Breyden: Sustainable Production of Brake Discs Made in Germany

At its site in Breidenbach, Germany, automotive supplier Breyden (formerly Buderus Guss) annually produces around 15 million brake disks for passenger cars. For manufacturing its parts, the European market leader uses both industrial scrap and recycled materials from its own production, thus offering to its customers a safety-related and sustainably produced product. The automated quality assurance is conducted by a ScanBox Series 4 during production. The compact optical measuring machine is capable of inspecting up to 190 brake disks per day. If it finds deviations, it transmits the generated measuring data to production in real time to allow for adjusting process parameters.

With its products, processes and knowhow, Breyden committed itself to the goals of sustainability and resource efficiency. Environmental protection is a fixed part of the company’s code of conduct and rated as important as the quality of the brake disks and cost-efficient entrepreneurship. Each brake disk manufactured in the plant is 100% recyclable. The disks are supplied to all German OEMs and many international automotive manufacturers. To be able to meet the high demand, melting more than 1,000 tons of liquid iron per day is required.

When the casting into the sand moldings is completed, the safety-related parts are inspected for dimensional accuracy. “In terms of solidity, the final brake disk must comply with the specifications,” explains Steffen Sasse, Casting Manager at Breyden. Once fitted, only a minor deformation of the brake disk is permitted. Since it is exposed to extreme strain with temperatures of up to 700 degrees Celsius during the braking process, Breyden produces ventilated brake disks that discharge the heat from inside the part via the ventilation duct to the outside. Deviations, if any, and resultant quality losses are restricted by previously defined tolerances. These specify which deviations from the nominal are permitted – and when the brake disk is deemed Not Okay (NOK) and therefore unfit for use without any post-processing. The data for comparison are created with a ScanBox Series 4 optical measuring machine during three-shift production. Thus, precise and retraceable measuring results allow for a quick first article inspection.

Marcel Nickel is particularly convinced by the easy handling of the ScanBox system – the intuitive Kiosk Interface makes it possible to fully digitize a part at the push of a button. The metrologist is very pleased with the ScanBox system: “I am fascinated by the dimensional accuracy with which we can produce a casting part. Moreover, the inspection during production shows us that our process is stable and that we generate almost no scrap.”