I've made brake rotors out of Lead, Aluminium, and Copper.
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Published 2022-10-18
It was relatively easy to cast Lead and aluminum. The tricky part was to cast copper because of its height melting point (1084.62 °C, 1984.32 °F).
I didn't know what to expect when I tested the brake disc made of copper alloy. I thought it would melt, but it didn't.
For the Rotor made from aluminum, I melted cans made from aluminum alloy Al 3004 / Al 5182 and some Grounding wire Al5052. I was not surprised that it is brittle and breaks into pieces subjected to massive forces.
Lead is very soft and highly malleable. It made a spectacular show in our video; because of the friction, the Disk started melting, spurting like a stream, and solidified instantly before falling to the ground.
Rotors Weigh:
- Original cast iron 3,9 kg/8.5lb
- Lead 8,2kg/18lb
- Aluminium 1,7kg/3.7lb
- Copper 5,6 kg/12.3lb
The moral of the story: Don't make brake Rotors out of Lead :)
Enjoy!
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WARNING: This video is only for entertainment purposes. If you rely on the information portrayed in this video, you assume responsibility for the results. Have fun, but always think ahead, and remember that every project you try is at YOUR OWN RISK.
All Comments (21)
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the real heroes in this whole thing are the wheel bearings. How they lasted through all this without the grease boiling out and grinding to a halt is amazing.
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The gearbox blew up, and they have a spare one just laying around absolute legends
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I like videos of people actually doing what the title says instead of yapping for 15min and then the last 2min of the video is the actual thing
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The answer to what would happen if your brake rotors were a bit softer or more brittle. Love how the lead tore out and shook the whole suspension. This is the video the world needs.
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I think machining the rotors first would help a lot
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Can we just take a minute to appreciate that editing? Solid 10/10 Edit: put the disks on a lathe to make them smooth and perfectly round, would probably make a big difference
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6:39 "hey dude do you smell clutch.. what do you mean this is an auto?"
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It is interesting to see how the properties of the different metals are. You can see the aluminium easily solidifies when pouring, but creates very little slag and a far more clean pour than the lead
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That was fun. I will admit, I figured the copper would last the longest but I though there would be more damage to it.
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Gotta appreciate how your team was willing to expose themselves to a bangload of lead dust for that last experiment with the lead rotor! 🤗
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Great video brings back so many memories of my early engineering years thank you. Just one point if I may the first sand you put into the frame should always be sieved through a fine mesh. This will ensure that the surface is as smooth as it can be. The parting powder the same, I used to keep mine in a hessian sack and pat it over the mould using my hand this gave a finer covering again it helps ensuring the surface stays as smooth as possible reducing machining to a minimum.
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No words to describe videography and the hard work required without passion and determination its impossible
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Am I the only one who has the impression that at any moment something can pop into my eyes?
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7:02 R.I.P gearbox cover
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I am willing to bet that this person has never been bored in their life. I'm not sure why this was so entertaining. It just was. Thanks.
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The lead did not disappoint. Absolutely ridiculous. Love it !
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Absolutely insane seeing just how soft lead really is, it stretched right off the bolts!
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These are pretty nice option when you are broken down on the side of the road in need of a new disk, but happen to have have access to the materials, a furnace, the stuff for the mold, and all the tools needed to make it work, possibly a lathe too, then this is absolutely a lifesaver solution so you can limp home and get a new disk. Especially how sticky the aluminium becomes when heated up, you wont even need to press the pedal after a few miles😂
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Absolute legends, making a gearbox replacement look as easy as if it were a brake rotor
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your brake discs look amazing, but we can see how hard it is to produce them perfectly even without imbalances
