Long life brakes

Published: 04 April 2008  12:00 AM
Industry Channel: None
Source: The Engineer Online
Company: Lenze Ltd

Lenze partner INTORQ have developed a range of upgraded spring applied brakes for high cycling duties.  Mechanical modifications to the basic design have achieved an increase in the number of on/off cycles by a factor between 3 and 10 depending on the application.  Now in excess of 10 million operations are guaranteed by a product warranty.  Spring applied brakes are widely used for stopping and holding duties.  Often high frequency of operation is required, for example on indexing conveyors, cranes, lifts and hoists.

There are two aspects to the lifetime of the spring applied brake.  The first factor is the wear of the brake surfaces due to friction. This is a function of the speed and inertia to be stopped, and the permissible frequency and resulting  lifetime can be calculated with reasonable accuracy.  Modern friction material such as those used by INTORQ exhibit low rates of wear, particularly if used at low to medium speeds.  In addition the wear can be easily and quickly compensated by mechanical adjustments without the need to strip down the brake.  With inverter or servo driven applications, the brake is often applied statically so friction surface wear is not a limit to the lifetime of the brake.

The second restricting factor on brake life is the mechanical integrity.  In each brake cycle there is axial movement of the armature plate, axial movement of the brake disc and rotary forces from the braking friction.  Eventually these lead to mechanical wear and will require maintenance which involves a complete strip down of the brake.  INTORQ have countered this problem by adding low backlash torque supports to the armature, guide pins for the actuating springs and an insert coating for the axially sliding hub splines.  The result is an increase in brake life which in a typical application will rise from about 2 to 10 million operations.

The new Lenze INTORQ BFK458 long life brakes are available with rated torque up to 32Nm.  The big increases in lifetime mean big savings in maintenance and downtime.  The new design has allowed Lenze and INTORQ to offer a warranty of 10 million operations or 2 years life, whichever is reached first.

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