Motors - To Brake or Not to Brake?

[BigBrand]

I can see the purpose of a brake on say a Z axis to stop it plunging into the work piece or bed from gravity.

There isnt a massive price difference between non brake and braked.

I wondered if there was an advantage (or disadvantage) of using a braked motor on the x and y also?

I assume same rules apply it could stop the gantry / carriage from carrying on and crashing into itself in a power loss.

Is there anything im missing? Or can they somehow be used during normal operation for say added accuracy?

[BigBrand]

Can i be used to maybe decelerate when changing direction thus increasing responsiveness?

[JAZZCNC]

The only reason to use a brake is to hold the position when the motor is De-powered. ie: Z axis. Other than that there is no value in using one on the other axis IMO because unless you are using an absolute servo system which knows the servo's location after de-powering or hitting E-stop or faults you will alway need to reference the axis to Zero (home)

The Mechanical brakes fitted to motors are not designed to brake the motor from speed and only used to hold the motor when at stand still, most servo's won't allow you to apply the brake if the rotor is still turning.

[BigBrand]

Thats simple enough thank you.