What Materials Are Used in Automotive Brake Pads?
1 Answers
Automotive brake pads can be primarily categorized into the following types based on their materials: 1. Asbestos Brake Pads. Originally used in brake pads to enhance strength, they were widely adopted due to their low cost and moderate high-temperature resistance. However, asbestos has been medically confirmed as a carcinogenic material and is now banned. 2. Semi-Metallic Brake Pads. These primarily use metallic materials to increase the strength of the brake pads while offering better temperature control and heat dissipation compared to traditional materials. Due to their high metal content, they can cause surface wear between the brake disc and drum under excessive braking pressure, especially in cold environments, leading to noise. 3. Low-Metallic Brake Pads. Similar to semi-metallic brake pads, they contain fine fibers and particles but with lower metal content. This reduces wear on the brake drum and minimizes noise, though their lifespan is shorter than semi-metallic pads. 4. Ceramic Brake Pads. These utilize lightweight, high-temperature-resistant, and wear-resistant ceramic materials, offering advantages such as no noise, minimal dust, no corrosion on wheel hubs, extended lifespan, and environmental friendliness. 5. NAO (Non-Asbestos Organic) Brake Pads. Developed as a substitute for asbestos, they offer benefits like minimal dust pollution, reduced wear, low noise, and significantly longer lifespan. While they outperform asbestos pads in performance, especially in being pollution-free, they come at a higher cost.
