Disk brake / Floating caliper brake - How it works! (Animation)

The floating caliper brake is a frequently used type of brake for many vehicles. It is also called sliding caliper brake, as the caliper is mounted in such a way that it can slide axially.
Contents
1) Hydraulic connection at the caliper
2) Brake carrier and caliper
3) Guide pins on the sliding caliper body
4) Brake lining against brake disk
5) Supporting the brake pads

[@physics_made_easy]

excellent design of the parts, the gaps between the mating parts, the caliper casting has got that real 'dull ferrous cast' look, the Brake disc has that shiny aluminium machined look. Excellent short explanation with sufficient arrows and piston movements, avoiding repetition. Great job.

[@pyronymph-868]

I really needed this explanation; I'm replacing the calipers in my car for the first time and was freaked out by the two seemingly unconnected parts; the caliper and the bracket. Your explanation relieved my fears.

[@mhd786jna3]

Mine too I was shocked that is was not like kind of totally bolted down nowI know😂

[@aluisious]

You really shouldn't work on your brakes if you don't know what you're doing.

[@Pavysama177]

Hello Thomas,I've been looking for an explanation of how the front disc break caliper works. Thank you for exceeding my expectations!

[@YULABEBE]

What a nice, high-quality video. Thank you.

[@monteiro5306]

Always an amazing job. Many thanks. 👍👍

[@sled9876]

Thankyou. Great animation. These type calipers are never obvious to me, but I need to know how they work because I've got them on my car !

[@Rahul-hl9xt]

Your each and every videos are awesome.Thanks

[@shahrukhm5934]

Finally this channel uploaded a new video and i must say like always the animation is super impressive but plz keep uploading such videos time to time

[@ThomasSchwenke-knowledge]

Of course, but give SUPPORT! ;)

[@cokesmocker39]

Best brake caliper video I've seen so far! I have been trying to figure something out for days and I've watched numerous videos and I haven't been able to figure it out till now. I was wondering when you clean and reapply Greece to the slide pins if they need to retract by themselves or if the caliper piston performs the function necessary to have the brake pad back off from the rotor and now I know that while the guide pins have to be able to freely move they don't necessarily have to retract by themselves which is the problem I'm having right now after cleaning them and reinserting them myself. Thank you so much!

[@retydown7521]

The internal piston seal is sat on a sloping surface it twists this seal moving out And pulls the piston back in when no pressure on the piston.

[@akslyricalcreation9836]

​@@retydown7521 My brake jam is when I put a new brake pad...so piston seal boot changed everything and still the brake return does not go..its touches the rotor and produce heat on wheels and also slows down the vehicle is there any way to fix this.?

[@diegopescia9602]

Thanks! Very clear explanation. Finally I got it.

[@duanedickey3619]

I always look forward to your videos. Simple to understand and excellent visual suppirts. Thanks.

[@neelkanthbk]

Thank you for the amazing video!!

[@BoogalooShrymp]

Very clear and precise!

[@nooneasked428]

nice animation!

[@thomasmartin571]

Great Video!!! Very Clear!!!

[@smartman123]

these videos just amazing

[@secallen]

great channel. subscribed.

[@ksyamkumar1276]

Well explained sir.

[@moexus]

mechanical engineers are genius !

[@keenanjaime3590]

You all prolly dont give a damn but does any of you know of a tool to log back into an instagram account?? I was dumb forgot my account password. I would appreciate any help you can offer me.

[@juelzmarco750]

@Keenan Jaime instablaster ;)

[@CamMojave]

Pain in the arse 👎 Glad I watched this video. Very clever how it works would have never guessed!

[@ianendangan7462]

The problem with the caliper pins is they tend to "clunk" noise when either the rubber bushings or pin diameter lessen or the hole where the pins slides into is now has a larger diameter. Greasing only last a month and you rarely find caliper pins with silicon bushings instead of rubber.

[@yoholo7220]

For the cross section view, when the brake pressure is applied, shouldn't the brake carrier be stationary (same as the rotor)? From my understanding, only the caliper with the piston and pads will be moving as the disc and the brake carrier are fixed?

[@NoSuffix]

Is it an error around 1:47? The animation shows the brake rotor sliding toward the exterior pad, but in reality it should be the other way around.

[@aribasiebel]

The rotor is bolted down by the 5 big wheel bolts and should not move. You are correct the animation is wrong. The front of caliper should start sliding towards the rotor once the pad on the caliper side touches the rotor. AS from this point onwards any piston movement will cause the entire caliper assembly to slide. Thus the pad opposite to the piston will move towards the rotor.

[@lanaya6261]

@@aribasiebel if the caliper slide to outside direction, how would the outside pad pressured toward rotor??

[@OldSchoolNoe]

Found this video informative

[@saboor_saifi]

Nice video

[@ThomasSchwenke-knowledge]

Thanks :)

[@chandreshrb3526]

Awesome👏👏👏👏

[@user-se2zf7xp6l]

Why are there so few subscribers?? Perfect animation!!!

[@ThomasSchwenke-knowledge]

Spread the word to make it more :)

[@user-se2zf7xp6l]

Thomas Schwenke promise I will try) Content this quality must be spread)

[@ThomasSchwenke-knowledge]

Excellent!

[@8m405]

what is advantage of floating caliper over fixed caliper?

[@tintran5249]

what makes the right brake pad backs to its original position or it alway touch the roto?

[@claytondelanie]

I changed my brakes on my Ridgeline for the first time and it was a rust bucket. I found all of the pins were seized and was able to release, clean, and grease them. One of the front calipers had a broken seal around the caliper piston and I didn’t have time to replace. Immediately the brake fluid is not green. I’ll replace the caliper soon- is that broken seal why the brake fluid is green?

[@varsharangaraj5521]

thanks a ton

[@gibbethoskins8621]

What force makes the piston retract back to it's initial piston??

[@AKHILGHOSHS]

Releasing the pressure from master cylinder, the fluid inside the caliper/slave cylinder return back to the master cylinder.

[@georgizdr]

the sealing ring - when pressure is released it returns to its normal shape, moving the hydraulic fluid (and piston) back

[@johnnydoggs]

Awesome

[@jaimecabrales8514]

Thank you

[@ollyk22]

But what brings the caliper back off the disk? Slight negative pressure from the supply?

[@retydown7521]

No the internal piston seal is sat on a sloping surface it twists this seal moving out And pulls the piston back in when no pressure on the piston.

[@staninjapan07]

good thanks

[@akslyricalcreation9836]

My brake jam is when I put a new brake pad...so piston seal boot changed everything and still the brake return does not go.its touches the rotor and produce heat on wheels and also slows down the vehicle is there any way to fix this.? 

[@BeyondAverageSkilled]

why does my brake pads touching the rotor when i installed them in new? should there be little gap between brake pad and rotor? what happens when one of the caliper guide pin is stuck, does it cause uneven wear or something much worst?

[@acethedisturbed]

They're always touching, they just use a gap in the animation to make it easier to show movement. Braking causes them to squeeze tighter and add friction. A stuck pin would cause uneven wear and/or less then adequate braking.

[@Kyle_Harding]

What causes the negative pressure to retract the piston?

[@T13URON]

They didn't mention that in this video I also saw that as well. It can be a couple things. 1 sticking caliper pins or 2 sticking caliper piston.

[@joepierson3859]

the brake seal deflects back, pushing the cylinder back with it, has nothing to do with negative pressure

[@retydown7521]

the internal piston seal is sat on a sloping surface it twists this seal moving out And pulls the piston back in when no pressure on the piston.

[@kuldeepcheema251]

Very funny video !

[@graemecrawley7627]

But why does the calliper return to its original position? Otherwise great post.

[@joepierson3859]

Graeme Crawley the square seal acts like a spring and brings it back

[@3nigma.3nc]

@@joepierson3859 What the hell is a square seal?

[@joepierson3859]

Dr Strangelove it's the seal that keeps the brake fluid from seeping out of the cylinder

[@retydown7521]

the internal piston seal is sat on a sloping surface it twists this seal moving out And pulls the piston back in when no pressure on the piston.

[@DelLego]

I thought the starting music is the loading song from gta san andreas lol

[@Benzknees]

What makes the brake carrier return to its original position once the piston retracts?

[@shaneebahera8566]

@Lucas W doesnt really explain much, why does releasing the pressure make it retract?

[@collinmartin3589]

It returns to its equilibrium point once the pressure is released. think of it as pushing a weight upwards. As soon as you stop pushing, the weight settles back in its original position

[@shaneebahera8566]

@@collinmartin3589 that doesnt really make sense since when pressure is released a weight would settle in its original position because of gravity but a brake piston wouldnt do that without an external force acting on it

[@mp-zg7ze]

@@shaneebahera8566 Because those guide pins act like a spring and they always tend to retract back caliper, or better said, to push it away the from disc rotor when there is no pressure applied.

[@MYCHANNEL-on1cp]

I, as well as Shanee would like an answer as to why the caliper retracts after you left off the pedal, more importantly in that answer, why does the whole caliper move? i can see the piston just stopping exactly where it was when the back pressure is removed, but not "returning to neutral" or moving away whatsoever.

[@whez08]

What makes the caliper piston return to its initial position?

[@dopiaza2006]

Generally they don't, they are just no longer forcibly held against the pads. There is always some background friction in a disc brake setup like this.

[@Flea02Cruiser]

The caliper piston has what is called a 'square profile' seal. One edge of this seal is situated within a channel in the cylinder wall. The other edge of the seal contacts the outer diameter of the piston. As the brakes are applied, this seal will 'give' slightly, essentially 'clinging' to the piston as it extends outward to push onto the inner brake pad. When braking pressure is released, a good seal will return to its original shape - pulling the piston back with it [albeit a very short distance].

[@Sanemancured]

@@Flea02Cruiser Unlike the answer above, this is correct. I'm trying to find out what retracts the fixed pad....

[@aymaankhuraishi]

Uh, why does the caliper piston slide backwards under high pressure though?

[@shaneebahera8566]

the caliper slides backwards under high pressure because the force exerted by the piston has an equal and opposite reaction on to the caliper for it slides backwards

[@johnnydoggs]

Cen someone tell me if the rotor is being pushed onto the left brake pad. How is the left brake pad moving to the right and closing on the rotor?

[@arijeettripathy6803]

NO the rotor is fixed, it doesnt move.....First, as the pressure builds up, the piston pushes against the right carrier plate causing the right brake linings to interact with the rotor....after that as the pressure is increased the calliper (that includes the left carrier plate) slides to the left, causing the left brake linings to interact with the rotor. As the pressure decreases both the calliper and piston return back to their original position!

[@johnnydoggs]

Arijeet Tripathy ok thanks

[@tintran5249]

@@arijeettripathy6803what makes the right brake pad backs to its original position?

[@vulekv93]

You should make movements more visible, just over exaggerate the movements a bit... and maybe add annotations like : ''this moves'' and ''this doesn't''... just my 2 cents, ty for the video

[@brentbradley6711]

agreed

[@tomparatube6506]

Good animation but damn annoyingly loud music!

[@jdanielortega]

wouldn't this cause the brake disc to bend?

[@ThomasSchwenke-knowledge]

The disc is fixed. It cannot bend.

[@jdanielortega]

Thanks thomas :)

[@fuzzybrain8274]

The statement that the "disc is fixed" is not entirely true.Modern brake discs are actually on a floating attachment which does in fact allow the disc to bend fractionally,as you would expect.You can see it do it, in fact, if you watch the disc while you operate the brake. The mounting points are the little circular holes you can see on the disc itself.You are meant to keep them unseized for best performance and safety.

[@helldogbe4077]

@@fuzzybrain8274 Those circular holes aren't meant for that. You only see them on larger discs made out of 2 materials. The outer steel friction part is made of steel and riveted to the inner aluminium hub. The aluminum saves weight, but because the differing expansion rates of the two materials they are bonded together using rivets allowing radial expansion. The disc is in no way moving laterally, that is reserved only for fixed caliper setups!

[@DerekGM6]

Good animation but please cut out the annoying rock music. Imagine you are at a university lecture and the tutor whacks up loud guitar music between every sentence. I love rock music but it has its places and technical videos are not one of them.

[@oklahomafool2420]

What about a drum brake?

[@ThomasSchwenke-knowledge]

What about it?

[@oklahomafool2420]

Thomas Schwenke how do they work?

[@samg8584]

Thomas Schwenke First I'd love to say great work and I've got a question : what is the difference between a drum and rotor could you help please?.

[@TheBreezyness]

Music?

[@ThomasSchwenke-knowledge]

What about the music?

[@chrisownz1]

me trying to figure out why my brakes are dragging

[@riteskills]

"...without pressure the caliper and caliper piston return to their initial position..." why and how? No explanation... thumb down.

[@retydown7521]

the internal piston seal is sat on a sloping surface it twists this seal moving out And pulls the piston back in when no pressure on the piston.

[@Mr6Sinner]

Prefer the old voice tbh

[@ThomasSchwenke-knowledge]

Which one?

[@Mr6Sinner]

Thomas Schwenke As heard in the Wankel Rotary video, for example.

[@ThomasSchwenke-knowledge]

Ok, I see. Thanks for the feedback.

[@cyberjack]

always grease the slider .....people

[@michaelanderson654]

Please get rid of the music. All we need is the video and descriptive comments. The music is just junk that gets in the way.

[@ThomasSchwenke-knowledge]

You can buy the animation without music, if this is what you want.

[@brentbradley6711]

didn't like the animation

[@ThomasSchwenke-knowledge]

Why?

[@brentbradley6711]

Just that reflection on the rotor threw me off I guess, otherwise very good@@ThomasSchwenke-knowledge