Brake housing for self-driving cars

Combined brake housing unites main brake cylinder, brake booster and ABS/ESP in a single part. This component smooths the way for self-driving cars and saves weight. When it comes to machining complex aluminium workpieces, MAPAL’s solution expertise is very much in demand.

While self-driving cars are already permitted in various countries, the legal framework for them is still not in place in Europe, where only partial driving automation is permitted. The combined break housing – which unites the main brake cylinder, the brake booster and ABS/ESP in a single part – supports all levels of automated driving. Brake-by-wire is closely related to this, whereby the brake signal is no longer sent hydraulically but rather electrically.

While the combined brake housing is a prerequisite for automated driving, it also has further advantages. Because they are applied electronically, the brakes can be operated more quickly, which results in considerably shorter braking distances in an emergency.

While the first automotive suppliers have already presented all-electric braking systems, vehicles only use a precursor today – the so-called wet-dry system. This hybrid form uses a hydraulic brake at the front and an all-electric system at the rear axle. This redundancy is made possible by a sophisticated central component that combines both worlds in the tiniest of spaces.

Defined chip breaking for short aluminium chips

Aluminium with a low silicon content of less than 1% is the material of choice for the combined brake housing. To save costs, extruded profiles are used for the most part. Long chips are created during machining due to the grain flow and the low silicon content. To ensure excellent chip breaking when boring and reaming aluminium with low silicon content using PCD blades, MAPAL makes use of application-specific chip-breaking geometries.

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