Rotating parts are common in motion applications - robotic arms, winders, bobbins, spindles, and turntables are just a few examples. While generating rotational motion is easy, the task becomes more complicated when air or liquid needs to be transferred from a stationary supply to a rotating part for cooling, heating, lubrication, or transmission of fluid power. This is where the rotary union comes in.

ott-jakob rotary jointAn interface is provided to allow the transfer of a fluid medium (air, steam or liquid) between a rotating part and a static part. They are designed to accommodate a variety of medium conditions, including extremely high and extremely low temperatures, flows and pressures, including vacuum applications. Unlike other fluid transfer mechanisms, rotary joints are suitable for applications involving any combination of rotation angles, including continuous rotation in one direction.

Swivel joints come in a variety of designs and configurations - in fact, they are often custom designed for applications - but all swivel joints consist of four basic parts: housing, one or more bearings, shaft, and one or one or more bearings. More seals.

The housing is usually a fixed component and is connected to a media supply. The shaft is independent of the housing and rotates with the attached rotating device. Media can flow through the joint radially or axially through ports in the housing. The rotating parts are supported by radial bearings - usually one or more fully sealed deep groove ball bearings.

The most important component of the rotary joint is arguably the sealing mechanism, which prevents or reduces leakage between the rotating and stationary parts, and must do so with minimal friction and wear. Seal types range from simple lip seals to more complex spring-loaded mechanical seals that automatically adjust to minimize pressure on the sealing surface, thereby reducing friction and wear.

Of course, the ideal fluid transfer should be leak-free, but in some applications, a completely leak-free transfer is not possible. In these cases, the release of the media into the environment is prevented by a collection system that recovers the leaking media, thereby protecting surrounding equipment and personnel.

Whether choosing a standard off-the-shelf swivel or designing a custom product, the following factors should be considered:

1. Type of the media being transferred

2. Rotation speed

3. Medium flow rate

4. Media pressure

5. Medium temperature

6. Allow leaks

The type of media is particularly important because the housing, shaft, and sealing material must be compatible with the fluid flowing through the joint. Fluid media can range from water to highly corrosive liquids and vapors, and manufacturers meet each challenge by offering a variety of materials, not only for enclosures and shafts, but also for seals.

While single-flow and dual-flow designs are most common, rotary joints can include multiple independent flow paths, allowing simultaneous transmission of different media without mixing. It is also common for slip rings or fiber optic swivels to be integrated with swivels to allow fluid and cable or fiber optic cable to pass through.

In motion control systems, rotary joints can be found in robotic joints, especially for transferring air or fluid to arm-end tools. They are also used to transfer vacuum or air pressure through rotating air bearing platforms, as well as to provide coolant and lubrication for machine tool spindles.

Shenzhen Oudejie Technology Co., Ltd. specializes in selling German OTT-jakob series products, this product is a rotary joint, the product guarantees new original import, and provide you with quotation, selection, product information and other services.