Reducing 40% of copper content on existing formulations is at just one test ahead
The copper-free race set on 2021 its first goal. On that point, friction material sold in Washington and California will only allow 5% copper on its composition.
Although the seed of this challenge was planted on the mentioned states, this environmental concern has grown up until become into a prevailing assignment for all material engineers across the globe. This matter goes beyond a mere ecologic requirement, but also has become one of the main drivers on our industry, as brake systems & vehicle manufacturers are requiring low-copper and copper-free formulations as a mandatory requirement, in contradistinction to the trend of not so many years ago, when seeing those reddish shiny spots on the brake PAD was a mark-up to stand out from your competitors.
The functionality of copper lays down on its capacity to remove heat from the PAD interface due to its high thermal conductivity, while providing also a reinforcement and forming primary plateaus, increasing the fade resistance and reducing the wear.
Not a single solution has risen as a direct replacement, but many companies have some urgency to, at least, reduce the content of copper on their formulations, although at the same time, they cannot reduce the quality of their final products.
The immediate choice to consider is brass, as this is the alloy with lower cost and with the most similar properties, though with a reduced copper content. However recycled brass chips & swarfs available in the industry contains 1 -3 % of Pb, unlike copper, which is usually availabe in its pure form, without Pb on its composition.
Our well known ecoChip is a lead-free alloy that has proven effective to replace copper on any application reducing 40% of copper content while keeping the same performance on existing formulations. AKM test comparison on 5% and 10% vol straight replacement demonstrate that it’s never been so easy to remove a significant percentage of this non-ferrous element from your friction material to fit the legislation in force until 2025.
Unlike recycled chips, our manufacturing process guarantees an ultrahigh quality in terms of chemical stability and consistency of its properties. It is monitored during all the process and undergoes strict quality controls, ensuring a heavy metal-free with Pb content <0.005%. A large number of OE and AM companies has chosen ecoChip as their seamless ally to reduce %Cu on their existing formulations and we want to share our expertise with those willing to go one step further on this ecological need.
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