How Are Brake Pads Manufactured

If you are a private buyer, maybe you only want to know how to change the brake pad.
However, as the importer\ distributor\company purchaser of brake pads, they are more concerned about how are brake pads manufactured, and what the important process of the brake pads are making.
And the main production facility and testing formulas. They are the most important of choices.

The following article will help you to get more information and better understand the entire manufacturing process of the brake pads

1. Mixing Of Brake pad Friction Materials

The different friction materials are measured and then will be mixed.

Before, the operator measures the exact number of components on the scale, the precisely measured components were placed into the mixture to ensure a uniform mixture.

Over time, to better make the mixture even, new automated equipment is used.

The allocation can be automatically weighed, then will complete the work.

The friction materials are importantly for brake pads.

There are formulas system in different brake pad factories, so they have different formula advantages.

The friction material will also determine the quality of the product.

According to the formula classification, we have 5 main formula systems currently: semi-metallic low-metallic ceramic NAO, and carbon ceramic. (Click here, it can help you to understand the advantage and disadvantages of every formula).

2. Preparing The Backing Plate

The backing plate is one of the main elements of the brake pads. One pcs brake pad has one back plate.

The brake material is fixed with high temperature and high pressure on the calipers, then the calipers are pushed out or squeezed onto the dual parts, it is a complete brake work process.

The back plate is usually made of steel of a certain thickness, height must be as OE standard.

The type of steel we use will affect its bending strength and its ability to resist corrosion and delamination.

The lower-cost back plate is made of black steel that may contain some impurities.

But the high-quality backplane uses pickling and coating steel, because it is cleaner and corrosion resistant, and has better strength.

Steel back stamping process requirements are particularly strict. If the steel back does not as the OE standard requirements, too large will cause the brake pads can not be installed, or too tight causes resulting in friction and expansion of the brake pad.

Too small will cause the brake pads to swing back and forth in the calipers and noise shaking.

sandblasting of the back plate

Painting adhesive layer

There are several brake pad classifications: Hole back plate, Screen back plate, Cast iron back plate, and NRS back plate.

Which kind of steel back plate we use generally depends on the OE state.

To get a clean and not greasy and rusty back plate, the back plate must be shot up before use. The steel back plate is coated with an adhesive, to better bond to the friction material.

3.Brake Pad Hot Press Process

It is the process of the friction of material and the steel back into the brake pads

We put the mixture of friction materials into the prefabricated mold (each model was developed according to the OE standard)

Then put the steel back plate. Attach the backplane to the friction material by heating pressure.

4.Brake Pad Heat Treatment

The heat treatment is to put the formed brake pads into the oven at a constant temperature of 180°through 6 hours of welding.

Heat is used to activate and cure the resin, adhesive, and other components to react fully and to expel any retained gas.

After heat treatment, the formed friction material can achieve the most ideal braking performance.

This is a critical process.

5.Grinding,Slotting and Chamfering on the brake pad

We can grinder to chamfer the two ends of the friction block, cut the groove in the middle by OEM design standards, and Grind the friction block to an appropriate height suitable for the application.

All processes can improve the performance and appearance of the brake pad. And better heat dissipation, exclusion of friction dust, and reduce noise.

6. Scorching

The internal organization of the brake pads is optimized during high-temperature ablation, the anti-thermal attenuation performance is greatly improved.

At the same time, this process makes the surface of the friction material 1-2mm close to carbonization (effectively shortening the run-in period with pairs), creates small cracks and pores (not affecting driving safety), can effectively discharge the harmful gases and impurities inside the material.

secondary ablation is not easy to gelatinization and adhesion, improve the thermal resistance and attenuation performance of the brake pads overall, and ensure that the car in the emergency brake, brake, brake, and other different temperature and strength of the braking environment maintains a stable braking performance, effectively shorten the braking distance and run-in period, ensure driving safety with good braking force.

7. Powder Coating

The automatic plastic injection production line, according to the requirements of the customer sprays different colors, generally mainly black color.

Spraying can better prevent rust and corrosion resistance, to ensure the normal use of brake pads.

8.Disc brake pad / brake pad shim Marking and Installing

According to the different requirements of each customer, Print the customer’s logo on the shock absorption shim, product number, E-mark number, and production batch number (for product identification and quality traceability).

According to the design requirements, the shock absorber is divided into a buckle type, adhesive type, bonding type, and riveting type, installed to the brake pad according to the unused process state.

Installing the vibration frequency when the brake works, effectively avoid the same frequency resonance and reduce the noise and vibration in the process of brake friction.