Industrial Brake Calipers
Electric & mechanical brake calipers from Stearns are spring applied components within a braking system designed to safely retract mechanically or electronically. Calipers help reduce speed of motion by acting as a clamp that squeezes the brake pads of a wheel or disc in order to statically hold or stop the motion of a heavy mechanical load.
Use Cases | Types | Industrial Brake vs Brake Caliper | Applicable Industries
Uses Cases for Industrial Caliper Brakes
Electric & mechanical brake calipers are spring-applied units designed to retract mechanically or electronically while most direct acting brakes have some form of positive retraction device. They can be manufactured as either floating or fixed and are a simple solution for stopping, holding, and locking out for safe equipment control during maintenance.
Types of Brake Calipers
Electrical Brake Calipers
Electric brake calipers are a type of spring-set electrically-released brake, for stopping and/or holding applications. An electrical brake caliper incorporates a “floating” caliper design that is ideal for material handling equipment and industrial structures including: bulk handling conveyors, cranes, hoists, winches, commercial passenger and industrial elevators, wind turbines, hillside trams, hydro-electric dam lock gate hoists, steel mill stands, and more.
The benefits of an electrical brake caliper include:
- Low Cost: in comparison to typical caliper brakes that require hydraulic or pneumatic systems
- High Torque Capacity: exceeds range of NEMA frame motor brakes and IEC frame motor brakes
- Adapts Easily to Drive Systems: the disc can be mounted in several locations:
- Directly to a drive shaft
- Bolted to a coupling hub
- Onto the accessory end of a large motor
- Simple, Low-Maintenance Installation: electric operation eliminates the hydraulic or pneumatic components and high degree of maintenance associated with typical non-electric caliper brakes
Mechanical Brake Calipers
Also known as lock out brakes, mechanical caliper brakes are manually-actuated caliper disc brakes, which easily adapt to standard shaft couplings.
The benefits of a mechanical brake caliper include:
- Cross pin locking feature
- Critical Components Made from 316 Stainless Steel (or finished steel)
- Simple, Low Maintenance Design
- Universal mounting
- Optional Proximity Sensor
Most mechanical caliper designs have 1 lever arm that moves only the outer brake pad when actuated. The rotor then flexes over into contact with the inner most pad. There are also designs that have 2 lever arms. On these calipers both pads move evenly into the rotor.
Industrial Brakes vs Brake Calipers
The largest difference between a standard industrial disc brake and a brake caliper is where the force is being applied. With a standard, spring-set disc brake, friction and pressure is applied to the brake disc pack, whereas in a braking system that includes a brake caliper, friction is applied to a rotor disc.
Find a Stearns Industrial Brake Caliper by Industry:
Elevator | Marine | Mining