Brakes and Clutches, Focus Feature

DBA Commits Further To Australian Manufacturing

Despite global economic challenges seen during this Covid-19 period, Disc Brakes Australia continues to invest in Australian manufacturing, research and development.

D BA has recently bolstered its Sydney manufacturing facility through the upgrade and addition of a Doosan CNC Vertical Machining Centre and a Hyundai WIA Vertical Lathe. The new equipment replaces machinery utilised by DBA over its long manufacturing history and will be put to good use manufacturing DBA’s 4000 and 5000 series performance disc brake rotors and in the development of prototypes and foundry tooling for new product designs.

The ability to develop tooling for foundry castings of new products and validate new products designed by DBA’s R&D team has been critical to DBA’s success over the years.

Having added over 400 new rotor applications in the last 12 months and approaching half a million units sold per year, it is critical DBA are able to design, test and produce brake rotors ahead of the industry. DBA is also proud to be able to export Australian designed and manufactured products across the world.

What most customers don’t realise is the labour intensity of manufacturing performance rotors in Australia.

As an example DBA’s 5000 series two-piece rotors start off life in a Computer Aided Design (CAD) model, which is used to design and manufacture a core box/ pattern in DBA’s CNC Vertical Machining Centre. These core boxes and patterns are then used to turn molten metal into a high carbon raw casting.

The raw casting is then rough and finish turned on machines such as the Hyundai WIA, mounting holes are drilled, they are then balanced, heat treated to relieve stress, twin cut to minimise Disc Thickness Variation (DTV), and then slotted or cross drilled (depending on consumer preference), painted and heat stripe paint markings are then applied. An exhaustive process!

The other half of DBA’s 5000 series are the aluminium hats, which are lighter weight than traditional one piece cast iron rotors and help to reduce heat transfer to the hub and are able to be disassembled so only the cast iron rings need to be replaced.

The aluminium hats start life as a raw 6061-T6 grade aluminium billet, which is then turned and mounting holes are drilled into them. The aluminium hats are then ready for anodizing in either black or silver finish.

To bring the 5000 series rotor to life, each flat disc and aluminium hat is then hand assembled using NAS (National Aerospace Standards) crimp nuts and bolt, with each nut torqued by hand.

With more than 40 years of manufacturing experience and unsurpassed knowledge through research and development, DBA is one of Australia’s most awarded automotive manufacturers and a trusted global leader in brake rotor development and manufacturing. DBA’s commitment to Australian manufacturing has been recognised with over 15 awards by the Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association, including numerous Excellence in Manufacturing and Manufacturer of the Year awards.

With continuous improvements in engineering along with a thirst for innovation, DBA has managed to consistently deliver a quality braking solution to its end user through an extensive range of vehicle applications. The continual investment in Australian manufacturing maintains DBA’s stance as Australia’s trusted leader in the braking space.

For more information visit www.dba.com.au
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