Removable Tire Mold Shell for Sidewall Pattern Flexibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing tire mold technologies face challenges in efficiently producing and modifying patterns on tire sidewalls, as they require complex and costly production methods, limited surface area for markings, and intricate adjustments, making them impractical and expensive to produce and modify.
Innovation Solution
A tire mold design featuring a removable shell part with adjustable sections, produced using laser sintering or cast aluminum, allowing for easy modification and integration of different molding surface characteristics along the sidewall, facilitating quick and cost-effective changes to patterns without replacing the entire shell.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional machining means (turning or milling) are used to produce marking means on tire mold shells, then the markings can be produced with good precision, but the production process becomes complex and costly when pattern modifications are needed
Solution Approach 1:
The shell is divided into a fixed part and a removable insert part. The removable insert can be easily replaced to change patterns, while the fixed part remains stationary. This segmentation allows quick pattern modifications without reworking the entire shell, resolving the contradiction between manufacturing precision and ease of manufacture.
Solution Approach 2:
The marking means are extracted from the fixed shell structure and placed on a separate removable insert. This extraction allows the marking elements to be independently replaced or modified without affecting the main shell structure, enabling easy pattern changes while maintaining good marking precision through dedicated insert design.
2Adaptability or versatility
If aluminum parts obtained by foundry are used to implement a wide range of patterns, then pattern versatility is improved, but the production complexity and cost increase when modifications are required
Solution Approach 1:
The shell structure is segmented into a fixed base and removable inserts. Different inserts with various patterns can be produced using foundry methods and then easily swapped into the same shell, providing pattern versatility without the complexity of modifying the entire shell for each pattern change.
Solution Approach 2:
The fixed shell base is designed as a universal component that can accommodate multiple different removable inserts. This allows a single shell structure to serve multiple functions by simply changing the insert, achieving pattern versatility while keeping the overall production system relatively simple.
3Ease of operation
If removable inserts with limited surface area are used, then the insertion process is simplified, but the available surface for tread element integration is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
When large surface area is needed, the removable insert itself is segmented into multiple sections that can be assembled together. Each section can be independently produced and inserted, maintaining ease of operation while collectively providing sufficient total surface area for extensive tread element integration.
4Manufacturing precision
If complex profiles are produced to match tire tread curvature, then the molding precision is improved, but the production cost and complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The complex curved surface is divided into multiple smaller insert sections. Each section can be produced with the required precision for its specific area, and the segmentation allows for easier manufacturing of individual pieces compared to producing one large complex component. The sections are then assembled to form the complete curved surface.
Solution Approach 2:
Each removable insert section is designed with the specific local curvature and profile characteristics required for its position on the tire tread. This local quality approach allows precise matching of the complex overall profile while keeping individual manufacturing tasks simpler and more manageable.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design enables precise and efficient production of tire sidewall patterns with a high level of precision, simplifies the production process, and allows for flexible adjustments to patterns, reducing costs and complexity while maintaining resistance to molding forces.
Implementation Method 1
At least one section is produced by laser sintering, said section comprising all or part of the molding surface characteristics
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5~7
AI summary
Mould (1) for the vulcanization and moulding of a tyre, this tyre comprising a tread delimited by two sidewalls, the mould comprising a ring (3) intended to mould the tread of the tyre, and two shells (5) that have tyre-moulding surface features (8) for moulding the sidewalls, at least one of the shells (5) having a removable shell part (6) that extends circumferentially on the side of the sidewall of the tyre to be moulded, said moulding surface features (8) being integrated into said removable shell part (6).