The complexity of supply chain issues in a globally interdependent economy is vast, and there are multiple aspects to be addressed in each problem. Food supply has been in the spotlight throughout the pandemic and considering inflation and other factors, the issues aren’t likely to disappear overnight. However, companies like Warner Electric, Force Control, and Miki Pulley are literally putting the brakes on some of these issues with solutions for today and tomorrow. Warner Electric and Miki Pulley both offer brake solutions that include various robotic and battery-powered agricultural equipment being developed for the future while Force Control addresses the here and now with a brake solution for a palletizer problem that was disrupting production at National Frozen Foods.

Warner Electric Braking Technologies Help Battery-Powered Equipment OEMs

The rapidly growing demand for compact, battery-powered construction and agriculture equipment has created a highly competitive market environment for vehicle OEMs. Warner Electric, a global leader in electromagnetic brake technologies, supports equipment design engineers as they meet these application challenges.

Warner Electric has created braking solutions designed to reduce power consumption on a wide variety of motions for battery-powered construction equipment, including electric swing drives and electric track drives for loaders, dozers, and excavators, traction wheel motors on compact track loaders, skid steers, wheeled excavators, dump vehicles and mobile elevating work platforms (MEWPs). Their braking technologies are also well suited for many other types of electric equipment, including agriculture autonomous machines, livestock feeders and sprayers, as well as firefighting and surveillance robots, shuttle buses, and road sweepers.

Warner Electric’s application engineers routinely work with OEM engineering teams to develop compact, energy-efficient braking solutions to meet the requirements for specific applications, whether it’s for a completely new equipment design or the electric conversion of existing equipment. “Utilizing existing, proven braking solutions, including the popular PK and CBTB ranges, Warner Electric engineers can quickly modify a standard brake design and ship prototypes to OEMs for testing,” said Mourade Vaneeckhoute, global mobile power equipment market director, Altra Motion. “Our ability to rapidly respond to a customer need saves valuable time and effort for busy OEM engineers while allowing them to focus on other critical vehicle systems and components.”

Adopted by more than 30 key OEMs since 2010, Warner Electric’s PK brakes are installed on more than 500,000 aerial work platforms and forklift trucks in the field. According to Vaneeckhoute, “The benefits of this cost-competitive range include a one-piece design for easy assembly, lower power consumption, longer battery life, and overall lower maintenance costs.”

The PK (Very Thin) range is a pre-assembled on/off dry failsafe electromagnetic brake. This failsafe brake is used for parking and emergency as well as some service braking. The vehicle’s AC motor is used in combination with the PK brake for regenerative braking of the vehicle. In addition to the standard friction material, PK brakes can also be fitted with high-torque and high-energy materials depending on the application. The coil can be designed for single- or dual-voltage and pulse-width modulation power supply to reduce power consumption and maintenance.

Low-profile PK captive design brakes are particularly suitable for back-to-back dual drive configurations such MEWPs and telehandlers. These units are enclosed to withstand harsh outdoor environments. IP67-Rated models are available to meet challenging washdown application requirements.

The CBTB family of electromagnetic axle brakes are specifically for use on battery-powered, dual-drive vehicles with capacities generally up to 8 tons (17,900 lbs.). These advanced high-speed, high-torque brakes provide reliable emergency and parking brake functionality and allow for increased maximum vehicle speed and improved productivity.

The integration of proprietary nonstick friction material within the brake design ensures very high energy dissipation and low wear throughout the life of the equipment. The CBTB is designed for vehicles that require the narrowest footprint. It is installed between both wheel motors on the load-bearing axle. When engaged, its double-disc arrangement allows the brake to act on both motors simultaneously.

An optional dual-stage functionality is available to provide better control of the torque by applying 50% or 100% of the brake torque capacity. It also prevents flat surface damage to tires that often occurs when wheels lock up during an abrupt emergency stop.

New proprietary W134 non-stick friction material has been designed by Warner Electric engineers to equip the Warner Electric spring-applied brakes for high-capacity braking requirements. Previously, the standard material was able to handle 57 kJ at 900 RPM, however, the new W134 material handles up to 190 kJ at 1,300 RPM. Vaneeckhoute explained, “This new dry friction material enables implementation of electromagnetic brakes versus hydraulically actuated and wet brake technologies, removing the risk of oil leaks.”