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Machinability of ceramic brake pad material

T. Jost

Cast Iron
Joined
Jan 28, 2007
Location
Hillsboro, Kansas USA
I have a customer asking if I can do some milling on some ceramic break pads. It is an odd-ball one-off retrofit. I would need to be able to face the total thickness down and drill/bore and ream for dowels from the back (through the steel backing plate and into the ceramic pad material.) I would also have mill the pads to a slightly different shape. My question is, Have any of you tried milling ceramic brake pad material? Will carbide end mills and an inserted face mill cut it? As far as drilling and reaming do I need carbide reamers & drill bits or will cobalt hss bits cut it? Any suggestions or cautions would be welcome.
Todd
 
Machines easily, but depending on composition it can wear carbide like butter - last time I did some pads 2 minutes of cutting time had put a lovely 0.5mm rad on the cutting edges of the end mill :skep:

Watch for it tearing/chunking out as soon as the tool starts to dull too - if it goes too far there a good chance of pulling it clean off the backing plate - the problem is apart from the tearing it still machines easily with blunt tooling so it's the good old Mk1 eyeball inspection.

HSS will drill it just fine but expect to be throwing a drill away after a few holes.
 
You should be fine without coolant too if your just profiling - the stuff I did (carbotech) was sintered and it just turns into powder when you cut it, even the lightest air blast will clear it from deep pockets.
Doesn't grind very well though!
 
Take shallow cuts, it will tend to come off in hunks if you work it too hard: brake linings are HARD but not STRONG!

And for the love of Pete, have a GOOD shop-vac right next to the work, and wear a respirator & those dorky chemistry goggles, or something similar. You DO NOT WANT to breathe the dust or get it in your eyes!
 








 
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