A method of making a brake caliper housing includes providing a first die and a second die that cooperate to define a cavity when disposed against each other along a mating plane. The method further includes introducing molten material into the cavity to cast the brake caliper housing. One or more surfaces of the brake caliper housing may be machined.

A disc brake caliper has a caliper body and a pair of pads and, in each side portion of the caliper body, a distal piston and a proximal piston, having radially distanced and aligned pressure centers.

A brake rotor comprising a brake pad wear surface; a hat surface; and a decorative insert comprising an insert material, the decorative insert disposed on the brake pad wear surface, the hat surface, or both; wherein at least one of a friction coefficient between the decorative insert and a brake pad is substantially the same as a friction coefficient between the brake pad wear surface and the brake pad, a wear rate of the decorative insert is substantially the same as or greater than a wear rate of the brake pad wear surface, or a wear rate of the decorative insert is substantially the same as or greater than a wear rate of the hat surface; and at least a portion of the decorative insert is visible on the brake pad wear surface, the hat surface, or both.

A long-strand carbon composite brake housing for use on aircraft is formed from a thermoplastic material carrying long-strand carbon fibers, with the composition, concentration, and orientation of the fibers being such as to optimize the strength of the resultant carrier plate, and particularly in regions subject to high stress and the like. A hydroforming technique accommodates the appropriate positioning of the thermoplastic carbon composition in the desired regions of varying concentrations, compositions, and orientations to achieve a carrier plate for aircraft brake assemblies that is lightweight while being reliable and durable in use.

Disclosed is a plastic composite including a magnetic alloy material in an amount of about 20% by volume or greater on the basis of the total volume of the plastic composite. Accordingly, weight of the clutch may be reduced by about 0.4 kg and weight of the pulley can be reduced by about 0.4 kg with the result that overall weight may be reduced by about 0.8 kg.

A brake carrier is provided for a disc brake having at least one brake pad, wherein the brake carrier includes: a wrap-around disc holder that wraps around a section of a brake disc of the disc brake in a frame-like manner; at least one brake pad slot in which the brake carrier guides the at least one brake pad, wherein the at least one pad slot is formed by carrier lugs, support surfaces and bridge struts on the wrap-around disc holder. The brake carrier is produced as a single piece using a shaping method and has a mold partition burr. The mold partition burr is arranged outside of the wrap-around disc holder.

A friction damping cast component and method of production are disclosed. The components may be rotary, such as a cast brake rotor, or may be non-rotary, such as a cast suspension part or a cast engine block. Regardless of the type of component, a two-part vibration-damping insert having a thin metal core and a thin metal sheath is provided. The sheath fully encompasses the core in such a way that a dry sliding friction contact develops at their interfaces. The outer surface of the sheath with the metal core inside is rigidly bonded to the cast material that surrounds it during the casting process. The sheath surfaces may have a number of openings that allow a limited infiltration of molten cast iron material just inside the immediate vicinity of the sheath openings for spot rigid bonding between the surrounding cast material and the insert surfaces during casting.

Provided are a brake disc and a brake disc manufacturing method. The brake disc manufacturing method may include a porous metal block preparation operation for preparing a porous metal block having a plurality of pores therein, and an insert casting operation for mounting the porous metal block in a mold and casting a disc plate material to manufacture a brake disc.

A method for making a braking band (2) for a brake disc (1) for a disc brake, comprising the following steps: a) preparing a mold (10) having an inner cavity (11), which comprises a first portion (11a) of a shape corresponding to the braking band (2) to be made; b) preparing a band preform (20) comprising a central preform (200), an upper outer preform (201) and a lower outer preform (202), said central preform (200) being made of porous ceramic material comprising silicon carbide (SiC), said upper outer preform (201) and lower outer preform (202) being made of porous ceramic material comprising silicon carbide (SiC) and infiltrated with silicon (SiC+Si), wherein a carbon barrier layer (201a, 200a, 200b, 202a) made of carbon is interposed between the upper outer preform (201) and the central preform (200) and between the lower outer preform (202) and the central preform (200), said preforms (200, 201, 202) having the shape of the braking band (2) to be made; c) placing said band preform (20) inside the mold at the first portion (11a) of said inner cavity (11); and d) injecting a liquid or semi-solid aluminum alloy inside the entire inner cavity (11) of the mold (11) to infiltrate the central preform (200) of said band preform (20) made of porous ceramic material with said aluminum alloy, obtaining at the first portion (11a) an aluminum metal matrix composite reinforced by said central preform (200) which defines the braking band (2) to be made. A braking band and a brake disc are made with at least the aforesaid method.

A disc brake rotor has a support hub and coaxial braking band. The support hub has a plurality of radial seats and the braking band has a plurality of connecting elements which transfer torque between the band and the hub. The connecting elements are integral and made as one piece with the braking band and extend from the braking band in order to engage the corresponding radial seats. The connecting elements are surrounded by walls which are integral and made as one piece with the support hub such as to be fastened in the axial direction and in the tangential direction, but capable of sliding in the radial direction.