Mixing
Green materials, such as rubber and additives, are gathered cool for the formulation of rubber compounds. The rubber compound is brought to a heavy-duty mixer. A rotor inside the mixer breaks down the rubber compound while other ingredients are added. Heat is applied during the mixing process, rising up to 170 degrees Celsius. A healing carton is adjacent added to the mixer to fabricate the tire elastic. When the mixing manner is done, the rubber is sent to a mill, which has counter-rotating rollers that generate a rubber folio.
Preparation
Other components of the tire are prepared by calendaring and extrusion. Calendaring is the modus operandi of binding a steel or structure cord into the rubber compound. This process produces a steel or fabric belt. Rubber sheets are fed into a machine called the calendar, which is equipped with rollers that press the cord between two sheets of rubber. Heat is also applied to combine the rubber and cord. Calendaring is also used to produce the body plies and inner-liner components.
In the building process, all the components are assembled on a drum to build the tire. First, the inner liner goes on the drum followed by the first and second body plies. The bead bundle, which is a heavy-duty steel cable covered with rubber, is then wrapped to the edges of the body plies.
The extruder machine consists of a barrel and a head. It is used to produce the tread and sidewall components of the tire. The rubber compound is heated and blended through the barrel, which then goes through the head where pressurized shaping takes place.
Building
A bladder is inflated to force the body plies to push out from the drum. The sidewall components are then bonded to both sides of the body plies and bead component. The belt component, cap plies and tread are applied by a different machine. Cap plies, which keep all other components in place, are optional and depend on the type of tire being produced. They are mostly found on tires used for high speeds.Curing
The curing process molds the tire into shape and creates the details on the tread and sidewalls. The unfinished tire is enclosed in a mold, and pressure from an inflated bladder pushes the tire into the mold while heat is applied. The mold produces the tread patterns and letterings on the sidewalls of the tire. After the curing process is done, the tire is freed from the mold and left to cool down.
Finishing
The finished tire goes through a rigorous inspection process before it can be released in order to guarantee quality and safety. The tire is mounted on a machine that will simulate its performance on the road surface. It is then tested for balance and measurements, as well as possible defects.
