Composite Brake Caliper Body for High-Pressure Rigidity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current disc brake caliper bodies made of aluminum or steel face challenges in achieving a balance between mechanical resistance, rigidity, and weight reduction, with existing solutions failing to adequately address the need for a component that is both strong, adaptable to complex shapes, and resistant to high pressures while minimizing deformation.
Innovation Solution
A caliper body design featuring a multilayer structure with an inner body portion made of a polymeric matrix with short reinforcing fibers for stress distribution and an outer body portion made of a polymeric matrix with long reinforcing fibers for enhanced mechanical properties, allowing for reduced weight, increased rigidity, and improved resistance to deformation under high pressures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If aluminum or steel is used for caliper body, then mechanical resistance and rigidity are sufficient, but weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies composite materials by combining a polymeric matrix with short and long reinforcing fibers. This composite structure provides both the mechanical resistance needed to withstand braking forces and the weight reduction benefits of polymer-based materials, resolving the contradiction between strength and weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses different fiber lengths in different regions of the caliper body. Short fibers are used in the inner body portion for general structural support, while long fibers are used in the outer body portion where higher mechanical resistance is needed. This local differentiation optimizes the strength-to-weight ratio in different functional zones.
2Stability of the object's composition
If aluminum or steel is used for caliper body, then rigidity is sufficient, but weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The composite material system with polymeric matrix and dual-length fiber reinforcement provides rigidity comparable to metal calipers while significantly reducing weight. The fiber-reinforced structure maintains dimensional stability and resistance to deformation under braking loads.
Solution Approach 2:
The outer body portion with long fibers is specifically designed to provide enhanced rigidity in regions subject to higher stresses, while the inner body portion with short fibers provides adequate structural support with lower weight, achieving overall rigidity without excessive weight.
3Ease of manufacture
If conventional single-material structure is used, then manufacturing is simple, but adaptability to complex shapes is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The caliper body is segmented into an inner body portion and an outer body portion, each with different fiber reinforcements. This segmentation allows each portion to be optimized for its specific functional requirements while maintaining manufacturability through a modular composite structure that can be produced using conventional molding techniques.
Solution Approach 2:
Different polymeric matrices with short and long fibers are used in different portions of the caliper body to achieve complex geometries and optimized mechanical properties in specific regions. This local material differentiation enables adaptation to complex shapes while maintaining ease of manufacture through established composite molding processes.
4Ease of manufacture
If conventional single-material structure is used, then manufacturing is simple, but resistance to high pressures and deformation is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The dual-fiber composite material system provides enhanced resistance to high pressures and deformation. The long fibers in the outer body portion create a reinforcement network that effectively resists hydraulic pressure and mechanical loads, while the polymeric matrix provides pressure distribution and structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The outer body portion with long fiber reinforcement is specifically designed to withstand high pressures and deformation forces, while the inner body portion with short fibers provides adequate structural support. This local differentiation of material properties enables the caliper to resist high pressures without requiring uniform high-strength materials throughout, maintaining manufacturing simplicity.
Data Source
AI summary
A caliper body of a brake caliper has supports for supporting thrust devices, brake pads or at least one attaching element, and feeding pipes for supplying the thrust devices, the supports and feeding pipes being made of a first material capable of withstanding high pressures, and at least one inner body portion made of a second material adapted to incorporate the supports and feeding pipes and obtain shapes having complex geometry for distributing stress received from the supports and feeding pipes. The at least one inner body portion forms a first vehicle side elongated element facing a first braking surface, and a second wheel side elongated element facing a second braking surface opposite to the first braking surface. The caliper body has at least one outer body portion made of a third material adapted to form a reinforcement with mechanical resistance.