Friction materials and their manufacture
AssigneeT&N plc
InventorsEuan Parker, Bruno Grele
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Non-asbestos brake pads made of reinforcing, temperature resistant, web-forming fibers such as aromatic polyamide pulp, optionally including other fibers and friction and wear modifiers is described. The brake pads have an actual density not greater than 88% and not less than a 60% theoretical density. The pads are made by the slurry process in which the pad-forming constituents are fed as a slurry into a mold, dewattered and compressed, dried to a preform then heated and pressed to consolidate the preform to substantially the finished density without completely curing the binder. The consolidated pad is then baked to fully cure the binder.
Claims16
A non-asbestos brake pad made from a composition comprising reinforcing fibers embedded in a matrix of binder material, wherein the reinforcing fiber comprises a temperature resistant web-forming fiber in an amount of from 22 percent to 40 percent by volume of total solids in the pad and the binder is present in an amount of 15 percent to 40 percent by volume of the total solids in the pad.
A method for the manufacture of a non-asbestos brake pad which comprises the steps of:
- A. feeding into a mold an aqueous slurry of curable binder material and temperature resistant web-forming reinforcing fibers, said mold having at least one wall through which water may be removed, wherein said aqueous slurry comprises said curable binder material in the range of about 15 to about 40 percent by volume of total solids in the pad and said web-forming reinforcing fibers in an amount of from 22 percent to 40 percent by volume of total solids in the pad,
- B. compressing the slurry in the mold and removing the water therefrom in order to form a damp preform of the brake pad,
- C. drying the preform,
- D. subjecting the dry preform to heat and pressure in a die to consolidate the preform to substantially the finished density of the brake pad without completing cure of the binder, and
- E. baking the consolidated pad to fully cure the binder.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.