AKEBONO REPORT 2012

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36 AKEBONO REPORT 2012 Akebono Brake Industry Co. Ltd.approach contributes to energy savings by reducing the amount ofelectricity consumed in the development phase specifically electricityused in manufacture of trial products and operation of testing facilities.Of course this also means that fewer trial products need to bemade and the wear and tear on equipment parts and friction materialsis reduced as well contributing to resource saving.We are enhancing the efficiency and eco-friendliness of our productdevelopment system through detailed analysis of the design processand reduction of development lead-time.Developing Products Free of Environmental Load SubstancesWe are promoting the development of products that use a lowervolume of environmental load substances in accordance with ourin-house guidelines which set forth even stricter regulations thanrequired by law either in Japan or overseas.As for substances restricted by PRTR and REACH regulations weare doing our utmost to avoid using them. Moreover we try to avoideven substances that are not restricted by these regulations substitutingother substances when we believe that there exists the possibilityof a substance adversely affecting human health or the environment.In light of the tightening of regulations on environmental loadsubstances in recent years before adopting any candidate materialswe conduct strict checks of them with regard to their possible impacton the environment as well as on work environment safety. Havingidentified the presence of an environmental load substance usuallyan intentional inclusion we confirm the amount contained therein however small it may be. Based on these efforts we select materialsthat contain the least possible amount of such substances.As for substances that are expected to come under legal regulation we are developing alternative materials ahead of these regulationsand are working to cease using such substances. Thus we arenot only responding to theexisting regulation butalso preparing for futureregulation.Moreover we are tryingto decrease theamount of powdery dustgenerated by brake padsdue to abrasion as a partof our environmental preservationactivities.Saving Energy and Resources by Reducing Product Development Lead-TimeIn the product development phase we repeatedly manufacture examineand verify trial products to ensure conformity with regulations andlegal standards on safety as well as customer specifications.Aiming to reduce the product development lead-time we areworking to reduce the number of times we must cycle through theevaluation process by introducing such numerical value analysismethods as FEM and working to standardize product designs. ThisStriving to develop materials that impose lessenvironmental loadArrow indicates the electro-mechanicalactuatorDevelopment of New Brakes for Greater Fuel EfficiencyWe are developing a new automobile braking system that enables greater fuel efficiency while offering weight savings. In addition we aim to contributeto resource saving by reducing number of parts needed in these brakes.Akebono received the 41st Commendation for Industrial Technology?aprize given by the Minister of Education Culture Sports Science andTechnology?as one of 10 companies involved in the development of theTohoku bullet train “E-5 Hayabusa.” Akebono’s newly developed disc brakepads for this bullet train apply even-contact pressure to the brake disc allowing the safe operation and stable braking of high-speed trains movingin excess of 300 km per hour. In addition Akebono adopted materials thatimpose less environmental load for the pads.Received Commendation for Industrial TechnologyTOPICSTohoku bullet train “E5 Hayabusa”Mechanism of Even-ContactPressure Disc Brake PadsBrakediscEven-contactpressure discbrake padsEven-contact pressuredisc brake pads aredesigned to fit into theindented pattern on thesurface of the brakes yielding greater brakingforce and thereby enhancingbraking performance? Electro-Mechanical BrakesThis new brake system employs an electric operating mechanism topress down the disc brake pads. The system eliminates the mastercylinder hydraulic control unit and several other parts used in a conventionalhydraulic brake. Thisimproves fuel efficiency by savingweight. Moreover this system cancontribute to environmental preservationby eliminating the needfor hydraulic brake fluid whichmust be properly disposed ofwhenever repairs are made.? Low Drag CaliperIn a conventional disc brake there is always slight contact betweenthe brake pads and the rotor even when the brakes are released.This creates rotational resistance of the rotor and negatively affectsfuel economy. Also if the gap between the rotor and pad alters howeversubtle the change it affects how far the pedal must travel to initiatebraking. This reduces driver confidence.The low drag caliper incorporatesspecially designed componentsto ensure that the pad torotor gap is precisely maintainedat the micron level. In this way brake drag is reduced contributingto improved fuel economy.Expanding the Field of Applications for Eco-Friendly Brake ProductsInitiatives at the Design and Development Stage

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