Posted to News on 8th May 2006, 00:00
Putting the brakes on machine design
Electromechanical brake motors provide a means to slow or stop industrial machinery effectively and safely in a very short time period. Typically they are based on a standard motor, such as the Brook Crompton W Series, with a bolt on brake unit on the non-driving end of the shaft. These can be fitted in original manufacture or as a brake kit by a distributor. The brakes are spring applied, and electrically released, so that they provide a fail-safe operating function.
The brakes may be specified for either AC or DC supplies. DC requires a rectifier which is usually housed in the motor"s terminal box or can be installed separately. For safety and long-term reliability the rectifier is robust and the brake IP rating can be tailored match that of the motor.
Brook Crompton motors can have brakes fitted after the original motor sale by the use of a brake kit. This maintains the adaptability principle of W motors "smarter by design" and makes it simple to adapt the motor as the requirements change or as the machine design evolves. Very few machine designs, after all, are static over the machine"s lifecycle, so this sort of adaptability can be an important consideration.
