DRIVES, GEARS & MOTORS
KTR INTRODUCES NEW FLOATING
CALIPER BRAKE WITH ONE-PIECE
BRAKE CALIPER
K
TR has developed a floating
caliper brake which is made of
one single piece - a first for the UK
marketplace.
KTR U.K., based in Sheffield, has been
manufacturing power transmission products
for a wide range of energy sector applications,
including generator sets, pumps, and
compressors, for more than 50 years. It is part
of global parent company KTR Systems GmbH,
which is headquartered in Germany and makes
mechanical couplings and overload systems,
torque measuring shafts, clamping sets, joints,
hydraulic and electromechanical brake systems,
hydraulic components, and cooling systems for
industrial applications in mechanical and plant
engineering.
Its new innovation, the XS series, is a first for
the UK. It is available with a hydraulic or an
electromechanical operating principle and can
be operated in both active and passive modes.
The brakes are suitable for sub-zero applications
with temperatures ranging down to -40 °C.
The brake caliper of the new XS series combines
72
PECM Issue 26
the housing, spacer plate, and counter plate as
one piece and is made of special LT nodular iron.
This makes the floating caliper brakes suitable
for sub-zero applications with temperatures
ranging down to -40 °C. All other components
such as pad retainers, pistons and guide pins are
made of steel.
The brake pads are made of ‘organic mixture’ or
‘sinter metal’ and can be easily replaced by one
single person. Depending on the application’s
preference and basic conditions, the XS
brake can be operated either hydraulically or
electromechanically, with clamping forces up to
15 kN being generated in the passive design and
16.5 kN in the active design.
The brakes are mounted to the respective
machine each by two screws size M16.
Fabian Liekam, KTR’s Product Manager for Brake
Systems, said: “Since the brake caliper of the new
series is made of one piece, there are no more
exposed contact surfaces. This has improved
the brake’s corrosion resistance. In addition, the
one-piece design has allowed us to extend the
guide pins and double the number of bushings,
improving the brake’s floating operation and
the efficiency of transmission of force from the
caliper to the base plate. This makes the brake
even stronger.”
The new floating caliper XS brakes series is
intended for applications in the most demanding
environmental conditions, both above or
underground, onshore or offshore. They can be
used both as service brakes, for high numbers of
cycles, and as holding brakes.
The brakes are selected and adapted in KTR’s
competence centre for brake systems, in
Germany. It is here that KTR pools its activities
for brakes under the umbrella of KTR Brake
Systems GmbH. Developing and producing
brake systems, tests and functional testing of
prototypes and serial products are performed
here as well.
Tests are performed on a universal brake test
bench for rotor and yaw brakes, a tension
test bench, a vibrating table or a cryogenic
temperature cooling chamber allowing for tests
with ambient temperatures down to – 40 °C.