DISC BRAKE CALIPER
What is the function of a disc Brakes?
The function of disc brakes in a car is to control the vehicle’s speed so that it can run and stop according to the wishes of the driver. Disc brakes will make the driver safer in controlling the car.
Most cars used braking systems with drum brakes or drum brakes, but now many cars are designed with disc brakes. Disc brakes have been widely used in various types of cars, be it on the car’s front or rear.
Car manufacturers have deliberately changed the braking system to disc brakes because they are safer and can make the car stable, even when used at high speeds. The process of stopping a car is more optimal when using disc brakes than drum or drum brakes.
To stop the car, of course, you don’t need a long distance as a square, and by using disc brakes, all the legs of the car can stop quickly. In other words, disc brakes can shorten the braking distance. With disc brakes, the safety of the drivers will be safer in the car.
Using a car that has used disc brakes, you will be calm and more secure.
What is a Disk Brake Caliper?
Disk Brake Calipers play a vital role in your ability to slow or stop your car at speed. Each caliper works by applying pressure to the brake pads when you push down on your pedal. This forces the pads against the disc. This in turn creates the high level of resistance needed to slow your wheels down. Brake calipers tend to wear over time through general use. Low-quality calipers will wear must faster than normal. Symptoms of worn calipers include squealing sounds and jerking sensations when braking. While every type of brake caliper performs the same function, they are not all identical.
Brake calipers perform a mechanical movement to clamp the brake lining on the disc. Calipers are also often referred to as brake pads and piston brakes.
The brake calipers will work using hydraulic pressure generated from the change in brake fluid pressure that enters through the brake hose or cable. You need to know at least two types of brake calipers, namely floating and fixed calipers.
Floating Caliper is one of the brake calipers whose position is in the brake support caliper section. This type of caliper will later shift and move to the left or right. In floating calipers, the brake piston is only available for one side. When the piston moves, the car pushes the disc brake pads. The other side will clamp the brake lining next to it.
A fixed caliper is a caliper whose position is integrated with the brake support caliper and this keeps the caliper still and will work to suppress the brake pads, namely the brake piston only.
Main components of a Brake Caliper
A brake caliper is made up of multiple parts all crucial in effective operation of the brake system. These parts include the caliper and mounting bracket, slide pins, locking bolts, dust boots, brake mounting clips, brake pads and shims, the brake piston with dust boot and seal
Slide Pin
These pins are greased and allow for proper alignment of the caliper to the brake rotor and still allow for the movement needed under normal driving
Mounting Bracket
The mounting bracket cannot be removed from the car disc brake unit because the caliper bracket is used to attach the caliper, which will keep the caliper in place will not move.
Brake Piston
The piston brake is positioned inside the c aliper, shaped like a tube with a groove end. The piston brake functions to press or push the brake lining to the disc so that the wheel rotation can be lowered or stopped.
Piston Seal
The piston seal is one part of the piston made of brake fluid, so it has heat resistance properties. The piston seal functions to prevent brake fluid leakage that can flow when the brake lever is pressed. The piston seal can help pull the piston back and forth during the braking process.
Brake mounting clip
The clips are designed to push the pad away from the rotor. This can keep the brakes cooler, reduce noise and extend the life of the pad. The clips fit between the pads and rotor and push the pads away from the rotor.
Dust boot
The dust boot seal is formed from a flexible material and has a first end, which engages an outboard end of the cylinder. The dust boot seal is provided to prevent water, dirt, and other contaminants from entering into the recess between the cylinder and the piston.
Electric Parking Brake (EPB)
Electric Parking Brake (EPB) is a caliper with an additional motor (motor on the caliper) that operates the parking brake. The EPB system is electronically controlled and consists of the EPB switch, the EPB caliper, and the electronic control unit (ECU).
The electric parking brake or the EPB is an advanced version of a conventional parking brake or handbrake. Sometimes, people also refer to this system as ‘Electronic Parking Brake’. Technically this system is a sub-part of the ‘Brake by Wire’ system.
The main function of parking brakes is to avoid the motion of the vehicle when parked. In addition, these brakes also play an important role in avoiding the backward motion of the vehicle which resumes moving on a slope. Generally, parking brakes operate only on the rear wheels of a vehicle.
What is a Parking Brake Actuator?
The electric parking brake (EPB) system is designed as a type of electromechanical brake-by-wire system, in which the conventional manual parking system is replaced by an actuator to generate a clamping force to brake the vehicle. It is a “motor-on-caliper” system that integrates actuator in the caliper mounted on the rear wheel and operates the Caliper directly without
separate parking cable. Brake actuators are the devices that convert the compressed air force within the vehicle or the trailer air reservoir into a mechanical force, which activates the brake. “That air moves through the actuator, triggering a relay valve that converts the air pressure into physical braking force. The parking brake actuator also is called the electric parking brake motor.
How does the Electric Parking Brake Work?
The system is controlled by the electronic parking control unit. When the signal comes, the working electric motor rotates, this rotation movement is transmitted to a gear mechanism by a belt (timing belt pulley). This gear mechanism (gearbox) reduces the rotational speed and converts the rotational movement to thrust, pushing the brake piston to the pads and brakes to the discs.
When braking and the piston-pad rest on the disc, since the electric motor will draw a lot of current, this increase in current is measured, at this moment the current is cut off and the braking process is finished. If the electric parking brake is desired to be opened, the pin that pushes the piston forward is pulled back by making a reverse rotation and the brake is released.
Increase in Pedal Pressure Under normal conditions, your brake pedal should operate smoothly with no need for much force to depress the pedal. As the actuator begins to fail, you may notice that the pedal is harder to press and seems to require significantly more force to completely depress.
