Tire Building Facility with Four-Stage Drum Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing tire building methods require a large installation space and have uneven building cycles in different stages, leading to inefficiencies in tire formation and difficulty in size changes due to the complex structure and prolonged building times caused by varying rubber component volumes.
Innovation Solution
A tire building method that divides the process into four stages with dedicated building drums for each stage, allowing simultaneous performance of specific steps, such as building the carcass band, green case, belt and tread band, and their combination, to distribute building cycle time evenly and simplify the preparatory steps by using extruded rubber strips for various components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a double-stage building method is used to build tires with multiple components, then the tire structure can be properly formed, but the building cycle time increases and productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The tire building process is divided into four distinct building stages, each with its own dedicated building drum: (1) building the cylindrical carcass band, (2) building the cylindrical green case by bead setting and turning up, (3) building the cylindrical belt and tread band, and (4) combining the green case and belt-tread band to build the final shape. This segmentation allows each stage to be optimized independently and executed simultaneously, resolving the contradiction between proper structure formation and reduced building cycle time.
Solution Approach 2:
The four building stages are designed to operate simultaneously and continuously, with each building drum working on its specific component without interruption. The carcass band is built while the green case is being formed, and the belt-tread band is being prepared, all leading to the final combination stage. This continuous parallel operation eliminates idle time and maintains productive action throughout the entire building cycle.
2Adaptability or versatility
If movable building drums are shifted to execute double-stage building, then building flexibility is improved, but the facility structure becomes complicated and installation space increases
Solution Approach 1:
Each of the four building drums is designed to perform multiple functions within its stage. For example, the second building drum not only builds the green case but also performs bead setting and turning up operations. The fourth building drum combines the green case and belt-tread band while also performing final shaping. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate specialized devices, simplifying the overall facility structure while maintaining building flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The first three building stages prepare all components (carcass band, green case, and belt-tread band) in advance before the final combination stage. This preliminary action allows the fourth stage to focus solely on assembly and final shaping, reducing the complexity of the combining operation and simplifying the overall facility design while maintaining flexibility for different tire configurations.
3Manufacturing precision
If rubber components with large volume are wound to build tire parts, then the desired component shape is achieved, but the winding time increases and building cycle efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The winding process is segmented across four building stages, with each stage handling specific components of different rubber volumes. Large-volume components like the tread and side walls are built in the third stage on the belt drum, while smaller components are built in earlier stages. This segmentation allows simultaneous winding of multiple components with different volume requirements, reducing total winding time while maintaining proper component shapes.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple building drums operate simultaneously to wind different rubber components in parallel. The first building drum winds the carcass band while the second builds the green case and the third winds the belt-tread band, all occurring at the same time. This continuous parallel winding eliminates sequential delays and reduces the overall building cycle time while ensuring each component achieves its required shape.
4Adaptability or versatility
If multiple types of rubber components are stored for arrangement switching during size changes, then production adaptability is improved, but storage space and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The building facility uses dynamically adjustable building drums that can be reconfigured for different tire sizes and configurations. Rather than storing multiple pre-prepared component sets, the system adapts by adjusting the building drum parameters, extrusion settings, and winding patterns. This dynamic reconfiguration capability provides production adaptability without requiring extensive storage space for multiple component inventories.
Solution Approach 2:
The system achieves size change adaptability by changing operational parameters such as building drum rotation speeds, extrusion rates, winding tension, and component layering patterns. These parameter adjustments allow the same building facility to produce different tire sizes and configurations on demand, eliminating the need for physical storage of multiple component arrangements and reducing both storage space and system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A tire building method and a tire building facility according to the invention attains reduction of an installation space of the tire building facility and substantially equal building cycles for respective building stages to increase building efficiency and facilitate arrangement switching. For attaining these, a step for building a cylindrical carcass band, a subsequent step for building a cylindrical green case, a step for building a cylindrical belt and tread band, a step for combining the green case and the belt and tread band to build the final shape are divided as first through fourth building stages (S1) through (S4) having individual building drums (D1) through (D4) corresponding to the respective steps. Formations in the respective building stages (S1) through (S4) are simultaneously performed by shifting the carcass band built in the first building stage (S1) to the second building stage (S2), the green case built in the second building stage (S2) to the fourth building stage (S4), and the belt and tread band built in the third building stage (S3) to the fourth building stage (S4).