Not an economically viable choice. VFD is 1/10 the cost of labor to repair the brake.
Engaging a Chinook to haul-home a damaged Huey-bird didn't take a great deal of
labour, EITHER.
You have saner options?
Not as if it was the massive brakes on a Caterpiggle D9G 'dozer, now, is it?
I've got a 6 hoss "Four Quadrant" DC Drive on a 3 hoss 10EE that is happy with overrides to stop the bugger right quick - or shake a can of paint.
Even so.. the Cazeneuve's all-mechanical brake is handier, all-around.
No more complicated than a foot-bar, linkage to pull the free end of a length of re-purposed Vee belt cutoff - t'other end clamped down, into a tight wrap - or NOT - around about a quarter of the circumference of a pulley.
Flat belt cut-off can work exactly the same way as Vee. It ain't no 747 on a short runway.
Toe on that bar, your spindle is near-as-dammit "locked" for twisty-tasking, such as changing threaded goods or simply preventing movement on D1-3 keying, chuck key torque-ing, winding-up nose-cranker 5C collet goods, actioning RubberFlex impact hammer rimwheel, or Sjogren geared-wheel collet closers.
Need varying degrees of braking aggressiveness or quick re-positioning to the next keyhole? Just move the toes according, same as driving of parking a motorcar.
Even works exactly the same with an E-Stop tripped... or no power applied to begin with.
Try any of THAT with a Vee Eff Dee?
If you want a VFD, put a VFD on it.
Your shop, your rules, your budget. No excuses needed. They CAN add some neat and handy features for relatively small money.
But you'll not "justify" a VFD on the basis of braking.
Ever.
That is one thing they do NOT do as well as "all of the above" as to other options.
No foul.
It is simply in the basic nature of the way they get their input power served-up vs a direct on-the-grid INHERENTLY bothway-power-flow "4Q" DC Drive.
Fully regenerative DC drive can utilize half of North America as the ultimate "braking resistor" pack, free of charge.
Also already taking up money and space OUTSIDE my shop's walls.
Even so? I
prefer those mechanical brakes. Clutches, too, when and where I have the option.
"Control freak", does that make me, then?
ME?
Whom,
ever, wudda thunk it!