Industrial Brake Caliper Guide

Fix-mount Brakes v. Floating Brakes

Brakes can either be &#;fix-mounted&#; or mounted to &#;float.&#; Brake housings are mounted securely to the equipment when they are fix-mounted. Housings that are designed to float typically slide freely on pins or shoulder bolts until activated. The caliper releases from the braking surface when pressure is released and reverts to float. When fix-mounted, a double-live-sided brake is typically used. Both sides of the unit have pistons that force the pads to engage the braking surface. The friction pads will &#;lift&#; away from the surface when not engaged. Some prefer to have the friction pads retract with springs. This video explains the difference in terms of how they are mounted.

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Braking on a Rail

Need to stop something moving in a linear path on a rail? A caliper disc brake can do that very well. As long as it is a flat surface with two parallel faces, straight or slightly curved, W.C. Branham brakes can be used. 

Disc brakes used on a rail can improve safety and save space (especially where loads are suspended vertically). The use of caliper disc brakes for linear systems is expanding. Here are some common examples:

Stainless Steel Brakes

Stainless steel is an unsurpassed material in durability. It is excellent in harsh environments or where heavy industrial cleaning is important. The FDA and USDA require stainless steel in most food processing. 

Both aluminum and stainless steel brakes are light, but stainless has some distinct advantages. It resists corrosion, never needs to be painted or coated, can withstand harsh acid and alkaline chemicals, and withstand high-pressure, high-heat wash downs. Consider stainless steel brakes if any of these conditions apply to your application.

Type of Brake Applications

How a brake will be used informs which kind you need. Here is background information on various applications.

Dynamic Stopping

How much torque you need for dynamic stopping is determined by the weight of the rotating mass you&#;re stopping, its shape, its radius of gyration, its RPMs, and the required stopping time. 

To find out if a particular brake caliper has the torque you need, multiply its tangential force (which a brake manufacturer can tell you) by the braking radius of a specific disc diameter. This will tell you if that brake/disc combination can meet your torque requirements.

W.C. Branham offers caliper disc brakes that can provide anywhere from 600 to 150,000 inch pounds of braking torque. Get a copy of our product guide to explore them all.

Frequent Stopping

Each stop creates friction and heat for a brake. It is crucial a brake/disc combination can adequately dissipate that heat. In calculating the torque needed to stop within a certain time you will figure out the BTUs per stop, then determine BTUs per hour, then determine the amount of exposed disc area needed to dissipate the heat.

Friction pad wear life is an important performance factor to consider for brakes that are used frequently. To calculate the life of a pad, you'll figure horsepower hours per stop, then determine the life in terms of the number of stops.

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Static Holding

Calculating the brake size needed for a static hold application is relatively straightforward. First, determine the amount of torque necessary to accomplish the holding. Then select a disc brake caliper combination that can handle it. 

Tensioning

When a brake is providing a constant torque to a rotating mass for tensioning, it is in continuous duty. This means there is continuous heat being created. Just like a brake used for frequent stopping, you need to consider how that friction will impact the wear life of the pads and if it can dissipate the heat appropriately. Again, you'll figure out BTUs per hour, then the heat dissipation for your tensioning application.

This video and the cheat sheets below can help you get started on determining the size brake caliper you need.

Getting the Right Size Caliper Disc Brake

Once you know the kind of brake you need, sizing it is the next step. This can be complex. Speaking with experts may be a good place for you to start. You don't have to memorize a bunch of formulas to size your caliper disc brake. Visit this page for a brake sizing calculator you can download and use anytime.

There are three big things you need to know to size a brake correctly.

1. What is the required torque or braking force for the application?
2. What space is available for the disc or rotor? This is important because a larger disc will produce higher torque.
3. How much available pressure is there from your power source? The more pressure available (either pneumatic or hydraulic), the greater the torque you&#;ll be able to produce from the same sized brake. Available pressure also impacts the size/model of spring applied brakes. Knowing the available lever force is necessary in determining mechanical brake sizes.

You need good information in each of these areas in order to make a decision on the appropriate brake size.

Brake Pads and Friction Coefficients

There are three things to consider when selecting brake pad material: coefficient of friction, wear rate, and energy capacity. W.C. Branham offers brake pads with friction coefficients ranging from .21 up to .55. 

Lower friction coefficients are suitable for tensioning and constant drag applications. High coefficient materials are better for static holding to maximize the braking force. Brake pads are most commonly made from materials that are either organic, semi-metallic, or sintered metal. 

Organic brake pads have the lowest energy capacity limits, then semi-metallic brake pads are in the middle, and sintered metal pads have the highest energy capacity. Picking the right one is important in energy dissipation.

Note: disc temperature should not exceed 300&#;, to ensure the longest service life. The amount of heat dissipated per hour at any given temperature greater than ambient air is considered to be directly proportional to the amount of exposed area on the disc. Therefore, disc thickness should be as small as possible. The standard is either 5/32" or 1/4".

Next Steps

If you still have questions after exploring this guide to selecting an industrial brake caliper, the next step is to get in touch with your brake manufacturer. At W.C. Branham, we have more than 1,300 standard products available, chances are we offer what you need! If you&#;re looking for something more customized, we can do that too. Our team has extensive experience and expertise designing and manufacturing custom solutions. Click here to tell us about your application needs or explore our caliper brake offerings by downloading the guide below. We look forward to working with you.

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