Value Analysis for Brake Disc Materials- Case of cast iron to composite

Most of the automotive disc brakes are manufactured from Grey Cast Iron. Grey Cast
Iron is chosen because of low cost and easy to manufacture. Grey Cast Iron also has good
properties to withstand the high temperature of brake application. However Grey Cast Iron is
heavy. Nowadays, there is also another materials used to manufacture disc brakes which is
called composite materials. These materials have many advantages such as very light, can
withstand higher temperature and many more other good properties but it is very expensive.
In this project the properties of these two materials have been investigated as basis for
comparison. In addition, the differences between these two disc brakes materials also been
investigated in term of cost and properties and makes comparison which one is better. Weight
decision matrix was adopted to compare the properties (weight, reliability, durability, and
manufacturing process) and manufacturing cost to manufacture the Grey Cast Iron and
composite disc brakes. The result shows that the suitable candidate to replace Grey Cast Iron
is Al-MMC composite disc brake. The score for Al-MMC disc brake is 6.8 compared to the
Grey Cast Iron disc brake which is 6.88. Thus, the value is almost similar. As Al-MMC is a
new material, further research is required to enhance its reliability performance for mass
production