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How X-ray CT maximizes your e-bike brakes’ security & reliability?

by Ludovic on 14 Mar 2022 at 13h56
The brake is the most important part of a bike, making cycling safe for everybody and guaranteeing longer distances. Two different types of brakes can be found, whatever the type of bicycle you’re cycling: road bike, e-bike mountain bike… In this article, you will discover how X-ray tomography can ensure the safety and reliability of your braking systems, by discovering in a non-destructive way what is hidden inside the lever and what remains unseen in the calliper.
 

FIRST, LET’S DISCOVER the components studied in this article : levers & callipers

Levers

The appendages that attach to your handles and serve as the activation system for your brakes are known as levers.

Caliper

The calliper is the main housing unit for two other important braking components: the brake pad and the pistons. The pistons move when the lever is pulled, pressing the brake pad against the brake rotor. Brake pads are designed to slow the E-bike down by imparting friction to the brake rotor while also absorbing the heat generated by the brake rotor when pressed against it. When your braking system isn't working properly, the first component you should replace is the brake pads.

Levers

The appendages that attach to your handles and serve as the activation system for your brakes are known as levers.

Caliper

The calliper is the main housing unit for two other important braking components: the brake pad and the pistons. The pistons move when the lever is pulled, pressing the brake pad against the brake rotor. Brake pads are designed to slow the E-bike down by imparting friction to the brake rotor while also absorbing the heat generated by the brake rotor when pressed against it. When your braking system isn't working properly, the first component you should replace is the brake pads.

 

X-ray CT, an innovative technology to enhance e-bike brakes technology

What is X-ray micro-CT?

X-ray CT main principle is quite simple: see through your part. Microtomography, an X-ray imaging technology, offers the possibility of viewing the interior of a material or component without destroying it.
 
Microtomography has become the main non-destructive 3D imaging technology. It is widely used in materials science but also for the characterization of all types of industrial components and assemblies.
 

X-ray micro-CT to characterize E-bike brake lever and calliper

X-ray CT supplies in a few minutes a perfect 3D rendering of the entire calliper. It is then possible to add transparency on the outside structure to look inside the fluid chamber and study the mechanism. It helps to understand how it works and study potential hidden defects.
 
The fluid chamber has been coloured in red to visually underline the area where the fluid is located. In addition, the volume of the fluid chamber can automatically be determined.
 
 
 
In case of a brake calliper fluid leak, X-ray CT enables to visualize the leak in a non-destructive way. It is even possible to put the calliper under constraints, adding pressure for example using an external device. Several parts through-holes allow monitoring from the outside an experimental setup.
 
Colors can be added to the 3D rendering. This feature can be very useful to localize a leak and identify the root cause. Another really interesting feature is the ability to add on a scan geometries
 
 
Vue interne 3D frein vélo



ReduceD inspection costs

X-ray CT's ability to inspect components without destroying or disassembling them cuts down on the time it takes for organizations to conduct analysis and testing.
 
It saves time and money by reducing expenditures associated with the destruction of sample pieces during testing and analysis.
 
 
 

X-Ray CT main benefits  

- Look into your parts in a non-destructive way
 
- Faster inspection and deeper level process than with traditional technologies
 
- Direct visualization of the internal structures
 
- Results are easily understandable as they are a vision of the reality – not a graph, a curve or a statistical tab. X-ray CT is a visual technology.
 
- Geometry and material analyses
 
- A sustainable technology, avoiding destroying a sample and letting the ability to release the sample that has been inspected on the market
 
- From laboratory system to production shop floor
 
 X-ray CT is a nondestructive evaluation technique that can generate detailed internal and external views of the full 3D microstructure, without the need for disassembling. X-ray CT is the best technology to get a fast, non-destructive and detailed examination of the internal and external structures or of an industrial component or assembly.
 
With just a quick CT scan, every structural and dimensional aspect of a workpiece can be assessed through a simple CT dataset. RX Solutions X-ray CT solutions bring innovations into your lab or manufacturing plants, to get all the insights of your EVs’ components and assemblies.
 
 
Discover our CT portfolio, with advanced CT systems and software adapted to your needs.
 

Our innovative X-ray CT solutions are suitable for product development, turning ideas into reality from brainstorming to the actual product ready for manufacturing. User-driven improvements are the core of our business, offering you optimal solutions with the right and powerful interface & components.
 
For a better understanding of X-ray CT, check our blog or contact an expert at www.rx-solutions.com
 
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