Modular Tire Assembly Machine with Perpendicular Station Layout
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The existing tire manufacturing machines struggle to efficiently produce complex or large tires due to increased component numbers and tire diameters, leading to significant productivity losses and difficulties in adapting to changing market needs.
Innovation Solution
The machine's stations are arranged modularly along two perpendicular axes, allowing the core to move between assembly, vulcanization, and cooling stations, with specific configurations for horizontal and vertical core orientations, enabling efficient transfer and handling while maintaining compactness and transportability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the machine elements are arranged in a compact configuration on a single frame, then transportability and compactness are improved, but the ability to manufacture large or complex tires is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The machine is divided into multiple independent manufacturing stations (assembly station, vulcanization station, cooling station, disassembly station) that can be arranged along two perpendicular axes. Each station operates independently, allowing the core to be transferred between stations in a modular fashion, thus maintaining compactness while enabling complex tire manufacturing processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The manufacturing stations are arranged in a two-dimensional layout along perpendicular axes (first axis for assembly operations, second axis for vulcanization and cooling), rather than a single linear arrangement. This spatial reconfiguration allows optimal use of space while accommodating increased tire dimensions and complexity without compromising machine compactness.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the number of components and tire diameter are increased to meet market needs, then product versatility is improved, but productivity is significantly reduced
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple cores can be processed simultaneously at different stations (e.g., one core being assembled while another is being vulcanized). The parallel arrangement of stations along perpendicular axes enables continuous manufacturing operations, maintaining high productivity even when handling complex tires with increased component counts.
Solution Approach 2:
The core is transferred between stations in a dynamic sequence, with its orientation and position adjusted optimally at each station. The modular station arrangement allows flexible adaptation of the manufacturing process to different tire types and complexities without disrupting overall production rhythm.
3Manufacturing precision
If the core is transferred between multiple stations for assembly and vulcanization, then manufacturing quality is improved, but cycle time increases
Solution Approach 1:
Assembly operations are performed on the core before vulcanization, with components precisely positioned on the core while it maintains a stable reference surface. This preliminary assembly ensures high manufacturing quality, and the modular station design allows these operations to be completed efficiently before the core moves to the vulcanization station.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
The machine has a station line with two assembling station lines (120, 130) comprising gripping and driving units to grip and drive a core in rotation around a rotational axis, where the units are opposite to one another. A turner (110), movable in a horizontal direction, transfers the core from one station to another within the lines (120, 130) by carrying out a translation and a rotation around 180 degrees. A transfer carriage (210) is vertically displaced above the turner, a core manipulation station (220) and vulcanization stations (310, 310`). An independent claim is also included for a method for fabricating a tire.