Renewable energy is more necessary than ever, but safe and efficient generation is equally important. As wind turbine technology continues to evolve, component manufacturers face new technical requirements as well as increasingly demanding standards. At WindEnergy 2026 in Hamburg, mayr power transmission will present application-optimized safety brakes for pitch and yaw drives, including the ROBA-stop M pitch brake. The company will also showcase standards-compliant solutions for service elevators and smart brake monitoring technology.
The trend towards renewable energy continues at a rapid pace. To ensure safe and efficient energy generation, proven industrial technologies are increasingly being used in wind turbines. One example is the growing use of servo motors in yaw drives, where they are increasingly replacing uncontrolled drives. This development also places new demands on the associated brake systems, which must provide reliable safety and holding functions under demanding operating conditions.
Image Credit: mayr power transmission
New regulations raise the bar even higher. A current example is the standard EN 81-44, which defines the safety requirements for the design and installation of power-driven elevators that are permanently installed in wind turbines. The regulation covers the safe transport of persons and goods as well as rescue and evacuation procedures. Safety brakes, as an integral part of the safety architecture, are particularly affected here. An important aspect of DIN EN 81-44 is that components must function reliably under the environmental conditions of a wind turbine, specifically at temperatures down to -25°C. However, many manufacturers only rate their brakes down to -20°C and therefore fall outside the scope of the standard. The temperature range of mayr brakes, by contrast, extends down to -40°C. To conduct the corresponding tests, mayr operates its own climate chamber.
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Many locations, one quality
mayr power transmission is headquartered in Mauerstetten in the Allgäu region; plants in India, China and Poland complement production at the headquarters. At the plants in Halol, India, and Zhangjiagang, China, production primarily targets the respective local markets. This results in local value creation, cost-efficient manufacturing, fast service worldwide and short routes to local markets. Comprehensive inspection is a central element of mayr® quality: Identical test stands at the plants ensure consistently high standards.
Perfect variety – The right solution for every application
mayr offers a wide range of braking solutions for servo motors in the pitch segment. In addition to the ROBA-stop M pitch brake, mayr power transmission offers further braking solutions in the ROBA servostop series, which can be installed on the A-side or B-side of the motor and are designed for temperatures up to 120°C. They also feature impressively low mass inertia.
Image Credit: mayr power transmission
For A-side flanged designs, the company offers solutions such as the ROBA alphastop brakes. In this configuration, the motor must have an extended shaft, or the brake system muast be designed with an integrated shaft.
One important characteristic of these solutions is that when the motor is removed, for example for maintenance work, the safety brake is also removed. In such cases, additional safety measures are necessary to prevent any unwanted movements of the rotor blades or nacelle.
The solution: Safety brakes such as the ROBA topstop, which remain on the system even when the motor is removed and reliably hold the drive line in the de-energized state. Modular systems are available with custom-fit mounting flanges and can therefore be integrated flexibly into existing drives.
In addition to the pitch segment, users can also rely on mayr safety brakes specifically developed and tested for yaw drives.
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Sensorless monitoring – data for intelligent safety
With the ROBA brake-checker, mayr offers a module that monitors safety brakes without the need for additional sensors. The module monitors the movement of the armature disk and outputs the determined switching condition via a control terminal and signal output.
The signal offers users clear added value: Function monitoring enables an early and robust warning before the condition “brake no longer engages” occurs. This facilitates planned maintenance and enables users to specifically investigate critical boundary conditions such as low supply voltage, incorrectly dimensioned supply lines, elevated coil temperature and an enlarged air gap.
The ROBA brake-checker complements conventional wear monitoring in terms of condition-based maintenance. It provides highly meaningful data on the switching function and enables a targeted search for error causes such as increased wear, rising coil temperature, decreasing supply voltage or voltage drops on the feed lines of the brake.
The safety and reliability of brakes increase, while maintenance planning can be optimized at the same time.
Via the additional ROBA gateway module, the solution can be made network-capable, for example to integrate the acquired data into existing remote maintenance systems or to build digital twins.
mayr power transmission at WindEnergy 2026 in Hamburg: Hall B5, Booth 425.
