Since the start of my obsession with 3D printing and computer aided design, Motorsports has been on my mind. The Educational Brake Caliper is my first Motorsports related design to be released to the public.

This caliper is based on a race car style brake caliper featuring quick release brake pads and dual pistons. This caliper is FULL SIZED and was modeled off of a Dwarf Car style Race Car.

Instead of uploading a somewhat complicated design to Pinshape and letting you try to figure out what you have, I've opted to include some significant documentation so that this caliper can be shown and used as a hands-on educational piece. The document can be found with the STL files and is labelled, 'EducationalBrakeCaliper-Final.pdf'.

Along with it being based on an educational design, this caliper fits perfectly on a shelf or a desk as a display showing all of its intricacies with the included display stand.

My intent with the documentation provided will be to help you with printing, assembling, understanding, teaching and testing with this caliper. My suggestion would be to have you thumb through the document before starting this print so you have an idea on how it should go. Thank you ☺

☼ Check out the video I have done of the caliper being taken apart and re-assembled below! ☼
Education Brake Caliper - Video

NEW! - April 26, 2016

As per some requests that have come in. I have re-designed the Display stand to now include a reduced sized scalloped brake rotor. It has been reduced in size so that the display stand can withhold its previous foot print.

For this new Display Stand, you will need to print the following items. [Note] - The previous Display Stand has been removed.

• (1) - Brake Rotor.stl
• (1) - Display Stand - Rotor Mounts.stl
• (2) - Bolt - Brake Rotor Mount.stl
• (2) - Nut - Brake Rotor Mount.stl

* Featured on Thingiverse, April 8th, 2016!

* The Educational Brake Caliper took 1st place in the IC3D Print Contest!
IC3D Print Contest Winners Announced

* Featured in February 26th Staff Picks - Pinshape
Best 3D Printing Designs on Pinshape week of Feb 26th

How I Designed This

The complete Brake Caliper project was designed in Autodesk Fusion 360

Tolerances are important when 3D Printing. The tough part is ensuring your print will work with everyone's desktop 3D printer. This can be quite a challenge.

With the Educational Brake Caliper, the fit of most pieces of the caliper were set with ~.2mm tolerances.

My initial planning of the Brake Caliper was to have the ability to pull the caliper part, pull the pieces off and re-assemble so you can see the inner workings and all of the components of the Brake Caliper. I was able to put my planning to practice with this caliper!

Project: Educational Brake Caliper

Objectives:

The objectives with the Educational Brake Caliper is to allow students to learn how an automotive brake caliper actually functions.

We used vehicles every day, do we fully understand what we are sitting in each day we go to work, to school, to see our loved ones? While the brake caliper is a small piece to the puzzle of a vehicle it is a very critical component.

Because the caliper can be pulled apart and re-assembled, students will have a hands on & visual understanding of the caliper and how each component functions.

Audiences:

• The Brake Caliper is a great tool for students 9 years and older.
• Automotive classes where this caliper can be displayed & reviewed.
• The Brake Caliper can also appeal to anyone getting started in 3D Printing and Modelling.

Preparation:

Printing & Assembly

Here I will go over some tips on getting your prints setup correctly and assembled into working order. I will go over some of the tools used during my process of assembling the caliper. If at any time you aren't sure about which piece of the caliper is being discussed. Please reference the information on pages 20-22 of the EducationalBrakeCaliper-Final.pdf

Necessary & Suggested Hardware:

Magnets:
(Necessary)
The first and main component needed for this build aside from your printer and filament will be Neodymium Disc Magnets. No need to stress though as these magnets are small and cheap! These N52 magnets measure in at ¼” diameter and 1/16” thick.

They can be found all over eBay as well or your favorite magnet store, you’ll want to look for N52 ¼”(dia)x1/16”(thick) Disc Magnets. Each magnet has about 1.5 pounds of pulling force. You should stick to magnets giving you at least ~1.47 pound pulling force or greater.

• An additional way to mount the two caliper halves together is with the use of bolts through the existing caliper mount holes. You will need M8x50mm hex head bolts (2) and two nuts to fit. This method will require a bit more work during dis-assembly.

Super Glue/Epoxy:
(Necessary)
Some super glue is necessary to attach the bleed screws, magnets and the brake fluid inlet fitting. I have been using Gorilla Super Glue. While it has worked good so far with the bleed screws and inlet fitting I have run into issues with the magnets staying in place after repeated use. My magnets and the bed they sit in were not prepped before gluing. With proper prep and any super glue or even epoxy, you should not have any issues. You can find more information on pages 12-15 of the EducationalBrakeCaliper-Final.pdf

Sand Paper:
(Necessary)
A bit of sandpaper will be necessary when fitting the piston seal and the piston into the piston bore. I typically used 160 grit and 320 grit.

Jewelers File Set:
(Suggested)
While these aren't needed they are a huge help. This caliper was designed with a reasonably tight tolerance to ensure everything sticks together and doesn't fall apart on the floor. The jeweler's files have the necessary files to get into the holes to help expand them to fit the next components. My biggest needs for the files were to enlarge the pad retainer clip where it passes through each caliper half, the wear plates, brake fluid inlet fitting and the brake pads where the retainer clip passes through.

These are a great addition to anyone's 3D printing arsenal as well.