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2025 LEAP (Leadership in Engineering Achievement Program) Awards were announced by WTWH Media on October 29, 2025. Ogura received the Gold Award in the Mechanical category for the MCNB micro holding brakes, as small as 10mm OD. This year's winners were chosen by an independent judging panel of 11 engineering and academic professionals. In the previous year, Ogura won the gold award for their MPNC-3.5 power-off, lightweight, power-saving, micro-clutches.

Ogura's new Micro-sized, MCNB Series, holding brakes are changing the way robotics, medical, and aerospace equipment designers look at power-off holding brakes. The product offering is smaller (down to 10mm OD), lighter, uses less power, generates less heat, has ultra-fast response times, and simply improves the equipment around it.

These are typically used for both safety and precision motion control. For surgical robotics, other end of arm robotics applications, aerospace applications, and more, the opportunity is to make products safer, more efficient, faster, lighter, and more reliable. They also consume very little power and generate a very small amount of heat which is critical to these compact installations.

While spring applied brakes are not new technology, it takes unique design, craftmanship, experience, supply chain, manufacturing equipment and processes, and an understanding of worldwide applications to make this possible.

The product is spring applied type, and very, very small. Ogura is making brakes as small as 10mm OD today, with designs as small as 8mm. This is unmatched by any other company in the world as far as we know. In typical Ogura fashion, they are also designed and manufactured in a way to enable them to be mass produced. There is a saying that anyone can make one piece of something, but true mastery is involved when you can repeat the same challenging task without issue or delay. Holding brakes are usually mounted on the backs of motors. The same is true for micro brakes and micro motors. Also, because these motors are high speed capable, the Ogura micro brakes are made to operate in very high rpm zones as well. This is critical because magnetic airgaps are finely tuned, and rotating parts can have balancing and vibration concerns at high speeds if not designed and made properly. A finely tuned airgap allows for the highest electromagnetic efficiency, lowest power requirements, low heat generation, and faster response times. Low heat is especially important in most micro brake applications. One reason is because there is so much equipment in a compact space and each one can generate heat or be susceptible to heat. Also, there are often electronics nearby and overheating can wreak havoc on operation, especially in safety situations on medical equipment or on aerial vehicles.

The brake operates by preventing a shaft from rotating when no power is applied to the brake's coil. The braking torque is generated mechanically using coil springs along a contact radius. When power is applied, the brake coil generates an electromagnetic field which actuates a disc in the axial direction, which then allows the shaft to freely rotate. This means that loads can be held precisely when power is removed, improving the quality of the machinery and process. The friction material is not bonded to the friction disc as typically seen. It is bonded to the armature and cover plate. This results in very low inertia of the hub and friction disc, which is very desirable in high cycling and high-speed applications. The product is compact in terms of OD dimensions, often sized to match the motor's OD for a clean assembly shape. The required torque dictates the length needed for the brake. An extremely small OD and thin profile brake is offered for the lightest of torque requirements. Because these micro brakes and motors are normally mounted onto a high reduction gearbox, the torque of motor and brake is usually in the single digit mNm range.

Spring applied brake technology allows for lower power consumption as overexcitation releases the brake quickly, and pulse width modulation after the brake is released allows for 50% or more power savings. Reduced power then results in lower heat, extended overall component and system life. This ultimately allows improved warranties, reduced maintenance, and superior performance. They also offer distinct advantages in wide temperature range applications.

Lastly, they are easy to install since they are one piece construction. Most designs are customized to accommodate encoders or special mounting requirements, to affix special connectors, or for any other special application requests that can be imagined.

Benefits of Ogura micro brakes:

• Safety and precision motion control
• Smaller
• Lighter
• Consumes less power
• Generates less heat
• Ultra-fast response times

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