Rotary Unions, more specifically speaking, the hydraulic/pneumatic rotary unions are a special kind of rotary joints that are used solely for fluid and gas transmission. They are adopted to transmit raw material, coolants and lubricant as well as to provide drive to the system. Generally speaking, single channel rotary unions are integrated with other electrical slip rings while independently functioning rotary unions are multichannel products. The channel number of the multi-channel hydraulic pneumatic rotary unions reaches up to 40. An integrated slip ring with fluid and gas capacity developed by JINPAT Electronics has 36 hydraulic/pneumatic channel.

JINPAT Rotary Unions

JINPAT rotary unions take up metal as principal material. One general kind is the lighter one, using aluminum alloy; the other kind is stainless steels of different grades. Aluminum alloy can better improve the lightness of a rotary union but its endurance capacity is a little bit lower than the stainless steel. So the rotary unions with aluminum alloy housing are adopted for gas and fluid transmission within certain pressure range. Stainless steel rotary unions with higher harness can handle higher pressure transmission. Most of JINPAT’s rotary unions with high pressure endurance are with stainless steel housing.

Depending on the housing materials, rotary unions have different pressure tolerance. So while using, the operational pressure should be within the very range. If the fluid or gas pressure exceed the designed pressure range, the rotary unions might suffer from damages. To eliminate potential safety hazards, the operational pressure should be paid a close attention to.

JINPAT Integrated Hydraulic Pneumatic Slip Ring

Another threat to the life span of the rotary union is the chemical characteristics of the medium being transmitted. Generally speaking, compressed air, water, lubricant and coolants are relatively stable and won’t corrode the rotary unions. However, in some of our clients’ cases, transmission of corrosive media will lead to malfunction and even expiration of the rotary unions.   

You can contact with JINPAT technical teams to get more advice on rotary union maintenance. And feel free to contact JINPAT Electronics for better rotary unions and slip rings!