Mayr Antriebstechnik has developed a new, intelligent braking torque control module that can be used to generate a variable braking torque for spring-applied brakes. Nobody would think of applying the handbrake in a car at full speed. The driver uses the foot brake to decelerate the car in a targeted manner. Even with devices and machine applications with dynamic braking, controlled, even deceleration is often desirable. However, as spring-applied brakes, unlike car brakes, only have two operating states due to their design - namely 'braking torque available' and 'braking torque released' - each braking process is carried out with the maximum available braking torque. In the case of devices with varying loads - such as industrial trucks - the brake has so far been dimensioned in relation to the maximum load. However, it does not always make sense to work with the full braking torque. With partial loads, for example, greater deceleration can lead to damage to the transported goods or even to the wheels slipping. Against this background, the control module developed by Mayr Antriebstechnik enables the contact pressure on the brake linings and thus the braking torque to be infinitely varied during operation. In addition, in applications that require a constant braking torque within narrow tolerance limits, the braking torque control can be used to compensate for negative influences on the braking torque consistency. The technical details: The intelligent switching device, which is operated with 24 V or 48 V DC voltage, can control brakes with a rated coil current of 10 A or 5 A respectively. In addition, the resulting clamping force for the brake rotor can be set to 25 %, 50 % or 75 % of the nominal spring force using two digital inputs. Alternatively, a stepless analog preset signal from 0 to 10 V is possible. The switching device determines without sensors whether the armature disk has been tightened or dropped. This makes it possible to automatically adjust the overexcitation time as required. As the intelligent switching device detects the switching status of the brake, there is no need for the usual microswitches or proximity switches with associated cabling. The device also detects possible wear reserves and recognizes any impermissible heating.