As United Equipment Accessories progresses through 2016 with a myriad of new hydraulic swivel requests and designs, I’d like to take a minute and show off one of our most popular models. This unit is considered a hydro-electric combination, as there is a UEA slip ring assembly integrated into the hydraulic swivel design. This specific unit is used in the forestry industry and is built as rugged as the environment in which it will be used.

Starting off with the hydraulic swivel, the housing is made out of a solid billet, which requires no welding or possible weak joints in the exterior of the design. Overall there are four ports on the spool and four on the housing, allowing for hydraulic fluid transfer and protection of the electrical wiring. The ports in this design are rated from 500 PSI to 5000 PSI max. The integrated slip ring assembly has four circuits, two being our standard copper brush assemblies on brass rings rated at 7.5 amp., 28 VDC each and two silver graphite brush assemblies on silver plated rings for reliable signal circuits also rated at 7.5 amp., 28 VDC each.

All of the slip ring components are located inside the hydraulic swivel housing to give it extra protection from abuse and debris from the outside environment. Cables at customer-required lengths are attached to the slip ring here at UEA, so the customer has exactly the lengths and type of cable required for their application, and it’s as close to ‘plug and play’ as possible. Once mounted, the slip ring is oriented below the hydraulic swivel, so we’ve incorporated a splash guard drain on the bottom that allows any moisture that gets into the assembly to escape and won’t let road spray or the stream from a power washer to affect the internals of the assembly.

Finally, every slip ring assembly gets continuity tested before shipping to ensure all proper connections are made before it reaches the customer. Also, prior to shipping, the hydraulic swivel is tested in our custom hydraulic test stand where each port is pressure tested to check that there are no leaks, either internal or external, and torque ratings are taken from both rotating clockwise and counterclockwise.

Every facet of the hydraulic swivel and slip ring design were based on specific customer needs for their application. If you have a similar need or application, or something completely different, let us know and we can build a hydro-electric combination unit specifically for you.

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