B4-2/E60 tubular slip ring B-Series

B4-2/E60: four-circuit tubular slip ring with speed encoder

The B4-2/E60 is the four-circuit B-Series tubular slip ring with a built-in speed encoder. It mounts on the shaft, which passes through its 50.8 mm (2 in) bore, and carries strain gages, thermocouples, accelerometers and low voltages through four circuits rated at 1 A. The encoder is a Hall-effect sensor that delivers a 60 pulse-per-revolution, TTL-compatible 5 V square wave, so speed is measured down to 0 rpm; it is powered from 5.5 to 45 V DC. It is 33 mm long and runs up to 7 000 rpm, from −40 to 121 °C.

On installation, the rotor is secured to the shaft with six #8-32 set screws, square and concentric to the axis of rotation; a bushing adapts it to shafts smaller than 50.8 mm. Sensor wires run along the outside of the shaft and through slots in the rotor to the solder terminals, in stranded wire of 24 AWG at most, then are secured to the shaft and coated with RTV silicone. The stator is held by a flexible restraint, such as a small cable, a spring or a wire tie, rather than by its cable. The silver contacts are wear parts: they are inspected periodically and last about 100 million revolutions under ideal conditions. Each assembly is supplied with a 4.6 m (15 ft) cable and a single mating connector, for the Bendix JT02RE-10-35P connector on the stator.

It is used on automotive drive shafts and half shafts, where torque and shaft speed are recorded on the same assembly.