Method of building a shear beam of a non-pneumatic tire

Abstract

A method of making a shear beam is provided in which a central robot uses an arm to grasp a build drum that has a green shear beam thereon. The arm moves the uncured shear beam into a curing station for curing, and once completed the arm takes out the now cured shear beam from this station. The arm may move the cured shear beam to an extractor station at which place the build drum is disengaged from the cured shear beam. The cured shear beam can be moved by the arm to a weighing station so that the cured shear beam can be weighed.

Description

DescriptionTitle of Invention: METHOD OF BUILDING ASHEAR BEAM OF A NON-PNEUMATIC TIREFIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The subject matter of the present invention relates to a method of building a shear beam of a non-pneumatic tire that utilizes a central robot with an arm. More particularly, the present application involves a method of making a shear beam in which the arm moves the shear beam between building stations such as an expanding chuck, a curing station, an extractor station, and a weighing station.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Non-pneumatic tires can be composed of a central hub from which a support structure extends. A shear beam surrounds the support structure and tread is located on this shear beam and engages the road. The support structure can be configured in a variety of manners. The support structure may have a honeycomb shape, a series of plates with apertures stacked against one another, or a disc with cavities. It is also known to make support structures out of a plurality of spokes that extend from the hub to the interior of the shear beam. The shear beam is made of rubber and can include synthetic polymer reinforcements.

[0003] Machinery used to build different parts of a non-pneumatic tire are custom built and designed to work with a specific dimension of tire. Alternatively, if a different size of tire is desired, it may be possible to modify tire building machinery to accommodate such a change in sizing. However, these modifications are time consuming and add cost to the tire building process. Manufacturing processes also move the tire components along a conveyor system to different machines that add pieces to the tire components or execute a process to the conveyed tire components. These conveyor systems and dedicated building machines add to the cost and complexity of the tire building process, and likewise make it costly and time consuming to change tooling for desired dimensional changes. Once the tire component is constructed, if it is made of green rubber, it can be transferred to a mold for curing. If the hub, spokes, and shear beam of the non-pneumatic tire are all made of rubber, they could be cured as a single unit once assembled. Alternatively, these components could be made of different materials, or cured separately, and then subsequently assembled with one another into the final product. Although ways of constructing components of a non-pneumatic tire are known, there remains room for variation and improvement within the art.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0004] A full and enabling disclosure of the present invention, including the best mode thereof, directed to one of ordinary skill in the art, is set forth in the specification, which makes reference to the appended figures, in which:[Fig 1]

[0005] [Fig.1] is a schematic top view of a method of forming a shear beam of a nonpneumatic tire.[Fig 2]

[0006] [Fig.2] is a perspective view of a central robot with its arm positioned to obtain a build drum from an expanding chuck.[Fig 3]

[0007] [Fig.3] is a perspective view of the central robot with its arm reconfigured to have the gripping fingers proximate to a storage tree.[Fig 4]

[0008] [Fig.4] is a perspective view of an expanding chuck.

[0009] The use of identical or similar reference numerals in different figures denotes identical or similar features.DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the invention, one or more examples of which are illustrated in the drawings. Each example is provided by way of explanation of the invention, and not meant as a limitation of the invention. For example, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be used with another embodiment to yield still a third embodiment. It is intended that the present invention include these and other modifications and variations.

[0011] The present invention provides for a method of making a component 22 of a nonpneumatic tire such as a shear beam 22. The method employs a central robot 10 that moves the component 22 between various stations that can perform some function with the component 22. The method can be readily adjusted so that the size of the component 22 being constructed can be modified without undue cost or time. The method can employ an expanding chuck 14, a curing station 20, an extractor station 24, a weighing station 26, and a storage tree 28. A shear beam 22 of a non-pneumatic tire is the component that is located radially outward from the support structure and can include the tread of the tire that engages the ground.

[0012] A schematic view of a method in accordance with one exemplary embodiment is shown with reference to [Fig.l]. The central robot 10 is located approximately in the center of various stations that perform functions on the component 22. The central robot 10 is shown with more detail in the perspective views of Figs. 2 and 3. The same central robot 10 is displayed in both Figs. 2 and 3, but its orientation isdifferent between these two figures in that the arm 12 is configured into two different orientations depending upon the task that that the central robot 10 needs to accomplish. In [Fig.2], the arm 12 is approaching the expanding chuck 14 to remove a build drum 16 that has a built green shear beam 18 thereon. In [Fig.3], the arm 12 is reoriented so that it is being removed from the build drum 16 and green shear beam 18 that was just placed onto the storage tree 28.

[0013] The central robot 10 rests on a base that sits on the floor. The arm 12 of the central robot 10 is made of several segments that can rotate relative to other segments so that the arm 12 has a large freedom of movement. A vertical axis 34 of the central robot 10 extends upwards through the base, and the arm 12 can rotate about the vertical axis 34 and thus can rotate relative to the floor. The arm 12 could rotate completely 360 degrees about the vertical axis 34. In other versions of the method, the central robot 10 is configured so that the arm 12 can only rotate 270 degrees or less about the vertical axis 34 in the circumferential direction. The arm 12 also has a first horizontal axis 36 about which the majority of the arm can rotate. A second horizontal axis 38 is also present about halfway along the arm 12 which allows for rotation of roughly about half of the arm 12 about this axis 38. The second horizontal axis 38 is parallel to the first horizontal axis 36. The arm 12 has a rotational axis 40 that is oriented 90 degrees to the second horizontal axis 38 and is located farther along the arm 12 from the base than is the second horizontal axis 38. This rotational axis 40 allows the end of the arm 12 to spin about the majority of the length of the arm 12. The end of the arm 12 can spin 360 degrees about the rotational axis 40, or may spin less than 360 degrees about the rotational axis 40 in accordance with various embodiments.

[0014] The end of the arm 12 includes six gripping fingers 30 that are oriented about and spaced equal distance from a central axis 32. The gripping fingers 30 do not rotate about the central axis 32, and no portion of the arm 12 may rotate about the central axis 32 in the embodiment shown, although portions of the arms 12 could in fact rotate about the central axis 32 in other embodiments. However, the gripping fingers 30 can move relative to the central axis 32 so that they all move closer to or farther from the central axis 32. This movement may be coordinated so that all of the gripping fingers 30 move at the same time and at the same amount and direction relative to the central axis 32. Although shown as being six in number, any number of gripping fingers 30 can be present in other embodiments, and they need not be arranged about a central axis 32.

[0015] As such, the arm 12 includes axes 34, 36, 38 and 40 about which portions of the arm 12 can rotate and thus achieve a wide degree of freedom of movement. The end of the arm 12 has the greatest degree of freedom of movement since is it mounted to all of these axes 34, 36, 38, 40 as they are between it and the base. The end of the arm 12can be manipulated by the central robot 10 to be located at any of the various stations shown in [Fig.l] and oriented relative to the various stations in [Fig.l] in any position. With the various axes 34, 36, 38, 40, the arm 12 can be extended towards the stations and can be retracted and moved away from them so as to assume its position as shown in [Fig.l] in which it is positioned farthest from the stations.

[0016] The method includes the step of building a green shear beam 18. In this regard, the shear beam is described as being green in that it is made at least partially of uncured rubber. A single type of uncured rubber can be incorporated into the green shear beam 18, or multiple different types of rubber could make up the green shear beam 18. Nonrubber components such as reinforcement cables could likewise be included into the green shear beam 18. These reinforcement cables may be made of synthetic polymer. [Fig.4] is a perspective view of an expanding chuck 14 that can be used to build the green shear beam 18. The expanding chuck 14 has a plurality of arms that expand outward radially to grip a build drum 16. The build drum 16 may be an aluminum or steel ring. The arms of the expanding chuck 14 are deployed outwards to engage the inner surface of the build drum 16 to hold it. These arms of the build drum can be rotated to likewise cause the build drum 16 to rotate. Material to build the green shear beam 18 such as uncured rubber and synthetic polymer cables can be laid onto the build drum 16 and taken up onto the build drum 16 via its rotation. Different types of green rubber can be placed onto the build drum 16, or the green shear beam 18 may include but a single type of green rubber. Additionally, rubber that will make up the tread of the non-pneumatic tire can be placed last onto the green shear beam 18 since this tread rubber will be the outermost layer of the green shear beam 18. The inclusion of tread rubber into the green shear beam 18 is optional as it may be the case that the tread of the non-pneumatic tire is supplied at a later point in the building process.

[0017] The build drum 16 can be rotated a sufficient amount to cause the desired amount of material to be pulled onto the build drum 16 to build the green shear beam 18 as desired. This strip of material may be cut so that no further material is added to the green shear beam 18, and so that the green shear beam 18 is built to a desired amount. Once built, the build drum 16 is no longer rotated by the expanding chuck 14. The arm 12 is moved by the central robot 10 so that the gripping fingers 30 are positioned within the build drum 16. The gripping fingers 30 can be actuated so that they move away from the central axis 32 and into engagement with the interior surface of the build drum 16. Once the arm 12 grasps the build drum 16 with the green shear beam 18 thereon, the expanding chuck 14 can be actuated so that its arms move out of engagement with the inner surface of the build drum 16 to no longer hold the build drum. The arms of the expanding chuck 14 and the gripping fingers 30 are positioned within the interior of the build drum 16 so that they do not interfere with one another.As the expanding chuck 14 no longer holds the build drum 16, the arm 12 of the central robot 10 can be moved to remove the build drum 16 and the green shear beam 18 thereon from the expanding chuck 14. Although described as employing an expanding chuck 14 to build the green shear beam 18, this is only one example of a machine that can build the green shear beam 18. Other machines or processes capable of building a green shear beam 18 onto a build drum 16 besides an expanding chuck 14 can be used in other embodiments of the disclosed method.

[0018] With reference back to [Fig.l], at this point in the method, the central robot 10 will do one of two things. If the curing station 20 is available, the central robot 10 may move the held build drum 16 and green shear beam 18 into the curing station 20 for curing. However, if the curing station 20 is not available, for instance because it is currently curing a different shear beam or is down for maintenance, then the central robot 10 can move the build drum 16 and its held green shear beam 18 into a storage tree 28. In this regard, the storage tree 28 has a series of vertically positioned storage compartments that are horizontally oriented posts that are vertically spaced from one another. The arm 12 can place the build drum 16 onto one of the horizontal posts of one of these compartments to effectively store the green shear beam 18 in the storage tree 28. The storage tree 28 can rotate to present different sides and different storage compartments to the central robot 10 so that an empty storage compartment or post is available and able to be accessed by the arm 12. The storage tree 28 can also move vertically in other configurations to present different storage stations to the central robot 10. The storage tree 28 can hold empty build drums 16, build drums 16 that have green shear beams 18 thereon, build drum 16 that have cured shear beams 22 thereon, and cured shear beams 22 all at the same time. Additionally, any combination of the aforementioned elements could be held by the storage tree 28 at different times.

[0019] If the curing station 20 is available, the central robot 10 will move the build drum 16 with the green shear beam 18 thereon to the curing station 20 either directly from the expanding chuck 14 or from the storage tree 28. The curing station 20 has a press that can be opened, and the arm 12 will manipulate the build drum 16 and the attached green shear beam 18 so that it is inside of this press. At this point, the gripping fingers 30 are moved towards the central axis 32 and the build drum 16 is released from the arm 12. The arm 12 is then removed from the curing station 20. The press can be closed and the curing station 20 may begin curing of the green shear beam 18. The curing station 20 can apply heat to the build drum 16 and green shear beam 18, and may engage the green shear beam 18 and apply pressure to it in order to cure this element. As the inside of the build drum 16 is typically not deformable, pressure is not applied directly to the inside of the build drum 16 by the curing station 20 although it may engage the curing station 20 to brace it. Force can be directly applied by thecuring station 20 to the green shear beam 18 and this green shear beam 18 can then be squeezed between the build drum 16 and the curing station 20 so that this force in combination with the heat applied may cure the green shear beam 18. If tread rubber is included in the green shear beam 18, the curing station 20 can be shaped so that it imparts architectural features into the tread rubber to form tread having desired features in the non-pneumatic tire. The curing station 20 can heat the build drum 16 or may heat the components of the curing station 20 that engage the green shear beam 18, or may heat both the components that engage the green shear beam 18 and the build drum 16 in accordance with various exemplary embodiments. The curing time in the curing station 20 can be 25 minutes in some embodiments.

[0020] Once the curing station 20 finishes with curing, the press can be opened and the central robot 10 may retrieve the build drum 16. Once the rubber is cured, the material on the build drum 16 is now a cured shear beam 22 instead of a green shear beam 18 as the properties of the material have been changed due to the curing process. The arm 12 may actuate its gripping fingers 30 that move outward and engage the interior of the build drum 16 so that the build drum 16 is thus grasped by the arm 12. The arm 12 may withdraw the build drum 16 and the attached cured shear beam 22 from the curing station 20. The central robot 10 may then do one of three things with the held build drum 16 and cured shear beam 22. If the extractor station 24 is available, the central robot 10 can move the build drum 16 and cured shear beam 22 to the extractor station 24. If the extractor station 24 is not available, the central robot 10 may move the build drum 16 and attached cured shear beam 22 to the storage tree 28 and place them into an open compartment of the storage tree 28 for storage therein. Finally, if the extractor station 24 is close to being available, the central robot 10 may simply wait until it becomes available and then move the build drum 16 and the attached cured shear beam 22 into the extractor station 24.

[0021] The arm 12 can be rotated about the vertical axis 34 of the central robot 10 to move the held build drum 16 and cured shear beam 22 from the curing station 20 to the extractor station 24. The extractor station 24 functions to remove the cured shear beam 22 from the build drum 16. The extractor station 24 may hold the build drum 16 in place and then apply significant force to the cured shear beam 22 to push it off of the build drum 16. However, doing so may damage the cured shear beam 22, so the extractor station 24 may instead be configured to remove the cured shear beam 22 in less forceful manners. For example, cool air can be applied by the extractor station 24 to the interior of the build drum 16 in order to cool the build drum 16 and consequently cause the build drum 16 to shrink in size. Once the size of the build drum 16 is shrunk, it may be easier to push the cured shear beam 22 off of the shrunk build drum 16 so that it can be removed with less force and less or no damage to the cured shear beam22 upon removal. In some embodiments, cool air can be blown over the build drum 16 for six minutes to effect cooling of this component so that it is easier to remove the cured shear beam 22 from the build drum 16.

[0022] The extractor station 24 can be configured in a variety of manners to remove the cured shear beam 22 from the build drum 16. For example, the extractor station 24 may employ a vacuum and a pushing element to force the cured shear beam 22 and the build drum 16 in opposite directions to effect their disengagement. In other arrangements, the extractor station 24 can hold the build drum 16 in one location and may apply force to only the cured shear beam 22 to move it off of the build drum 16. The extractor station 24 may have one or more pry rods that are pushed between the cured shear beam 22 and the build drum 16 to pry the cured shear beam 22 therefrom. Regardless of how the extractor station 24 causes removal of the cured shear beam 22, the function of the extractor station 24 will result in the cured shear beam 22 being removed from the build drum 16 so that these two elements are separated.

[0023] After removal, the central robot 10 can move the arm 12 into the extractor station 24 so that the gripping fingers 30 are within the interior of the cured shear beam 22 at which time they are moved radially outward from the central axis 32 to engage the interior of the cured shear beam 22, the arm 12 then can remove the grasped cured shear beam 22 from the extractor station 24. Although described as being moved outward to grasp the interior of the build drum 16 and cured shear beam 22, it is to be understood that the gripping fingers 30 could alternatively be positioned outwards of the element it is grasping and then moved inwards towards the central axis 32 to grasp the element. In this regard, the gripping fingers 30 would engage the outer surface of the cured shear beam 22 to grasp it, and would engage the outer surface of the green shear beam 18 to grasp it and the build drum 16 the green shear beam 18 is on without having to actually engage the build drum 16. The gripping fingers 30 could in the prescribed method function in both manners to hold objects from the outside or inside as desired in different step of the building process.

[0024] Once the arm 12 has removed the cured shear beam 22 from the extractor station 24, it can rotate about the vertical axis 34 and move the cured shear beam 22 to a weighing station 26. If the weighing station 26 is occupied or otherwise not able to accept a cured shear beam 22, the central robot 10 could move the arm 12 to the storage tree 28 to place the cured shear beam 22 onto an open station of the storage tree 28 for storage. Alternatively, if the weighing station 26 is about to be available, the arm 12 could simply hold the cured shear beam 22 from the extractor station 24 for the amount of time necessary for the weighing station 26 to become free. If the weighing station 26 is available, the arm 12 may place the cured shear beam 22 into the weighing station 26 and may release the cured shear beam 22 via actuation of the gripping fingers 30.Once the cured shear beam 22 is released by the gripping fingers 30, the arm 12 can be removed from the weighing station 26 and away therefrom.

[0025] The weighing station 26 functions to weigh the cured shear beam 22 so that the weight of this component is known. If the weight is not within a range of tolerance, the cured shear beam 22 may be tagged as being out of specification or otherwise abnormal in construction. The cured shear beam 22 may then subsequently be examined by an operator to determine the cause of the irregularity and whether it should be rejected or could still be used in the non-pneumatic tire. Weighing of the cured shear beam 22 gives the manufacturer information on the production of the components of the product and also knowledge about the resulting final product. This weighing in the weighing station 26 may be executed automatically. Once the operator is ready, he or she may eject the cured shear beam 22 from the weighing station 26 and the operator can retrieve the cured shear beam 22 for study. The arm 12 may not be used to remove the cured shear beam 22 from the weighing station 26. However, some embodiments exist in which the arm 12 can remove the cured shear beam 22 from the weighing station 26.

[0026] After removal of the cured shear beam 22 from the weighing station 26, the operator can conduct a visual inspection of the cured shear beam 22 to determine if there are any irregularities present in the component. This can happen at a location separate from the weighing station 26 and separate from other previously mentioned components of the method. Once the operator manually inspects the cured shear beam 22, he or she may apply a manual trimmer to the cured shear beam 22 to remove vent spews or other pieces from the cured shear beam 22. If tread is present in the cured shear beam 22, the depth of the tread can be measured by the operator at this point. The cured shear beam 22 may be moved on by the operator to a different point in the assembly process at which point it is incorporated into the non-pneumatic tire with the hub, support structure, and potentially other non-pneumatic tire sub-components.

[0027] The method also includes the central robot 10 loading the expanding chuck 14 with an empty build drum 16 so that a new green shear beam 18 can be subsequently added to empty build drum 16. In this regard, the central robot 10 may pick up an empty build drum 16 from the extractor station 24 after the build drum 16 is disengaged from the cured shear beam 22 at the extractor station 24. After grasping the empty build drum 16, the arm 12 may remove it from the extractor station 24, and may rotate about the vertical axis 34 and position the empty build drum 16 onto the retracted arms of the expanding chuck 14. The arms of the expanding chuck 14 may expand to grasp the interior of the empty build drum 16 to it, and the gripping fingers 30 may move towards the central axis 32 to cause the arm 12 to disengage from the empty build drum 16. The arm 12 can be moved out of the way, and a new green shear beam 18 canbe laid onto the empty build drum 16 that was just loaded onto the expanding chuck 14. Alternatively, the arm 12 could retrieve an empty build drum 16 from the storage tree 28 and move it to the expanding chuck 14 for the building of a new green shear beam 18 thereon.

[0028] The method can be preprogrammed so that the central robot 10 knows which function to perform at any given time. Due to variations in the production process, the central robot 10 may be programmed to perform an activity based upon a desired priority. For example, if a green shear beam 22 has been completed and formed on a build drum 16 at the expanding chuck 14 at the same time a cured shear beam 22 has completed its cure in the curing station 20, the central robot 10 cannot work on both of these shear beams 18, 22. The central robot 10 must prioritize what it should do in the production process so that construction of the cured tread beams 22 is conducted in the most efficient manner. In this regard, the central robot 10 can prioritize one task over another.

[0029] The central robot 10 may place the first priority in the method to unloading cured shear beams 22 from the curing station 20. In this regard, if the central robot 10 is doing something it may complete its task and then the next thing it does it move the arm 12 to the curing station 20 to then remove the cured shear beam 22. If the central robot 10 is provided information that the cured shear beam 22 is about to be finished in the curing station 20, it may time its task so that it is waiting for this curing to be finished so that it can immediately unload the cured shear beam 22 from the curing station 20 without having to complete its current task first before this unloading.

[0030] The second priority item that can be assigned to the central robot 10 is the loading of build drums 16 that have green shear beams 18 into the curing station 20. The third priority item in the method to which the central robot 10 may be assigned is the loading of a build drum 16 into the expanding chuck 14 so that the green shear beam 18 can be subsequently build onto the build drum. The fourth task in the priorities of the central robot 10 can be the removal of the built green shear beams 18 and build drums 16 from the expanding chuck 14. As priority items 3 and 4 may conflict since the expanding chuck 14 may have only the ability to hold one build drum 16 at a time, these two priority items could be assigned the same priority as one another. In other versions of the method, the expanding chuck 14 may feature two or more sets of arms so that multiple build drums 16 could be held and multiple green shear beams 18 could be built on the expanding chuck 14.

[0031] The fifth priority of the central robot 10 may be the removal of the cured shear beam 22 from the extractor station 24. The sixth priority of the central robot 10 may be the removal of the empty build drum 16 from the extractor station 24. The aforementioned priority items first through sixth may be assigned so that the central robot 10 maydo the lower numbered task before a higher numbered task if both of these tasks are currently available to be executed. There may be times in which the central robot 10 can perform only one task in the method because that one task is the only one that is currently available to be performed.

[0032] The use of the central robot 10 allows for the type of component 22 to be changed out, and allows for the size of the component 22 to be changed out with minimal cost and disruption to the building process. As such, various sizes and types of non-pneumatic tires can be produced with the disclosed method to reduce cost and complexity that would be present if the central robot 10 arrangement method were not employed. The disclosed method allows for simpler and faster changes between different dimensions of components 22 to result in better flexibility and adaptability in the supply of the correct component 22 at the correct moment in time. As such, different types and sizes of shear beams 22 can be made with the disclosed method without the need for costly and time consuming dimensional tooling changes. Dimensional changes of the desired dimension of the shear beam 22 are relatively easy with the method that employs the central robot 10. The method may automatically execute the steps from building the green shear beam 18 to the weighing at the weighing station 26 without manual intervention. The method may be arranged so that the built green shear beam 18 is processed into a cured shear beam 22 and weighed without having to be moved via a conveyor system from the building to the weighing stations.

[0033] While the present subject matter has been described in detail with respect to specific embodiments and methods thereof, it will be appreciated that those skilled in the art, upon attaining an understanding of the foregoing may readily produce alterations to, variations of, and equivalents to such embodiments. Accordingly, the scope of the present disclosure is by way of example rather than by way of limitation, and the subject disclosure does not preclude inclusion of such modifications, variations and / or additions to the present subject matter as would be apparent.

Claims

Claims

1. A method, comprising: building a green shear beam on a build drum; providing a central robot that has an arm, wherein the arm of the central robot grasps the build drum that has the green shear beam thereon; placing the build drum with the green shear beam thereon by the arm into a curing station; curing the green shear beam in the curing station to form a cured shear beam on the build drum; removing the cured shear beam and the build drum from the curing station with the arm; placing the cured shear beam and the build drum into an extractor station with the arm; disengaging the cured shear beam from the build drum in the extractor station; removing the cured shear beam from the extractor station with the arm; placing the cured shear beam from the extractor station into a weighing station with the arm; and weighing the cured shear beam in the weighing station.

2. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein an expanding chuck holds the build drum and rotates the build drum as the green shear beam is built thereon, and wherein the arm grasps the build drum that has the green shear beam thereon when the build drum with the green shear beam thereon is held by the expanding chuck, and wherein the arm removes the build drum with the green shear beam thereon from the expanding chuck.

3. The method as set forth in claim 1 or 2, further comprising: placing the build drum with the green shear beam thereon by the arm into a storage tree, wherein the placing into the storage tree takes place before the placing into the curing station; removing the build drum with the green shear beam thereon by the arm from the storage tree.

4. The method as set forth in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the disengaging the cured shear beam from the build drum in theextractor station is executed with the arm free from contact with the build drum, and further comprising: in the extractor station, removing the disengaged build drum from the extractor station by the arm; and placing the disengaged build drum from the extractor station into the storage tree by the arm.

5. The method as set forth in any one of claim 1 to 4, wherein in the extractor station the build drum is cooled by air in order to shrink the build drum while the cured shear beam is on the build drum, wherein the cured shear beam is pushed off of the build drum after the build drum is cooled in order to effect the disengagement of the cured shear beam from the build drum.

6. The method as set forth in any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising: ejecting the cured shear beam from the weighing station; inspecting the cured shear beam for quality after the ejection from the weighing station; and deflashing the cured shear beam after the ejection from the weighing station.

7. The method as set forth in claim 1, further comprising: placing by the arm the cured shear beam and the build drum into a storage tree after the removing of the cured shear beam and the build drum from the curing station; and removing by the arm the cured shear beam and the build drum from the storage tree and then subsequently executing the placing of the cured shear beam and the build drum into the extractor station.

8. The method as set forth in claim 1, further comprising: after the removing the cured shear beam by the arm from the extractor station, placing by the arm the cured shear beam into a storage tree; and removing by the arm the cured shear beam from the storage tree and then subsequently executing the placing of the cured shear beam into the weighing station.

9. The method as set forth in claim 1, further comprising: removing the disengaged build drum from the extractor station by the arm; andplacing by the arm the build drum after removal from the extractor station onto an expanding chuck.

10. The method as set forth in any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the arm has a plurality of gripping fingers that can move radially inward and outward with respect to a central axis of the gripping fingers, wherein the gripping fingers are configured for engagement with the build drum, wherein the arm is the only arm of the central robot, and wherein the central robot has a vertical axis about which the arm rotates.

11. The method as set forth in any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein uncured tread rubber is included in the green shear beam during the building of the green shear beam on the build drum, and wherein the uncured tread rubber is cured during the curing of the green shear beam in the curing station to form a tread pattern in the cured tread rubber.

12. The method as set forth in any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the green shear beam is made of uncured rubber and synthetic polymer reinforcements.

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