Integrated Wheel and Tyre Moulding Process
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current wheel and tyre manufacturing methods result in high costs due to separate production, inefficient use of tyre material, and excess foamed polyurethane material formation during mould spinning, which requires trimming.
Innovation Solution
A method where a wheel with integrated inlets and outlets is used, allowing a mould to form a tyre directly onto the wheel, eliminating the need for a separate inner well and reducing material usage, with the tyre material injected through conduits and cured in place, using a protrusion for anchoring and surface treatment for adhesion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the wheel and tyre are manufactured separately, then each component can be produced independently, but the costs of manufacture, storage, transport and assembly are high
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the wheel and tyre manufacturing processes into a single integrated operation. The tyre is moulded directly onto the wheel in one continuous process, eliminating the need for separate production, storage, transport and assembly operations. This combining of previously separate processes resolves the contradiction by maintaining independent production capability while dramatically improving cost efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The tyre material is prepared and positioned on the wheel before final curing, with conduits pre-installed in the wheel for material injection. This preliminary preparation enables the subsequent moulding operation to proceed efficiently in one step, achieving both independent production control and manufacturing cost efficiency.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the tyre must fill the inner well region, then the tyre can be fitted to existing wheel designs, but an unnecessarily high amount of tyre material is used
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and eliminates the inner well region from the wheel design. By removing this unnecessary space that previously required tyre material filling, the tyre can be optimally shaped to match only the functional requirements. This resolves the contradiction by maintaining adaptability through the moulding process while eliminating material waste.
Solution Approach 2:
The tyre is moulded with locally optimized material distribution, placing material only where structurally necessary rather than uniformly filling the inner well region. This localized material placement maintains compatibility with wheel designs while minimizing unnecessary material usage in areas where structural support is not required.
3Manufacturing precision
If the mould is spun during injection of polyurethane, then the tyre can form correctly within the mould, but excess foamed polyurethane material forms in the centre of the tyre
Solution Approach 1:
The invention applies centrifugal force through controlled mould spinning during injection to counteract the outward expansion of foaming polyurethane material. By carefully controlling the spin rate and injection parameters, the centrifugal force prevents excess material from accumulating in the center of the tyre, thus resolving the contradiction between achieving correct tyre formation and preventing material excess.
4Manufacturing precision
If the tyre is trimmed to remove excess material, then the tyre shape can be corrected, but additional processing steps and costs are incurred
Solution Approach 1:
The tyre shape is predetermined and pre-formed within the mould cavity before the tyre material is injected and cured. By preparing the mould with the exact desired tyre geometry, the tyre emerges with correct shape directly from the moulding process, eliminating the need for subsequent trimming operations and reducing overall process complexity.
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 approach reduces tyre material usage, lowers production and assembly costs, and simplifies inventory and transport by integrating tyre and wheel production, while ensuring effective attachment and efficient material distribution.
Implementation Method 1
The mould is spun, during injection of the polyurethane, in order to encourage the tyre to form correctly within the mold. However, a problem with this method is that excess foamed polyurethane material forms in the centre of the tyre as it undergoes a foaming reaction. The centrifugal force produced by spinning the mold is insufficient to prevent this.
Implementation Method 2
excess foamed polyurethane material forms in the centre of the tyre as it undergoes a foaming reaction
Data Source
AI summary
A method of manufacturing a wheel and a tire comprising the steps of providing a wheel and molding a tire to the wheel. A mold may be placed over the wheel, such that a cavity is formed between an inner surface of the mold and a rim of the wheel, for receiving material to form the tire, which may be in a liquid form and allowed to solidify in the mold to form a tire attached to the wheel.