Inside Brembo’s brake factory, where technology is making better brakes

Summary

"Ultimately, the more cooling holes, the lower the temperature of the disc," Miller said. "You have mechanical wear between the disc and the pad, and 350˚ Celsius and below you have a lot of dust, which physically wears the disc. At higher temperature ranges, the dust between the pad and the disc creates friction. That results in less wear and less impact." The shift to technology While manufacturing is the visible side of the brakes process, CEO Daniele Schillaci emphasizes the role of technology. In the last three years alone, Brembo has hired more than 100 software engineers in Italy, China, India, and the US (some in Silicon Valley). "The automotive business is in a very deep transformation phase with new technology, software, AI, and electrification," Schillaci said. "Until a couple of years ago, Brembo was a very nice company building cast iron discs, aluminum calipers, and carbon ceramic for racing. But when it came to software, Brembo wasn't top of mind." Cast iron discs are cooled a bit differently. Brembo Cast iron discs are cooled a bit differently. Brembo Porsche's "big red" brakes are from Brembo. Brembo Porsche's "big red" brakes are from Brembo. Brembo The little fins are for cooling. Brembo The little fins are for cooling. Brembo Porsche's "big red" brakes are from Brembo. Brembo The little fins are for cooling. Brembo That's changing, as the manufacturer has poured money and resources into its newest offering, a software-controlled product called Sensify. Billed as the first fluid-free braking system that continuously controls and supervises each wheel's braking, Sensify integrates software and mechatronics, combining mechanical, electrical, computer, and robotics engineering with code. Brembo sees Sensify as a significant breakthrough that represents a new standard in the automotive industry, and the company built the software and AI in-house. While some outlets are describing it as brake-by-wire technology, which debuted more than 20 years ago, Sc...