EDDY CURRENT BRAKING SYSTEM FOR CUTTING MACHINE
Grishma Rajan Joshi (1710429) U-31
Tanvi Prashant Pore (1710558) U-59
Yash Gopal Darak (1710560) U-13
Mayuresh Rajendra Bhide (1710893) U-08
Avnish Manish Pimpley (1711057) U-57
ABSTRACT
An electromagnetic brake is a new and
revolutionary concept. Electromagnetic
braking system is a modern technology
braking system used in light motor & heavy
motor vehicles. This system is a combination
of electro-mechanical concepts. The
frequency of accidents is now-a-days
increasing due to inefficient braking system.
It is apparent that the electromagnetic brake
is an essential complement to the safe braking
of heavy vehicles. It aims to minimize the
brake failure to avoid the road accidents. It
also reduces the maintenance of braking
system. An advantage of this system is that it
can be used on any vehicle with minor
modifications to the transmission and
electrical systems. An Electromagnetic
Braking system uses Magnetic force to engage
the brake, but the power required for braking
is transmitted manually. The disc is
connected to a shaft and the electromagnet is
mounted on the frame .When electricity is
applied to the coil a magnetic field is
developed across the armature because of the
current flowing across the coil and causes
armature to get attracted towards the coil. As
a result, it develops a torque and eventually
the vehicle comes to rest. These brakes can
be incorporated in heavy vehicles as an
auxiliary brake. The electromagnetic brakes
can be used in commercial vehicles by
controlling the current supplied to produce
the magnetic flux. Making some
improvements in
Guide:
Prof. Swapnil Yevale
Mechanical Department
VIT, Pune
the brakes it can be used in automobiles in
future.
1. INTRODUCTION
Electromagnetic brakes are the brakes working
on the electric power & magnetic power. They
work on the principle of electromagnetism.
The working principle of this system is that
when the magnetic flux passes through and
perpendicular to the rotating wheel the eddy
current flows opposite to the rotating
wheel/rotor direction. This eddy current trying
to stop the rotating wheel or rotor. This results
in the rotating wheel or rotor comes to rest/
neutral. These are totally friction less. Due to
this, they are more durable & have longer life
span. Less maintenance is there. These brakes
are an excellent replacement on the
convectional brakes due to their many
advantages. The reason for implementing this
brake in automobiles is to reduce wear in
brakes as it friction less. Therefore, there will
also be no heat loss. The electromagnetic
brakes are much effective than conventional
brakes & the time taken for application of
brakes is also smaller. There is very few need
of lubrication. Electromagnetic breaks gives
such better performance with less cost, which
is today’s need.
2. DIFFERENT TYPES OF
BRAKES
2.1 MECHANICAL BRAKE
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In a motor vehicle, the wheel is attached to an
auxiliary wheel called drum. The brake shoes
are made to contact this drum. In most
designs, two shoes are used with each drum
to form a complete brake mechanism at each
wheel. The brake shoes have brake linings on
their outer surfaces. Each brake shoe is
hinged at one end by on anchor pin; the other
end is operated by some means so that the
brake shoe expands outwards. The brake
linings come into contact with the drum.
Retracting spring keeps the brake shoe into
position when the brakes are not applied.
The drum encloses the entire mechanism to
keep out dust and moisture. The wheel
attaching bolts on the drum are used to
contact wheel and drum. The braking plate
completes the brake enclosure, holds the
assembly to car axle, and acts the base for
fastening the brake shoes and operating
mechanism.
2.2 HYDRAULIC BRAKES
The hydraulic brakes are applied by the liquid
pressure. The pedal force is transmitted to
the brake shoe by means of a confined liquid
through a system of force transmission. The
force applied to the pedal is multiplied and
transmitted to brake shoes by a force
transmission system. This system is based
upon Pascal’s principle, which states, “The
confined liquids transmit pressure without
loss equally in all directions”.
It essentially consists of two main
components – master cylinder and wheel
cylinder the master cylinder is connected by
the wheel cylinders at each of the four
wheels. The system is filled with the liquid
under light pressure when the brakes are not
in operation. The liquid is
known as brake fluid, and is usually a mixture
of glycerin and alcohol or caster-oil,
denatured alcohol and some additives Spring
pressure, and thus the fluid pressure in the
entire system drops to its original low valve,
which allows retracting spring on wheel
brakes to pull the brake shoes out of contact
with the brake drums into their original
positions. This causes the wheel cylinder
piston also to come back to its original inward
position. Thus, the brakes are released.
2.3 AIR BRAKE
Air brakes are widely used in heavy vehicle
like buses and trucks, which require a heavier
braking effort that can be applied by the
driver’s foot. Air brakes are applied by the
pressure of compressed air, instead of foot
pressure, acting against flexible diaphragms in
brake chamber. The diaphragms are
connected to the wheel brakes. These
diaphragms are controlled through a hand or
foot operated valve. The brake valve controls
brake operation by directing the flow of air
from a reservoir against diaphragms in the
brake chamber when the brakes are applied
and from brake chambers to tube atmosphere
when the brakes are released. The air
compressor, driven by the engine furnishes
compressed air to the reservoir
fall below a set valve.
2.4 CONVENTIONAL FRICTION BRAKE
The conventional friction brake system is
composed of the following basic components:
the “master cylinder” which is located under
the hood is directly connected to the brake
pedal, and converts the drivers’ foot pressure
into hydraulic pressure. Steel “brake hoses”
connect the master cylinder to the “slave
cylinders” located at each wheel. Brake fluid,
specially designed to work in extreme
temperature conditions, fills the system.
“Shoes” or “pads” are pushed by the slave
cylinders to contact the “drums” or “rotors”,
thus causing drag, which slows the car. Two
major kinds of friction brakes are disc brakes
and drum brakes. Disc brakes use a clamping
action to produce friction between the
“rotor” and the “pads” mount in the “caliper”
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attached to the suspension member’s Disc
brakes work using the same basic principle as
the brakes on a bicycle: as the caliper pinches
the wheel with pads on both sides, it slows
the vehicle.
Drum brakes consist of a heavy flat-topped
cylinder, which is sandwiched between the
wheel rim and the wheel hub. The inside
surface of the drum is acted upon by the
linings of the brake shoes. When the brakes
are applied, the brake shoes are forced into
contact with the inside surface of the brake
drum to slow the rotation of the wheels.
Air brakes use standard hydraulic brake
system components such as braking lines,
wheel cylinders and a slave cylinder similar to
a master cylinder to transmit the air-pressure
produced braking energy to the wheel brakes.
Air brakes are used frequently when greater
braking capacity is required.
3. HOW ORDINARY FRICTION
BRAKES WORK
Moving things have kinetic energy and, if you
want to stop them, you have to get rid of that
energy somehow. If you are on a bicycle
going slowly, you can simply put your feet
down so they drag on the ground. The soles
of your feet act as brakes. Friction (rubbing)
between the rough ground and the grip on
your soles slows you down; converting your
kinetic energy into heat energy (do it long
enough and your shoes will get hot). Brakes
on vehicles work pretty much the same way,
with "shoes" that press rubber pads (brake
blocks) against discs mounted to the wheels.
(Find out more about this in our main article
on brakes.) Even if
you make brakes from super-strong,
hardwearing materials like Kevlar®, they are
still going to wear out eventually. However,
there are other problems with friction brakes.
The faster you go, the harder they have to
work to get rid of your kinetic energy, and the
quicker they will wear out. Use your brakes
too often and you may suffer a problem called
brake fade, where heat builds up too much in
the brakes or the hydraulic system that
operates them and the brakes can no longer
work as effectively. What if your brakes can't
stop you in time?
In Motorcycle brakes, when you pull on the
brake handle, a hydraulic cable applies the
brake pads to the brake rotor disc, slowing
the machine down by converting your kinetic
energy to heat. The tire does not normally
play much part in braking unless you brake
hard: then the wheel will lock completely and
friction between the tire and the road will
bring you to a sudden halt, leaving a rubber
skid mark on the road. That is not a good way
to brake: it will wear out your tires very
quickly.
4. EDDY CURRENT BRAKING –
A NEW APPROACH
An eddy current brake, also known as
an induction brake, electric brake or electric
retarder, is a device used to slow or stop a
moving object by dissipating its kinetic
energy as heat. However, unlike friction
brakes, in which the drag force that stops the
moving object is provided by friction between
two surfaces pressed together, the drag force
in an eddy current brake is an electromagnetic
force between a magnet and
nearby conductive object in relative motion,
due to eddy currents induced in the
conductor through electromagnetic induction.
A conductive surface moving past a stationary
magnet develops circular electric
currents called eddy currents induced in it by
the magnetic field, as described by Faraday's
law of induction. By Lenz's law, the circulating
currents create their own magnetic field that
opposes the field of the magnet. Thus the
moving conductor experiences a drag force
from the magnet that opposes its motion,
proportional to its velocity. The kinetic
energy of the moving object is dissipated
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as heat generated by the current flowing
through the electrical resistance of the
conductor.
In an eddy current brake the magnetic field
may be created by a permanent magnet or
an electromagnet, so the braking force can be
turned on and off or varied by varying
the electric current in the electromagnet
windings. Another advantage is that since the
brake does not work by friction, there are
no brake shoe surfaces to wear out,
necessitating replacement, as with friction
brakes. A disadvantage is that since the
braking force is proportional to the relative
velocity of the brake, the brake has no holding
force when the moving object is stationary, as
is provided by static friction in a friction brake,
so in vehicles it must be supplemented by a
friction brake.
Eddy current brakes are used to slow high-
speed trains and roller coasters, as a
complement for friction brakes in semi-trailer
trucks to help prevent brake wear and
overheating, to stop powered tools quickly
when power is turned off, and in electric
meters used by electric utilities.
5. MECHANISM AND
PRINCIPLE
An eddy current brake consists of a conductive
piece of metal, either a straight bar or a disk,
which moves through the magnetic field of a
magnet, either a permanent magnet or
an electromagnet. When it moves past the
stationary magnet, the magnet exerts a drag
force on the metal which opposes its motion,
due to circular electric currents called eddy
currents induced in the metal by the magnetic
field. Note that the conductive sheet is not
made of ferromagnetic metal such as iron or
steel; usually copper or aluminum are used,
which are not attracted to a magnet. The brake
does not work by the simple attraction of a
ferromagnetic metal to the magnet.
See the diagram below. It shows a metal
sheet (C) moving to the right under a magnet.
The magnetic field (B, green arrows) of the
magnet's north pole N passes down through
the sheet. Since the metal is moving,
the magnetic flux through sheet is changing.
At the part of the sheet under the leading edge
of the magnet (left side) the magnetic field
through the sheet is increasing as it gets nearer
the magnet. From Faraday's law of induction,
this field induces a counter clockwise flow of
electric current (I, red), in the sheet. This is the
eddy current. In contrast, at the trailing edge of
the magnet (right side) the magnetic field
through the sheet is decreasing, inducing a
clockwise eddy current in the sheet.
Another way to understand the action is to see
that the free charge carriers (electrons) in the
metal sheet are moving to the right, so the
magnetic field exerts a sideways force on them
due to the Lorentz force. Since the
velocity v of the charges is to the right and the
magnetic field B is directed down, from
the right hand rule the Lorentz force on
positive charges qv×B is toward the rear in the
diagram (to the left when facing in the
direction of motion of the sheet) This causes a
current I toward the rear under the magnet,
which circles around through parts of the sheet
outside the magnetic field in two currents,
clockwise to the right and counterclockwise to
the left, to the front of the magnet again. The
mobile charge carriers in the metal,
the electrons, actually have a negative charge,
so their motion is opposite in direction to
the conventional current shown.
Due to Ampere's circuital law, each of these
circular currents creates a counter magnetic
field (blue arrows), which due to Lenz's
law opposes the change in magnetic field,
causing a drag force on the sheet which is the
braking force exerted by the brake. At the
leading edge of the magnet (left side) by
the right hand rule the counterclockwise
current creates a magnetic field pointed up,
opposing the magnet's field, causing a
repulsive force between the sheet and the
leading edge of the magnet. In contrast, at the
trailing edge (right side), the clockwise current
causes a magnetic field pointed down, in the
same direction as the magnet's field, creating
an attractive force between the sheet and the
trailing edge of the magnet. Both of these
forces oppose the motion of the sheet.
The kinetic energy which is consumed
overcoming this drag force is dissipated as
heat by the currents flowing through
the resistance of the metal, so the metal gets
warm under the magnet.
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The braking force of an eddy current brake is
exactly proportional to the velocity V, so it
acts similar to viscous friction in a liquid. The
braking force decreases as the velocity
decreases. When the conductive sheet is
stationary, the magnetic field through each
part of it is constant, not changing with time,
so no eddy currents are induced, and there is
no force between the magnet and the
conductor. Thus an eddy current brake has no
holding force.
8. Components
8.1 Power board:- This houses a 3 cell
LiPo battery to provide voltage to
the circuit within a limited range
so that the circuit should not fry.
8.2 Motor driver:- The motor driver
used in the circuit is a LN298. This
is a dual H-bridge motor driver
which allows speed and direction
control of the DC motor. It can
drive DC motors which have
voltages between 5V and 35V
with a peak current of up to 2A.
6. IMPLEMENTATION ON
CUTTING MACHINES

Braking system is been employed in

large cutting machines like laser
cutting and plasma cutting which
gets triggered on human
interference. But unfortunately there
is no such development yet in case of
handheld cutting/ drilling machines.
These machines have very high rpm
and are prone to much vibrations
and hence require great skill. In turn
these also cause injuries to the
workers due to mishandling. In order
to prevent this prototype was built
7. CIRCUIT BLOCK DIAGRAM
8.3 ESC:- An Electronic Speed
Controller (ESC) is a device that
regulates the power of an electric
motor, allowing it to throttle from
0% to 100%. It is an electronic
circuit that controls and regulates the
speed of an electric motor. It may also
provide reversing of the motor
and dynamic braking. Miniature
electronic speed controls are used in
electrically powered radio controlled
models.

5

8.4 BLDC:- A brushless DC electric
motor (BLDC motor or BL motor), also known
as electronically commutated motor (ECM or
EC motor) and synchronous DC motors,
are synchronous motors powered by direct
current (DC) electricity via
an inverter or switching power
supply which produces an alternating
current (AC) electric current to drive each
phase of the motor via a closed
loop controller. The controller
provides pulses of current to the
motor windings that control
the speed and torque of the motor. The
advantages of a brushless motor over brushed
motors are high power-to-weight ratio, high
speed, electronic control, and low
maintenance
8.5 Solenoid:- In the study
of electromagnetism, a solenoid is a coil
whose length is substantially greater than
its diameter. The coil can be arranged to
produce a uniform magnetic field in a
volume of space when an electric
current is passed through it. A solenoid is
an electromagnet, the purpose of which is
to generate a controlled magnetic field.
8.6 Arduino board:- Arduino board designs
use a variety of microprocessors and
controllers. The boards are equipped with sets
of digital and analog input/output (I/O) pins
that may be interfaced to various expansion
boards ('shields') or breadboards (For
prototyping) and other circuits. The boards
feature serial communications interfaces,
including Universal Serial Bus (USB) on some
models, which are also used for loading
programs from personal computers. The
microcontrollers can be programmed
using C and C++ programming languages. In
addition to using
traditional compiler toolchains, the Arduino
project provides an integrated development
environment (IDE) based on
the Processing language project.
8.7 IR Sensor:- An infrared sensor is an
electronic device, that emits in order to
sense some aspects of the surroundings.
An IR sensor can measure the heat of an
object as well as detects the motion. These
types of sensors measure only infrared
radiation, rather than emitting it that is
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called a passive IR sensor. Usually, in the J = σ ( R x α x B ) = (1.97 x 107) x (12.5)
infrared spectrum, all the objects radiate x ( 104.71) x (0.209) / 1000
some form of thermal radiation. These
J = 5389.533 A/m2
types of radiations are invisible to our eyes,
that can be detected by an infrared sensor. Pd = σ x R2 x S x d x α2 x B2 = (1.97 x
The emitter is simply an IR LED (Light 107) x (0.0125) x π x (0.025)2 (0.005) x
Emitting Diode) and the detector is simply (2000 π/60) x (0.209)2
an IR photodiode that is sensitive to IR light
Pd = 1158.06
of the same wavelength as that emitted by
the IR LED. When IR light falls on the Tb = Pd/α = 1158.06/104.71
photodiode, the resistances and the
Tb = 11.05 Nm
output voltages will change in proportion
to the magnitude of the IR light received.
9.2 Thermal Analysis

9.2.1 Braking Force

v = pi x d x n / 60 = 3.14 x 0.05 x 1000 / 60

v = 2.6 m/s

A = (v-u)/t = (2.6-0)/2.5

A = 1.04 m2

F = m*A = 0.026 x 1.04

F = 0.02704 N

9. CALCULATIONS
9.2.2 Braking Power
9.1 Braking Torque
KE = 0.5 x m x v2 = 0.5 x 0.026 x 2.6 x 2.6
µo = 12.568 x 10-7 N/A2
KE = 0.087 J
Speed N = 1000 rpm
Current I = 0.5 Ampere
9.2.3 Rotational Energy
Air gap Lg = 0.003 metre
P = KE/t = 0.087/2.5
σ = 1.92 x 107 Ω/m2
P = 0.035 watt
R = 0.0125 Ω-m
α = 104.71 rad/s
9.2.4 Heat Energy
B = (µo x N x I)/lg = (12.56 x 10-7) x
Δt = (P x t)/(p x c x Volume) = (0.035 x
(1000) x (0.5) / (0.003) 2.5)/(7850 x 465 x 3.601 x 10-5)
B = 0.209 Wb/m2 Δt = 0.001 C

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 have helped us during the project work
especially Sumit Tanpure and Jatin Patel.
10. RESULTS:
13. REFERENCE
The project represented a protoype of the
https://www.slideshare.net/NiteshPrasad9/elect
braking system which can be used on the
romagnetic-breaking-system-report-group-14-
actual hand grinding machine. The time
career-point-university
taken by the machine to stop just by
cutting off the power supply is about 5sec https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_
but with the help of solenoid the stopping brake
time is reduced to 2.5 sec. A greater
solenoid with more lifting force can be
used but then the thermal energies should
be taken care off.
11. FUTURE SCOPE
The lots of new technologies are arriving in
world. They create a lot of effect. Most
industries got their new faces due to this
arrival of technologies. Automobile industry is
also one of them. There is a boom in World’s
automobile industry. Therefore, lot’s of
research is also going here. As an important
part of automobile, there are also innovations
in brakes. Electromagnetic brake is one of
them. This enhanced braking system not only
helps in effective braking but also helps in
avoiding the accidents and reducing the
frequency of accidents to a minimum.
Furthermore, the electromagnetic brakes
prevent the danger that can arise from the
prolonged use of brake beyond their capability
to dissipate heat.

12. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We would like to take this opportunity to
express our deep sense of gratitude towards
our guide Prof. Swapnil Yevale, assistant
prof. Mechanical Department, VIT Pune, for
his guidance, support & encouragement
throughout the work.
We would like to thank Head of Department
Dr. M. B. Chaudhari for his valuable
guidance, co-operation & encouragement
during the project work.
We express our sincere thanks to Dr. R. M.
Jalnekar, Director of VIT, Pune for
providing us opportunity to carry out this
project work in association with the
organization. We would finally like to thank
all those people who directly or indirectly