How are brake pads produced?

Today, the manufacture of friction material such as brake pads is a fairly standardized process. The process variables are defined by each manufacturer according to the type of materials used, i.e., the composition defined.

With an annual production of more than 25 million sets, REMSA offers its customers not only the know-how of one of the world’s leading manufacturers of friction materials, but also the most comprehensive product range in the braking industry. This extensive range of products covers European, American, Japanese, Korean and Australian applications with more than 2,000 references with different levels of finishing.

Let’s take a look at the manufacturing process of brake pads.

Fundamental steps in the manufacture of brake pads

A: The mixing process

It consists of mixing all the components homogeneously, and therefore it is one of the key steps in the manufacturing process.

To achieve this optimum homogenization of the mixture, the mixer has a central shaft that rotates the components in the shape of 8s and two blender blades on another shaft that homogenize the mixture.

During this process, one of the critical factors is the time that the different materials spend in the mixer, since this period must be specified depending on the type of fibres to be blended. It is important to remember that each fibre has an opening time, i.e. a period when its length is at its maximum. After this time, the fibres are shortened and do not perform the mixing function properly.

B: Hot pressing

The function of hot pressing is to bind the different components. On the one hand, the pressure applied leads to a reduction in volume, but at the same time the temperature melts the resins so that they flow throughout the material, binding the different elements together.

In this process, pressing cycles are carried out, i.e. the press acts on the pads for a certain period of time and then allows the gases to escape. It is at this stage that the supports stick to the friction material.

There are two main reasons for this:

1. The support plate is impregnated with a resin that achieves the adhesion of the material.
2. There are through holes in the brackets, the function of which is to receive the flowing friction material to achieve complete fixation of the friction material to the support plate.

Typical pressing time varies from 5 to 7 minutes depending on the formula used to allow the resins to cure in the press.

C: Curing

The curing process takes place in ovens whose main task is the complete polymerisation of the resins, thus achieving a perfect compaction of the material, to which must be added the loss of any remaining volatile content.

This process is also carried out according to the time and temperature reached in the different stages. This means that the pads are affected by a cycle of different temperatures, in which they pass through during a given period.

D: Scorching

In this final phase, the friction material is subjected to temperatures of 650ºC or higher by means of a hot plate. In this last scorching process, a large part of the remaining organic material is removed, and the brake pad acquires its definitive characteristics.

This is an expensive and delicate process, so very few manufacturers incorporate it into their manufacturing processes.

At REMSA we carry out the HPT (High Pressure Treatment) which consists of subjecting the surface of the pad to a heat exchange (650º C) and a pressure of 1 MT.

What does this accomplish?

1. It allows a better adaptation of the surface of the pad to the surface of the disc.
2. It provides safety due to product performance in situations of high braking demand.

E: Machining operations

At this stage, the pads are ground to achieve the required thickness of friction material, and it is also the time to make troughs, grooves or chamfers.

F: Installation of accessories

The time comes when all the complementary elements such as springs, warning devices… are added to the pads.

G: Marking and packaging

The only thing left to do now is to mark and package the brake pads for distribution to the different customers.

The HPT system (High Pressure Treatment) allows a better adaptation of the surface of the pad to the surface of the disc and provides safety due to product performance in situations of high braking demand.

Lastly, we remind you that REMSA’s R&D department is constantly testing new prototypes of friction materials as well as testing the uniformity of their quality in production. Road tests and dyno testing of the full AK-Master range are used to assess the quality of our brake pads, which are designed to deliver the best performance and outperform OE results on some of Europe’s most popular vehicles.

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