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Bugatti brake caliper


iwashmycar

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I didnt see this on here, so had to share. I think this is amazing. And beautiful.

 

 

http://www.3ders.org/images2018/bugatti-develops-worlds-largest-3d-printed-titanium-brake-caliper-2.jpg

 

 

http://www.3ders.org/articles/20180122-bugatti-develops-worlds-largest-3d-printed-titanium-brake-caliper.html

 

 

The new 3D printed brake calipers were made for the Bugatti Chiron, a high-end sports vehicle which is already known in part for having the most powerful brakes in the world. The Bugatti Chiron also uses an quad-turbocharged 8.0-litre W16 engine, and the £2.5 million luxury vehicle can hit an impressive 62mph in 2.5 seconds, eventually reaching a top speed of 261mph. At the 67th annual IAA show in Frankfurt last year, the car broke a world record by going from a standing start to 400 km/h in just 42 seconds

 

Building on these previous successes, advanced 3D printing techniques were chosen for production of the new Chiron’s latest brake caliper model, in an effort to reduce weight from the previous structure. Titanium was used as opposed to aluminium, and the parts will be the largest brake calipers installed on a production vehicle, with eight titanium pistons on each of the front calipers and six on each of the rear units.

 

The new bionic design for the architecture results in a combination of minimum weight with maximum stiffness. Able to withstand 125kg of pressure per millimeter, the caliper weighs only 2.9 kg, whereas the aluminum component currently used weighs 4.9 kg.

 

According to Frank Gotzke, Head of New Technologies, Technical Development Department, Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S, "In terms of volume, this is the largest functional component produced from titanium by additive manufacturing methods. Everyone who looks at the part is surprised at how light it is - despite its large size. Technically, this is an extremely impressive brake caliper, and it also looks great."

 

he concept for the new component was created by Bugatti engineers, before the design models were sent off to Laser Zentrum Nord for 3D printing. The Hamburg-based 3D printing expert carried out the process simulation, the design of the supporting structures, actual printing and the treatment of the component. The additively manufactured brake caliper is made from a monobloc of titanium, crafted using 400-watt lasers. Titanium powder was deposited in a total of 2,213 layers to produce the 3D part, which is heated to 700 degrees Celsius during a 3D printing process that lasts around 45 hours.

 

Total production time took around three months, including the initial design phase and the post-processing finishing touches, which were also carried out by Bugatti’s team once the 3D printed caliper was sent back.

 

 

I think this is the "old" one for reference

http://st.automobilemag.com/uploads/sites/11/2016/11/2017-Bugatti-Chiron-caliper.jpg

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Saw that earlier...

 

3D printing is becoming amazing technology. I'm looking forward to creative minds re-imagining and redesigning engineered products in our lives.

 

Stuff is getting pretty crazy.

 

Koenigsegg has been 3d printing turbos for awhile now as well.

 

I've seen older f1 AP titanium calipers before. Couldn't even imagine the costs involved.... :no:

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So maybe I am dense but isn't titanium flammable? At least at high temperatures?

 

every exotic metal becomes flammable at "High temp" the quesiton is how high.

 

The melting point of Titanium is 3034 °F, and the boiling point is ​5949 °F, however the point at which pure titanium can be consumed by fire is a much lower 1,130 °F, due to it's reactive properties with oxygen (it is fully reactive at 1200°F). The secret to heating titanium to a melting point is to control the amount of oxygen that it is exposed to.

 

These numbers can be raised by creating an alloy of titanium, and the most common is Ti 6Al-4V which is 6% aluminum, 4% vanadium, 0.25% (maximum) iron, 0.2% (maximum) oxygen, and the remainder titanium. It is significantly stronger than commercially pure titanium while having the same stiffness and thermal properties (excluding thermal conductivity). Among its many advantages, it is heat treatable.

 

In case you are wondering how it stacks up against aluminum, aluminum's melting point is 1220°F, boiling point is 4566°F, and can be consumed by fire is also at 1220°F.

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well I learned something today

 

giphy.gif

 

 

So it was heated to just over 1200 degrees. I guess that means the 'powdered titanium' just stayed as powder? Maybe they melted together whatever was with it in the concoction?

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So it was heated to just over 1200 degrees. I guess that means the 'powdered titanium' just stayed as powder? Maybe they melted together whatever was with it in the concoction?

 

They use a special process to do titanium called direct metal laser sintering (DMLS). Basically a line of powder is laid out and then a laser hits it and heats it instantly melting the powder and welding the strand with the previous one at the same time. It's pretty neat. There are more than a few youtube videos demonstrating DMLS if you want to fall down that rabbit hole.

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Are you thinking of Magnesium? Lights with a low flashpoijn and creates an intense flame?

 

I know of magnesium, but it is much softer (ferro rod). But There is also a ferro type titanium. That was what had me confused as I know it can catch fire as Kerry stated. But for some reason I was thinking brakes would get to a higher temperature than what the titanium could handle :dumb:

 

I am curious as to what the max temp would be if you took the car to max speed then slammed the brakes to a complete stop. I would imagine they would get much hotter than one would think.

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I know of magnesium, but it is much softer (ferro rod). But There is also a ferro type titanium. That was what had me confused as I know it can catch fire as Kerry stated. But for some reason I was thinking brakes would get to a higher temperature than what the titanium could handle :dumb:

 

And after the most horrific events in formula 1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_RA302 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jo_Schlesser

 

everybody got real sensitive about magnesium alloy and it's flash points. Magnesium itself has a low flash point but can burn at some incredible heats, but mixing it with aluminum and zinc can double the temp flash points. Still you don't see a lot of magnesium calipers.

 

I am curious as to what the max temp would be if you took the car to max speed then slammed the brakes to a complete stop. I would imagine they would get much hotter than one would think.

 

so this is an interesting question, but not because of the materials but the engineering. Think of your standard brake system - rotor, pads, and caliper. The rotor itself acts as a heat sync since it is very dense, and also one of the primary sources of heat being the main friction surface. Heat is going to want to transfer evenly offset by heat conductivity of the material (ie it moves faster through aluminum than steel) and the density and size of the piece. Also with the disc, because it is the thinner and the actual friction surface, you'll see disc failure before you see a caliper melting. I'd wager you would probably see the pads catch fire too before that happens.

 

Brakes can get up to about 1000 degrees Fahrenheit, but not from one stop. You'll see that in a competition setting like F1, or top level GT racing (tight road courses). Something I don't think this car is going to see all that much.

 

years ago, when I worked for a corvette shop, we had a 1957 Airbox competition car in for restoration. I was facinated with it and the owner saw my hard lust and said "wanna see something neat"? He then pulled me into the office and showed me a vhs tape of old corvettes racing at various tracks. On some of them you could see the drums glowing red from the overheat. It was fantastic.

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Pads and titanium also do an awesome job at keeping heat out. Castrol SRF is probably the most common fluid used in racing and will boil at 600*f the pad may see 1000 but it doesn't all transfer to the caliper or fluid.
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That would be a sight to see. Thank you for the break down for me Kerry, once again I am humbled by your knowledge of the subject. This is why I am an admirer vs an engineer lol.

Obviously the whole conversation is happenstance as I highly doubt anyone stateside driving a Bugatti to that extreme.

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That would be a sight to see. Thank you for the break down for me Kerry, once again I am humbled by your knowledge of the subject. This is why I am an admirer vs an engineer lol.

Obviously the whole conversation is happenstance as I highly doubt anyone stateside driving a Bugatti to that extreme.

 

I'm not an engineer, I can barely do math. I listen to some very smart people and I retain knowledge like a sponge.

 

Robochan added a nice point on there too - usually the fluid will fail and release clamping power long before the caliper bursts into flames.

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