Slip Rings for Olympic Torch Sculptures

The 2024 Paris Olympics are fast approaching, and the world will soon witness a grand opening ceremony. In past Olympic opening ceremonies, slip ring technology has often been required in high-definition camera equipment and stabilization devices, particularly for HD video signal slip rings and conductive slip rings used in rotating stages and other equipment. As a professional slip ring manufacturer, JINPAT is closely monitoring the application of slip ring technology in the new media center and other key venues for the Olympics.

One of the most memorable moments in every Olympic opening ceremony is the lighting of the torch. For example, at the Beijing Winter Olympics, the torch was installed at the center of a snowflake sculpture, which rotated clockwise, while the snowflake sculpture itself was mounted on a ribbon-like sculpture that rotated counterclockwise. To ensure the torch burned continuously for 24 hours at night, a conductive slip ring needed to be installed at the base of the torch sculpture. If the torch did not use hydrogen as fuel, this slip ring also needed to integrate a gas-liquid passage to transmit natural gas, hydrogen, and other combustible gases.

In designing the conductive slip ring, providing two 15A current paths and one grounding path would fully meet the power supply needs of the sculpture. Without considering backup paths, this configuration was sufficient to ensure the stable power supply of the Winter Olympics torch sculpture. Even if backup paths were added, it would only require the addition of two more paths with the same current.

The conductive slip ring used in the Winter Olympics torch sculpture was not highly difficult to design and manufacture. As a leading slip ring manufacturer, JINPAT is fully capable of designing and manufacturing such products. Moreover, since the gas cylinder in the torch sculpture was cleverly hidden inside the snowflake sculpture, this slip ring did not need to integrate a gas-liquid passage, thus eliminating the need for processing the gas-liquid module during slip ring manufacturing. Considering that the sculpture was installed outdoors, the focus of the slip ring design was on enhancing its protection level to ensure its reliability in various weather conditions.