DYNO mite DynamometerAir-Cooled Eddy Brakes

Land & Sea’s Air-Cooled Eddy-Current Absorber (brake) and Electronic Control kits offer an affordable way to build your own state-of-the-art, industrial-duty engine or chassis dynamometer. They are also ideal for restoring obsolete (or upgrading inertia-only) dynamometers. 

“Do you have a custom dynamometer application? We manufacture many eddy-current units in-house – so give us a call!”

DYNOmite Air-Cooled Eddy-Current Absorbers offer very quick load control, moderate inertia, and high specific load capacity, especially in the lower RPM working ranges of most industrial-type engines. For applications that do not require stall-speed loading, an air-cooled eddy-current absorber is usually the most cost-effective electric absorber you can buy. Its self-cooled rotors require no external water supply or resistor banks. It also costs less than our planetary-driven water brakes and allows far more design flexibility than hydraulic pumps. For those applications that demand higher RPM limits, lower system inertia, and/or temperature independence, we offer (slightly more expensive) liquid-cooled eddy-current absorbers. See Specifications or Models and Prices pages.

120-volt and 240-volt (input) power supply/controls are available to provide 96- or 192-volt DC PWM (pulse width modulated) output – which is suitable for many DYNOmite or third-party absorber models. Loading when using these controls is adjustable – both manually (using either its panel knob or the built-in 0-10 volt analog control input) or automatically via the (non-analog) PID-controlled leads from the DYNOmite data-acquisition computer. Panel circuit breakers are matched to the customer’s application, protecting the absorber’s windings.

MAX – How Eddy-Current Absorbers Work - Animated look at how eddy-current absorbers create load (MAX narrated).

Special battery-powered (12-volt DC) eddy-current absorbers are available for your in-field service/testing applications. Everything, including the absorber, load control, and DYNOmite data-acquisition computer, can be run off of a large truck battery. Combine this with your laptop computer, running DYNO-MAX™ software, to run a laboratory-like dynamometer test session… almost anywhere on the planet. Generator-based systems are also available, for performing longer duration testing than batteries may allow.

Perfect for torque reaction cradles where the higher inertia of an electronic absorber (compared to that of a water brake) is not an issue. Our “Micro” and “Mini” DYNOmite Eddy-Current Absorbers are equipped with an eccentric-cam mounting body that helps to easily adapt them to changes in the drive-gear, pulley, or sprocket-center distances. Watch Micro-Eddy video!

Shaft, Flange, or NEMA Frame mounting choices are offered in various models. The keyed-shaft units are most commonly supported between a pair of pillow-block bearings. This allows reading the reaction torque via a load cell that has been linked to the absorber’s trunnioned frame. Alternatively, optional flat-flange models couple to matching bolt-pattern driveshaft U-joint assemblies. Larger absorbers have a set of mounting holes in their housings for fixing them to the dynamometer’s stand or to a reaction-cradle.

MAX – Mounting the Absorber - Animated look at the pros and cons of various absorber-mounting options (MAX narrated).

Need parts for an old eddy-current dyno? As a manufacturer of eddy-current dyno absorbers, we can often repair otherwise obsolete units. Land & Sea does everything, from modernizing power supplies and controls to custom winding replacement coils for “Brand-X” dynamometers. Call for a quote, or help, in repairing your existing dyno’s hardware, or replacing a Frenelsa, Klam, Kloft, Telma retarder.

Custom hybrid configurations can be designed using a combination of both a fast electronic absorber, typically an AC motor for great low-end torque control, together with a large eddy-current absorber. The latter inexpensively adds testing power and torque capacity. Control of the pair is handled via DYNO-MAX “Pro.” While this complexity is only justified for some unique applications, such hybrids make it possible to cost-effectively build high- torque and faster-response dynamometers – than is practical using any other single-unit technology. An AC absorber can also add motoring ability. Please call for more information.

High-speed spindle bearings and the absorber’s grease seals provide extra long life for extended industrial or OEM endurance-testing applications. Our larger eddy-current absorbers feature Zerk grease fittings for easier maintenance. Most of these units’ replacement bearings and their grease seals are available locally, and are engineered for convenient in-field replacement – with conventional tools. These features are combined into a well-proven design – and one which strives to minimize both the cost and quantity of any, proprietary, moving wear parts. The end result is that costly testing-equipment maintenance and downtime becomes a non-issue.

Call for immediate assistance in developing your own unique eddy-current absorber testing solution - or e-mail tech@land-and-sea.com for a prompt response. We have years of wide-ranging experience building one-off testing solutions or retrofitting older hardware with modern load control.

*Actual air-cooled eddy current capacities are RPM and absorber temperature dependent. Initial cold rotor torque (foot-pounds) and power (Hp) curves are for room-temperature rotors. Warm curves are after running about 1+ minutes, at full load, in a room temperature environment. Hot (near continuous) curves assume appropriate forced ventilation to rotors.

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