Eco-Friction brake pads from Federal Mogul

Legislation in certain states in the US requires the phase out of copper from brake pads due to concerns regarding its environmental impact. The legislation will initially limit copper content in brake pads to less than five per cent of the total pad weight and eventually limit the use of copper in brake pads to less than 0.5 per cent. 

This means trouble for traditional metallic brake pads that are fitted to most passenger cars today, as copper is one of the major elements in the composition of metal brake pads and a key ingredient in high performance brake pads. Metallic brake pads consist of 5 to 20 percent of copper. 

Automobile component maker Federal Mogul has developed a new range of brake pads called Eco-Friction brake pads that comprise of minimal amounts of copper. A new tribological fingerprinting process has been used to screen over 1,500 raw materials to identify alternative materials for copper in the composition structure of the new Eco-Friction brake pads. 

“Federal Mogul has succeeded in formulating low- and zero-copper low-steel and NAO brake materials for our Eco-Friction range that provide outstanding braking performance and confidence using tribological fingerprinting. This process has given us deeper insight into the complex chemical characteristics and relationships within a brake pad’s friction material and has reduced the time required to identify optimum solutions. The approach means we have the tools to eliminate copper more efficiently and to deliver custom solutions more quickly,” said Ramzi Hermiz, Federal Mogul’s senior vice president, Vehicle Safety and Protection

Copper has no direct substitute in brake pad composition structure; as a result 20 to 30 different materials have had to be combined, that include minerals, metal sulphides, fibres, abrasives, types of graphite and ceramic particles to achieve the same friction and wear and tear properties of copper brake pads. 

Also read: Federal-Mogul bags two awards from Automotive News PACE in 2011