As industrial automation advances toward high speed and high precision, servo systems, serving as the core execution units of intelligent manufacturing, directly determine the efficiency and precision of production lines through their performance and reliability. Within servo systems, brakes act as critical components for ensuring safety and achieving precise positioning. Their importance is steadily increasing alongside the intelligent upgrades in general industrial fields such as CNC machine tools, textile machinery, packaging equipment, and semiconductor equipment.
According to the latest estimates from MIR DATABANK, the top manufacturers in the 2025 Chinese servo motor brake market by sales volume (measured by matched quantity) are: CDC (Chengdu CDC), REACH (Reach Intelligent Drive), SHINKO (Shinko), STEKI (Steki), MIKI PULLEY (Miki Pulley), Altra (Altra), KENDRION (Kendrion), Ogura Clutch (Ogura Clutch), and Mayr (Mayr).
Data Source: MIR DATABANK
01Continuous Release of Industrial Automation Demand Makes Servo Brakes the Safety Core of General Equipment
In recent years, the pace of transformation and upgrading in China's manufacturing sector has accelerated. General industrial fields such as CNC machine tools, textile machinery, packaging equipment, semiconductor equipment, elevators, and logistics equipment have entered a peak period of intelligent upgrading. These equipment impose higher requirements on the precision, response speed, and safety reliability of servo systems, directly driving the demand for high-performance servo brakes.
As the core component for servo motors to achieve position control and safety braking, the demand for electromagnetic brakes has surged alongside the growth in servo system shipments. According to the latest statistics from MIR DATABANK, the overall market size of servo motor brakes in China reached 6.8 million sets in 2025.
In general industrial scenarios such as CNC machine tools, textile machinery, and packaging equipment, servo brakes primarily undertake the following key tasks:
1. Power-off safety protection: When the equipment suddenly loses power or undergoes an emergency stop, the brake must respond within milliseconds to lock the moving parts, preventing machine collisions, tool breakage, or casualties. This is a rigid demand in industrial safety regulations.
2. Vertical axis anti-fall: In vertical motion mechanisms such as lifting platforms, stacker cranes, and elevator door operators, the brake is the last line of defense against load falling under gravity, requiring extremely high reliability and static friction torque.
3. High-precision positioning retention: In CNC machine tool machining or precision positioning scenarios, external loads may cause position deviation after the motor is powered off. The brake is responsible for maintaining positioning accuracy in the stopped state, ensuring machining consistency.
4. Rapid braking and emergency stop response: In high-speed textile machinery and packaging production lines, when an emergency stop is required, the brake must be able to achieve rapid braking to avoid material accumulation or equipment damage.
5. Energy efficiency and miniaturization adaptation: As servo motors evolve toward miniaturization and high power density, brakes are also iterating toward "small volume, high torque, and low power consumption". Permanent magnet brakes and new friction lining technologies are becoming hotspots for industry innovation.
Facing stringent application requirements, servo brakes are rapidly iterating toward zero backlash, low noise, long lifespan, and intelligent monitoring, to meet the dual expectations of general industrial equipment for high reliability and low maintenance costs.
Market Competition Landscape
02Rise of Domestic Leaders, Japanese and European Brands Face Challenges
The Chinese servo brake market has formed a competitive landscape dominated by leading domestic manufacturers, with imported brands occupying the high-end market.
2025 China Servo Brake Market Competition Landscape (Unit: Sets)
2.1 CDC (Chengdu CDC): Catching Up and Taking the Top Spot (Ranked by Market Volume of Servo Brake Sets)
Chengdu CDC Technology Co., Ltd., founded in 2020 and headquartered in Chengdu, is a national high-tech enterprise integrating professional design, development, production, and sales. It focuses on products such as electromagnetic brakes and permanent magnet brakes, with a brake production capacity of 7 million sets per year. The company is a national-level "Little Giant" enterprise specializing in new and unique fields, a seed unicorn enterprise in Sichuan Province, one of the top 100 new economy enterprises in Sichuan Province, and a gazelle enterprise in Sichuan Province. It possesses independent import and export operation rights and has successively passed the ISO9001 quality management system certification, IATF16949 automotive quality management system certification, and intellectual property management system certification. Demand for electromagnetic brakes has surged along with rising shipments of servo systems, and are sold to numerous countries and regions worldwide, including Germany, France, Italy, Austria, Spain, Brazil, and South Korea.
As a representative rapidly rising in the servo braking field in recent years, relying on core electromagnetic braking technology and self-developed high-performance friction materials, the company has achieved rapid iterative accumulation. It has currently formed over 30 series and more than 6,000 specifications, with over 2,000 cooperative customers. Positioned in the mid-to-high-end market to achieve domestic substitution, its products are widely used in high-end CNC machine tools, robots, automation equipment, wind power, aerospace, and new energy industries. The CDC brand has become the preferred choice for domestic and international customers seeking to replace foreign brands.
2.2 REACH (Reach Intelligent Drive): A Veteran Force with Steady Growth
Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Chengdu, REACH is a high-tech enterprise dedicated to the R&D, production, and sales of key components for transmission and braking systems in automation equipment. Its main products cover harmonic reducers, electromagnetic brakes, permanent magnet brakes, shrink discs, flexible couplings, synchronous pulleys, etc.
REACH focuses on the R&D of core products such as electromagnetic brakes. Its products feature high torque, high-temperature resistance, low noise, and strong vibration resistance, meeting the high requirements for brake performance in high-speed and high-precision industrial equipment. They are widely used in industrial robots, automation equipment, wind power, CNC machine tools, construction machinery, and other fields. Relying on precise grasp of market demand and profound technical accumulation, REACH can provide customized, high-quality core component solutions for customers in different industries, serving mid-to-high-end customers in multiple industries for a long time and winning market trust.
2.3
KENDRION: Leader in European Permanent Magnet Braking Technology
KENDRION is a European brake manufacturer holding an important position in the global servo brake market. It has production bases in Europe, the United States, India, and China, achieving a global layout.
As an enterprise possessing two core technologies—permanent magnet brakes and spring-applied brakes—KENDRION can provide industrial customers with complete solutions ranging from standard products to over 2,000 customer-customized brakes. Its permanent magnet brakes are among the highest power density products on the market, capable of achieving extremely high torque within a minimal installation space. They also feature excellent characteristics such as zero residual torque, zero wear, and zero backlash, ensuring high precision and dynamic response of servo systems.
2.4
MIKI PULLEY: Representative of Japanese Technology and Expert in Ultra-thin Safety Brakes
MIKI PULLEY's servo brake business is an important part of its transmission and control product field, focusing on providing advanced braking solutions for scenarios with high precision and high reliability requirements, such as industrial automation and machine tools.
In the field of servo brakes, MIKI PULLEY is renowned for its ultra-thin safety brake series, with products featuring compact design, high reliability, and low noise as core characteristics. Among them, the BXW series non-excited brakes are suitable for scenarios such as the X/Y/Z axes of machine tools driven by servo motors. Features include rapid response, high holding torque, silent operation, and long lifespan. Some models support manual release levers for convenient manual operation in emergencies.
03Conclusion
Although small in size, servo brakes are the "invisible guardians" concerning the safety and precision of automation equipment. From the market landscape in 2025, domestic suppliers have occupied a dominant market position. They have not only achieved quantitative superiority but also made continuous technological breakthroughs, gradually penetrating the high-end market previously monopolized by European, American, and Japanese brands.
In recent years, the rise of cutting-edge manufacturing industries such as semiconductor equipment will impose higher requirements on the response speed, lifespan, and integration level of servo brakes. This is both a challenge and a historic opportunity for Chinese brake enterprises to transition from "supporting and following" to "technological leadership." Only enterprises that master core electromagnetic design, precision machining, and material processes can truly safeguard the safety and precision of China's intelligent manufacturing in future global competition.