and deceleration of the equipment, assisting it to travel at high speed on the track, or to make rotation or tumbling movements. In addition, many facilities are equipped with spray systems, flamethrowers and sound equipment. Slip rings also provide power for these facilities.
Control Signal Transmission
The control system of the pendulum needs to continuously send instructions to control the operating status of the equipment. When the operator issues an acceleration instruction through the console, the instructions are connected to the slip ring through a cable. Then they are transmitted to the drive control system of the equipment to realize the speed regulation, direction change, start and stop of the pendulum.
Safety Monitoring Signal
Many facilities have speed sensors, acceleration sensors, seat belt detection and other devices. The slip ring transmits the signal to the safety monitoring system. If the speed exceeds the set safety range, the sensor will immediately pass this information to the monitoring system through the slip ring. The monitoring system will trigger an alarm or take appropriate safety measures, such as automatic deceleration.
Design Considerations
When designing a slip ring system for entertainment equipment, several factors need to be considered:
Rated Current and Voltage
The rated current and voltage that the slip ring needs to carry are determined by the power requirements of the entertainment equipment. Large facilities may require slip rings to be able to carry high load currents, such as 300 amps or more. Its voltage level must also be compatible with the electrical system of the equipment, generally AC 220V or 380V.
Contact Resistance and Conductivity
The contact resistance of the slip ring should be as small as possible to reduce power loss and heat. For medium-power entertainment rotating equipment, every 1 milliohm increase in the contact resistance of the slip ring may cause several watts or even tens of watts of additional power loss in long-term operation. This may also cause overheating or wear problems.
Signal Transmission Quality
For entertainment equipment with control systems and various sensors, slip rings should be able to transmit various digital and analog signals, such as control instructions, sensor data, etc. Its signal attenuation should be controlled within a certain range, for example, within the transmission frequency range, the signal attenuation should not exceed 3dB.
Installation Factors
The installation of the slip ring should match the structure of the equipment. Common installation methods include flange mounting, through-hole mounting, etc. We should choose according to the specific situation of the equipment. In addition, the slip ring must have at least IP54 protection to prevent dust and moisture from entering.
Reliability Indicators
This can be measured by some indicators, such as the mean time between failures (MTBF). For example, a high-quality slip ring is expected to be able to operate continuously for more than 50,000 hours under normal use conditions.
Safety Certification
The slip ring should comply with the relevant standards of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), as well as some authoritative certification bodies such as CE, UL and other standards. In China, slip rings for amusement facilities may need to comply with the electrical safety requirements in standards such as GB8408-2018 "Safety Specifications for Large Amusement Facilities".
