Brakes can be classified on the basis of their medium used to brake, they are as follows:

☛ > Hydraulic Brakes: These brakes as their name suggest use a fluid medium to push or repel the brake pads for braking.

☛ > Electric Brakes: These brakes use electrical energy to deplete or create a braking force.

☛ Both the above types of breaks are used primarily for applications where a large amount of energy is to be transformed.

☛ > Mechanical Brakes: They can be further classified on the basis of the direction of their acting force: Radial Brakes: As their names suggests the force that acts on the brakes is of radial direction. They can further be classified into internal and external blades. Axial Brakes: In these types of brakes the braking force is acting in an axial direction as compared to radial brakes.