International Dealer News IDN 139 October/November 2017 | Page 24

Road TRip
BRAKE PAD PRODUCTION
• Galfer mix from a wide range of chemical components and fibres, resins, graphite, ceramics
and other metallic compounds – more than 10 metals for their sintered pads and up to 20
components for their semi-metallic formulations.
• The powder mixes are compacted into model-specific moulds under pressure in cool
conditions; sintered formulations require more pressure than semi-metallic, and the factory
has presses that can apply up to 200 tonnes of pressure.
• For the semi-metallic pads, proprietary adhesives are applied to the perforated backing
plates and bonded using researched combinations of pressure, heat and time, depending on
the compound. For sintered pads, the backing plates have a layer of copper to help fuse the
plate and the pad together under extreme temperatures. The process uses nitrogen and
hydrogen to avoid oxidation.
• The formulations determine the two different colour paints used to
further prevent oxidation.
• The final stage is to grind the pad to its correct thickness, making the surface and depth of
the pad perfectly even. The final surface ensures the correct contact between the pad and the
disc and gives increased braking power and reduced initial noise.
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INTERNATIONAL DEALER NEWS - OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2017
manufacturer Sanglas (1942 – 1981, best known for
BSA Bantam and DKW/BMW hybrids).
Its reputation as a manufacturer of top-end brake
products was further enhanced with their HP high-
performance brake linings programme in the 1960s,
and the success of the SEAT 124 saw Galfer enter the
1970s as one of Europe’s automotive brake drum
lining majors in volume terms.
Galfer was among the first, if not THE first
manufacturer, to start using high-strength, heat
resistant Aramid fibres to replace asbestos, with their
HP6/2 brake linings being their first asbestos-free
brake lining in the early 1980s, followed by the
introduction of their first brake pads, made for
Barcelona based MotoTrans.
MotoTrans built motorcycles between 1957 and
1983, when it was bought by Yamaha. The best
known MotoTrans models were 4-stroke 340cc
28bhp Ducati ‘bevel’ engined singles – the most
successful being the Vento 350, which was the very
last motorcycle to be built with the Ducati ‘bevel’