Mold Bar Recess for Integral Sipe Blade Molding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing tire mold manufacturing processes are inefficient in producing closure devices for tire grooves, particularly for winter tires, as they require additional steps and increased costs due to the need for separate molding and welding of sipe blades, leading to suboptimal mechanical strength and manufacturing costs.
Innovation Solution
A molding element design with a recess in the bar that does not open onto the longitudinal faces, allowing for the integration of sipe blades with the bar and the ability to mold closure devices as an integral part of the groove, along with features like non-stick coatings and adjustable air discharge ducts to enhance flexibility and uniformity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If sipe blades are manufactured separately and welded to the bar, then positioning precision can be achieved, but manufacturing complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the sipe blades and the bar into a single integral structure, both being molded simultaneously from the same material in one operation. This eliminates the need for separate manufacturing and welding operations, reducing manufacturing complexity while maintaining positioning precision through integrated design.
Solution Approach 2:
The sipe blades are pre-formed as integral parts of the bar during the molding process, rather than being added as separate components afterward. This preliminary integration eliminates subsequent assembly steps and ensures precise positioning is built-in from the start.
2Adaptability or versatility
If sipe blades are manufactured separately and welded to the bar, then flexibility in design is achieved, but manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
By combining the sipe blades and bar into a single molded component, the patent eliminates multiple manufacturing steps including separate production and welding operations. This integration significantly reduces manufacturing cost while design flexibility is maintained through the ability to vary sipe blade configurations within the molding process.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the bar is made discontinuous with housings for inserts, then closure devices can be molded, but mechanical strength of the mold decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the bar and sipe blades into a continuous integral structure rather than creating discontinuities with housings for inserts. This maintains the mechanical strength of the mold while still enabling closure devices to be molded through the integral sipe blade design that works in conjunction with the molding cavity.
Data Source
AI summary
A molding element for a mold for vulcanizing a tread of a tire, comprising a base able to mold part of the tread surface of the tread and a bar able to mold a groove in the tread, the bar comprising two longitudinal faces extending along its length and projecting from the base and an upper face connecting the longitudinal faces. The molding element comprises a contact edge formed by the base and the bar, intended to come into contact with another molding element to form all or part of the vulcanizing mold, and further comprising at least one recess in the bar, which opens onto the upper face and onto the contact edge, but does not open onto the longitudinal faces of the bar.