SPINNER - Rotary Joints and Slip Ring Assemblies

SPINNER is the leading European manufacturer of high-frequency rotary joints, and has more than 40 years of experience in the industry.

The SPINNER group has production facilities in Germany, Hungary, the USA and China, with over 1,400 employees worldwide. Our subsidiaries and representatives are present in over 40 countries and provide our customers with an international network of support. Quality, flexibility and service have made the group internationally successful.

ROTARY JOINTS AND SLIP RINGS

High-quality SPINNER rotary joints and slip rings are mainly used in military and civilian radar systems. Many international airports are equipped with SPINNER air-traffic control rotary joints. The many components we are able to supply include:

• Single-channel rotary joints or multi-channel rotary joints
• Optical rotary joints
• Waveguide rotary joints or coaxial rotary joint

ROTARY JOINTS MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR

As an additional service, SPINNER offers the repair and maintenance of all rotary joints brands. Our co-operation with Schleifring und Apparatebau in the slip ring market provides a great benefit for our customers. This link with Europe's leading supplier for rotary joints and the world leader for slip ring assemblies enables us to offer complete system solutions from a single source, and a complete range of RF, power supply and data transmission rotary joints.

SPINNER's system solutions are achieved by the utilisation of a highly motivated team of research and development engineers, equipped with state-of-the-art design and simulation tools. SPINNER also uses in-house CNC controlled turning and milling centres, electroplating testing equipment (covering sub-micron range to ensure outstanding quality) and climate and salt spray chambers for environmental tests. The company also implements in-house shock and vibration tests, as well as testing in co-operation with external institutes.

CONTACTING AND NON-CONTACTING ROTARY JOINTS

In principal, RF rotary joints are divided into technical groups: contacting rotary joints and non-contacting rotary joints. Contacting rotary joints include an inner and outer conductor of stator and rotor are DC coupled. These rotary joints are used for broadband applications. If a coaxial structure is used, the cut-off frequency depends on the diameter of the coaxial line. In some cases, specially designed slip rings can be used for lower frequencies.

Non-contacting rotary joints RF signals can be transmitted via axial and radial coupling structures. Non-contacting solutions have an excellent life time and are used for narrow band transmissions. Additionally, with special coupling structures, two different bands can be transmitted within one module (e.g. X- and L-band).

WAVEGUIDE / COAXIAL / SLIP RING COMBINATIONS

These are the most commonly used combinations for high performance radar systems. Normally, one or two high power channels (coax / waveguide) are combined with several low power channels. Slip ring modules for power supply and data transmission are additionally integrated. Due to constantly increasing data rates, optical rotary joints are becoming more popular. SPINNER designed an optical rotary joint that can be integrated into the inner conductor of a coax channel with a diameter of only 3mm.

The Quality Assurance (QA) system at SPINNER has been certified according to DIN EN ISO 9001:2000. The results of our endeavours are documented in our DIN EN ISO 14001 certified environmental management system.