Abstract: The cantilever beam friction pair is a classic type of contact friction system, valued for its simple structure and ease of assembly, making it widely used in both industrial applications and research. In disc-type conductive slip rings, the cantilever beam-supported friction pair plays a crucial role in transmitting signals and power between rotating and stationary components. However, the relative motion in different directions between the contact surfaces affects the normal force to varying degrees, and the system exhibits low stiffness perpendicular to the motion direction, making it highly sensitive to vibration. To investigate this behavior, the author conducted a study on the frictional characteristics of cantilever beam-supported friction pairs in conductive slip rings. Bidirectional sliding friction and wear experiments were carried out under conditions where the vertical position of the cantilever beam-plane contact pair was fixed, and the relative motion was parallel to the cantilever beam’s long axis. First, an experimental apparatus was designed to conduct the friction and wear experiments, allowing for three degrees of translational freedom and slip ring rotation. Using this setup, friction and wear experiments were conducted at a relative sliding velocity of 229.3 mm/s and an initial normal force of 0.4 N. The results indicated significant differences in the magnitude of friction force and wear volume depending on the direction of sliding. Subsequently, 10 sets of bidirectional sliding experiments were conducted under the same conditions, with durations ranging from 1 to 15 hours. Surface morphology after the experiments was examined using a 3D optical profilers. The results showed that reverse sliding produced higher normal and friction forces, greater frictional stability, and had increased the wear of the slip ring, compared to forward sliding, though the surface roughness was lower in reverse motion. Further analysis revealed that as the normal force increased, the deformation of asperities also increased, leading to additional frictional heat and subsequent material softening. Under low-speed, low-load conditions, the effect of temperature rise was minimal, and the normal force was the dominant factor. Consequently, the contact area expanded, which increased the friction force and wear, intensifying the stick-slip phenomenon. The increased wear volume caused the surface texture of the slip ring to disappear, leading to the lower roughness observed in reverse motion. Additionally, the study found an approximately linear negative correlation between the normal force and friction force during the friction process, with a proportional coefficient of −2.316. To explain this observation, a simplified two-dimensional contact model was developed based on the experimental samples. Using the small deformation theory of material mechanics and ignoring higher-order terms, force-deformation equations were derived, and structural parameters were incorporated to establish the relationship between changes in normal force and friction force. The computed results showed a linear negative correlation, with a proportional coefficient of −2.356, which closely matched the experimental data. This study highlighted a significant deviation between the initial static normal force and the actual dynamic normal force in cantilever beam contact friction pairs during operation. This deviation had important implications for controlling operating conditions in friction systems. Therefore, when setting the preload, it was essential to consider the effects of this deviation on normal force and how it influences friction and wear characteristics.