Green Tire Building Plant Segmented Work Stations
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for building green tires using elementary semi-finished products lack technological flexibility and productivity, often requiring large plants and interrupting production to change semi-finished products, leading to management challenges and limited variability in tire sizes and types.
Innovation Solution
A process and plant with multiple work stations fed by various elementary semi-finished products allow for the simultaneous production of different tire sizes and types without interrupting the process, using multiple feeding units to select and combine products for carcass, crown, and tread components, enabling high flexibility and productivity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If existing methods for building green tires using elementary semi-finished products are used, then production can be carried out, but technological flexibility is limited and productivity is reduced due to requiring large plants and interrupting production to change semi-finished products
Solution Approach 1:
The plant is divided into multiple work stations (first work station for carcass structure, second work station for crown structure, third work station for assembling) that can independently process different semi-finished products simultaneously. This segmentation allows continuous production with high flexibility in selecting different elementary semi-finished products for different tire components without interrupting the overall production process.
Solution Approach 2:
Each work station is equipped with multiple feeding units capable of handling different types of elementary semi-finished products (carcass plies, belt strips, tread bands with various materials and configurations). The feeding units can be selectively activated based on the tire type being produced, allowing the same equipment to universally produce multiple tire varieties without reconfiguration or production interruption.
2Productivity
If existing methods are used, then production can continue, but large plant size is required which limits productivity and increases management complexity
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple feeding units for different elementary semi-finished products are integrated into compact work stations that share common infrastructure (forming drums, conveying systems, control units). This merging of functions into integrated work stations achieves high productivity through continuous simultaneous production of different tire components while maintaining a compact plant footprint that reduces management complexity compared to dispersed production facilities.
3Adaptability or versatility
If production is interrupted to change semi-finished products, then product variety can be achieved, but productivity decreases and management becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The plant operates continuously with multiple feeding units at each work station simultaneously feeding different elementary semi-finished products to forming drums. The system maintains continuous production flow by coordinating the feeding, forming, and assembling operations across work stations, allowing product variety to be achieved through selective activation of different feeding units without interrupting the continuous production cycle.
Solution Approach 2:
Different elementary semi-finished products are prepared and positioned in feeding units in advance according to the production plan. The feeding units are pre-configured with the appropriate semi-finished products (carcass plies, belt strips, tread bands) needed for different tire types, allowing the system to switch between product varieties by simply activating different pre-prepared feeding units without interrupting production or requiring on-the-fly product changes.
Data Source
AI summary
There are disclosed a plant and a process for building different types of green tyres, the process comprising:a) building a carcass structure of a green tyre;b) building a crown structure of a green tyre;wherein at least one between the building of the carcass structure and the building of the crown structure comprises:c) providing at least one first feeding unit of a first elementary semi-finished product and one second feeding unit of a second elementary semi-finished product, the at least one first and one second elementary semi-finished products being different to one another;d) building at least one portion of a structural component of the tyre being processed starting from at least one of the first and second elementary semi-finished products, in one work station fed by the first and second feeding units of the first and second elementary semi-finished products.