Monolithic Brake Rotor With 3D Cooling Passages
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional brake rotors face limitations in heat dissipation due to manufacturing constraints, leading to issues like warpage, thermal cracks, and reduced reliability, as they require multiple parts and lengthy manufacturing times, limiting the size, geometry, and effectiveness of ventilation passages.
Innovation Solution
An additively manufactured brake rotor with internal cooling passages and vanes, formed as a single monolithic component using techniques like 3D printing, allowing for complex geometries and improved airflow, reducing the need for multiple parts and enhancing cooling efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If ventilation passages are formed by drilling or machining holes in a solid disc, then cooling function is provided, but manufacturing time increases and manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the manufacturing method from conventional drilling/machining to additive manufacturing, fundamentally altering how ventilation passages are created. This enables complex 3D cooling channels to be formed directly during the building process, reducing manufacturing steps and time while improving heat dissipation efficiency through optimized passage geometry
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from 2D surface cooling features to 3D internal cooling channels by utilizing additive manufacturing capabilities. The ventilation passages are created as three-dimensional structures within the brake rotor body, allowing for more effective heat dissipation paths and reducing the number of manufacturing operations required
2Temperature
If multiple parts are assembled to form the brake rotor with ventilation passages, then cooling function is achieved, but reliability decreases and manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges the brake rotor body and ventilation passages into a single monolithic component manufactured through additive manufacturing. This eliminates the need to assemble multiple parts, thereby improving reliability by removing potential failure points at joints and interfaces while maintaining effective heat dissipation through integrated cooling channels
Solution Approach 2:
The additive manufacturing process enables the brake rotor to simultaneously serve multiple functions: structural support, heat dissipation through internal channels, and aesthetic design. The single component performs both load-bearing and cooling functions, reducing assembly complexity and improving reliability
3Temperature
If conventional manufacturing processes are used for ventilation passages, then basic cooling is provided, but the size and geometry of passages are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the manufacturing approach to additive manufacturing, which fundamentally alters the achievable geometry parameters of ventilation passages. This enables complex 3D structures, varying cross-sections, and optimized cooling channel paths that cannot be achieved with conventional drilling or machining processes, thereby improving cooling efficiency while increasing geometric flexibility
Solution Approach 2:
The invention utilizes the third dimension to create complex internal cooling channels within the brake rotor. Additive manufacturing allows ventilation passages to extend in multiple directions and incorporate varying cross-sections, enabling more effective heat dissipation geometries that are not constrained by the limitations of conventional 2D drilling or machining operations
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The additive manufacturing process enables the creation of brake rotors with optimized cooling features, reducing the risk of overheating, improving reliability, and lowering manufacturing costs by forming a single, integral component with enhanced cooling performance.
Implementation Method 1
An additively manufactured brake rotor includes a first disc and a second disc, each defining a braking plate
Implementation Method 2
An internal structure is positioned within the airgap and extends between the first braking plate and the second braking plate to define a plurality of internal passages
Data Source
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AI summary
A brake rotor (102) and a method of manufacturing the same are provided. The brake rotor (102) includes a first disc (120) and a second disc (122), each defining a braking plate (130, 134) and an inlet lip (132, 136) and being spaced apart to define an airgap (124). An internal structure (160) is positioned within the airgap (124) and extends between the first braking plate (130) and the second braking plate (134) to define a plurality of internal passages (162) and a plurality of vanes are positioned within the airgap (124) and extend between the outer inlet lip (132) and the inner inlet lip (136).