Harsh Industrial Environments
Wireless and Non-Contact RF Interface Solutions
Some connections cannot use a contact. A rotating joint would wear a mating surface away, a sealed vessel cannot be penetrated, and an assembly that moves continuously would fatigue any cable attached to it. Non-contact coupling passes the signal across a deliberate gap instead.
Rotary Joint
Contactless
No Wear
Sealed Vessel
Continuous Motion
Unlimited
Rotation Cycles
DC–18 GHz
Typical Coverage
IP67
Sealed Housing
Design Notes
Passing a Signal Across a Gap
Five considerations for non-contact and rotary RF coupling.
01
Why Not a Contact
A contact wears. On a continuously rotating or reciprocating joint, wear is not a slow degradation but a scheduled failure. Removing the contact removes the failure mode.
02
Coupling Loss
A gap costs signal. The trade is between the mechanical clearance the application needs and the loss budget the link can afford.
03
Gap Stability
Coupling depends on separation. Anything that lets the gap vary — bearing play, thermal growth, vibration — modulates the signal.
04
Alignment Tolerance
Rotating assemblies are never perfectly concentric. The coupler has to tolerate the runout the mechanism actually has.
05
Contamination
Dust, coolant and swarf collect in gaps. A design that works clean has to keep working once the plant has been running for a year.
Reference Data
Typical Non-Contact Requirements
Application requirements vary widely. These are representative starting points.
| Parameter | Typical Requirement | Relevant Series | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rotation | Continuous, unlimited | Rotary couplers | No wear surface |
| Coupling loss | Application dependent | Selected per gap | Traded against clearance |
| Gap tolerance | Per mechanism runout | Selected per design | Bearing play and thermal growth |
| Ingress protection | IP67 housing | Sealed assemblies | Coolant and swarf |
| Temperature | -40 °C to +125 °C | Industrial series | Plant environment |
| Frequency | To 18 GHz typical | Industrial series | Higher on request |
Our Role
What We Supply for Moving Assemblies
01
Application Engineering
Non-contact coupling is always a bespoke problem. We start from the mechanism and the loss budget rather than from a catalogue part.
02
Feed Assemblies Either Side
The static and rotating feeds that connect the coupler into the rest of the system, specified as one chain.
03
Prototype First
These designs are proved on the machine, not on paper. We supply prototype hardware early so the gap can be measured in place.
Selected Products
Interfaces for Non-Contact Assemblies
Starting points for the feed side of a non-contact installation. Send us the mechanism and we will engineer the coupling.
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SMA Male to SMA Male System Interconnect Low-Loss RF Cable Assembly – Use CFS150H6 Coax
$20.00 Add to cartQuick View -
SMA Female 4-Hole Flange Mount RF Connector – Field Replaceable, 8.64mm Hole Spacing, 0.23mm Pin Diameter
$22.00 Add to cartQuick View -
SMP Female to SMP Female RF Adapter
$22.00 Add to cartQuick View -
SMP Male Smooth Bore RF Connector – Stub Terminal, Thread-In, Solder
$22.00 Add to cartQuick View
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Application Engineering Support
Have a Rotating or Sealed Joint?
Send us the mechanism, the runout and the loss budget, and our engineers will propose a coupling approach.