You might have replaced the brake pads in your car multiple times. But have you ever wondered how they are made? With zero moving parts, the brake pad is still one of the most challenging components to engineer and manufacture on a vehicle.

Being able to stop quickly is much more important than acceleration, making brake pads a critical component of your vehicle. Watch the complete process of making your car’s most important safety feature: Brake Pads.

Given below are the process involved in making GoMechanic SafeTec brake pads.

1. Mixing Of Friction Materials

At this station, different friction materials are measured out and mixed. The operator will measure precise amounts of the components onto a scale. Precisely measured ingredients are put into a mixture to ensure the blend is homogenous. 

2. Preparing The Backing Plate

One of the most vital things in manufacturing brake pads is stamping the backing plate. Large steel coils are used, and 50% of the steel coil ends up as scrap, which is recycled. The steel is also oiled to prevent corrosion. An adhesive is applied on the backing plate for better bonding of friction material. 

3. Moulding & Curing

The friction material mixture is put into “pre-moulds”. These “pucks” will be pressed and moulded onto the backing plates. The backing plate is placed on a mould with friction material on top. 

The brake pads will be placed in an oven to cure. The heat will activate and solidify resins, binders and other ingredients. This means consistent performance over the lifetime of the pad.

4. Chamfering & Slotting

Automated machines will cut chamfers and slots into the pads. Also, the pad will be ground to the correct height. Here is the before and after of the grinding process.

The final product is also powder coated to make it rust and corrosion-resistant.

5. Testing & Packaging

A brake dynamometer can test brake systems in a controlled environment that mirrors the real world. Brake dynamometers can run 24 hours a day and can measure the performance of a braking system over its entire lifetime.

In the end, rubber shims and brake wear indicator is added to the brake pad. With the brake pads tested and shipped, the finished product is ready to make its way into your shop and onto the vehicles, you repair.

The braking system handles mishaps when something darts in front of your car. The brake may pad a simple consumable, but there is more to it.