Tyre Building Line Transfer Device for Non-Adjacent Work Stations
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current tyre manufacturing processes for two-wheel vehicles lack technological flexibility and productivity, often requiring large plants and synchronizing multiple materials, leading to management challenges and standstills when a work station fails.
Innovation Solution
A tyre building line with a sequential series of work stations and a transfer device that allows tyres to be processed from one non-adjacent work station to another based on model requirements and availability, enabling high differentiation and complexity in tyre production while avoiding plant-wide standstills.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a traditional sequential building line with adjacent work stations is used, then the process is simple to manage, but productivity is low and the plant requires large dimensions
Solution Approach 1:
The building line is divided into multiple independent work stations (first work station, second work station, third work station) that can operate autonomously. Each work station handles specific tyre components (carcass, belt, tread) and can process tyres independently, enabling parallel processing and increasing productivity without requiring complex synchronization of the entire plant.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a spatial reconfiguration where work stations are arranged non-adjacently along the building line. The transfer device enables movement between work stations across gaps, creating a multi-dimensional processing path that allows tyres to visit multiple work stations without requiring a continuous adjacent arrangement, thus reducing plant dimensions while maintaining productivity.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple materials and work stations are synchronized, then production flexibility is improved, but management complexity increases and standstills occur when one work station fails
Solution Approach 1:
The building line is segmented into independent work stations that can operate autonomously. Each work station is equipped with its own material supply and transfer mechanisms, allowing it to continue processing tyres independently even if another work station experiences a failure or requires adjustment. This segmentation eliminates the need for complex synchronization and prevents plant-wide standstills.
Solution Approach 2:
A transfer device acts as an intermediary between work stations, enabling flexible material and tyre transfer without requiring direct synchronization between multiple work stations. The transfer device can adapt to different work station states and continue operation, maintaining production flexibility while preventing standstills caused by work station failures.
3Device complexity
If work stations are arranged adjacently, then the plant is easier to manage, but the plant requires large overall dimensions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent reconfigures the spatial arrangement of work stations by introducing gaps between adjacent work stations and using a transfer device to bridge these gaps. This creates a non-contiguous arrangement where work stations can be positioned more efficiently, reducing the overall plant area while maintaining manageable operations through the coordinated transfer system.
Data Source
AI summary
There is described a plant for building tyres for vehicle wheels, said tyres being of at least two different models, comprising at least a tyre building line (1) which in turn comprises:—a plurality of work stations (4, 4′, 5, 5′, 6, 12, 14) arranged according to a sequential series, each work station (4, 4′, 5, 5′, 6, 12, 14) being adapted for building at least one structural component of each tyre, assembling at least one elementary component;—at least one handling device (3) for the tyres being processed on the respective forming supports associated to each work station (4, 4′, 5, 5′, 6, 12, 14); and—at least one transfer device (2) adapted for transferring the tyre being processed on its forming support from any first work station (4, 4′, 5, 5′, 6, 12, 14) of said sequential series to any other second work station (4, 4′, 5, 5′, 6, 12, 14) not adjacent thereto of said sequential series, so that the tyre being processed on its forming support only passes in said first and second work station (4, 4′, 5, 5′, 6, 12, 14). There are also described a process for manufacturing tyres for vehicle wheels and a method for selecting work stations (4, 4′, 5, 5′, 6, 12, 14) of a tyre building plant.