Few days ago, the Medical and health authorities in China established a policy that will ban the production of mercury thermometers and mercury sphygmomanometers by January 1, 2026. This policy announces the end of these two commonly used medical devices. Why we should pay attention to this news? Because in the slip ring industry, mercury is adopted as electric transmission medium in some slip ring models. Same as mercury thermometers, when mercury slip ring units exceed their life span, they will also bring risk to polluting the environment.
Mercury is a kind of metal that exists in liquid state under ambient temperature. This feature allows mercury slip ring reach large electricity and signal capacity without inner contact and therefore lengthens the life span of the unit. Despite its potential pollution to the environment, mercury slip ring is very competitive and cost-effective.
In the Pearl River Delta, China, because of the environmental protection standard, the production of mercury slip rings is basically called off. With the call for environmental-friendly production, mercury slip rings will retreat the marker worldwide sooner or later. If the relative slip ring manufacturers do not make in time transition, they will also be edged out.
JINPAT Electronics, as an experienced slip ring manufacturer, has devoted into developing other liquid metal slip ring to replace mercury slip ring. But the new liquid metal slip ring is not well-received in the market because of its high price. Later, JINPAT developed another affordable substitute solution—The LPR pin connection slip ring. JINPAT pin connection slip ring take up wire brush and copper ring combination, which is a bit larger than the mercury slip ring. LPR Pin Slip Ring adopts exquisite and innovative design, and replaces wires with pins. This model complies with the RoHs standards, and is widely used in wind generators, production line equipment, rotating platform and cable reel, etc. JINPAT pin slip ring, without the mercury leakage potential, is a more reliable and environmental-friendly solution that can also provide smooth and robust rotation for various application.
The environment policy established in China is just one example of the rising calls for environment protection. With stricter requirements, slip ring manufacturers should take the hints and develop products that answer to the call. JINPAT will also take such policies as a challenge to improve and innovate and finally come up with excellent slip ring products that fits the requirements while having excellent performances.