Calendering in Material Preparation for Tire Manufacturing

Green tire production method to enable larger sidewall protrusions without increasing weight or rolling resistance. The method involves locally reinforcing the sidewall rubber in regions with protrusions during green tire production. After forming the tire carcass, sidewall rubber is wound onto the outer surfaces. Then, a band-shaped reinforcement is attached to specific areas on the sidewalls where protrusions will be molded. This provides extra thickness at those points without excess in other areas. When the green tire is vulcanized, the reinforcements align with recesses in the mold to form the protrusions. This allows larger sidewall features without over-thickening the sidewalls overall.

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Controlling fluid discharge during tire molding to improve vulcanization and prevent defects. The method involves building the green tire with a radially internal surface that has channels or grooves extending from the belt to the sidewall. These channels connect to the mold's discharge channels. This allows fluids between the mold and green tire to flow out, preventing trapped air pockets and improving adhesion during vulcanization. The channels can be continuous elastomeric coils wound into the tire.

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Rubber compositions for tires that provide improved green tire processing and reduced scorching during manufacturing. The compositions contain functionalized elastomers with polar groups like hydroxyl, carbonyl, imine, and epoxide groups. They also have a polyphenolic compound like gallotannins with multiple vicinal hydroxyl groups. The functionalized elastomers crosslink independently of the rest of the elastomer structure. This allows better green processing and reduced scorching compared to traditional vulcanization systems. The compositions can be used in tires with reinforcing elements like metal-coated textile threads. The metal-coated threads have a metallic surface made of iron, copper, tin, zinc, brass, or steel. This improves adhesion between the reinforcing element and the rubber composition.

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A tire with a shaped tread and a method of making it. The tire has a green tread made of sheets of polymeric material. The sheets have a tread region and are sandwiched between upper and lower rings with spokes extending between them. The green tread is then cured to form the final tire tread. This allows for a more efficient and cost-effective tire manufacturing process compared to traditional methods.

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Solid master elastomeric composition containing nanoscale silicate fibers with needle-shaped morphology for improved tire performance. The masterbatch is prepared by dispersing the fibers in an elastomer latex, followed by coagulation to form a solid elastomeric composition. This allows uniform fiber distribution and control of fiber content in the final tire compound. The fibers provide reinforcement without adding carbon black. The masterbatch is added to the tire compound along with other elastomers, vulcanizing agents, etc. The tire components are then molded into green tires which are vulcanized to form the final tires. The fiber-reinforced tire compound has reduced hysteresis and improved rigidity compared to carbon black-reinforced compounds.

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A method for manufacturing tires with features like ribs, lugs, bars, or tread blocks using compression molding instead of conventional vulcanization. The process involves making green (unvulcanized) tire segments in a compression mold with negative shapes of the desired tread features. These segments are then assembled onto the green carcass and vulcanized with the mold features aligned. This allows precise replication of the tread design without the need for viscous rubber filling gaps during vulcanization.

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Elastomeric compositions containing fillers like silica that have improved processibility without harming performance characteristics. The compositions include at least one elastomer, at least one vinyl acetal polymer, at least one filler, and optionally at least one coupling agent. The vinyl acetal polymer, like polyvinyl butyral, improves compound processibility by reducing viscosity during mixing. It allows easier handling of fillers like silica without the need for excessive mixing times or oil additives. The compositions find applications in tire compounds, for example, where they provide improved green strength and reduced compound mixing times without negatively impacting tire performance properties like wear resistance, grip, and handling.

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Improving tire molding process by preventing air/steam trapping between the green tire and pressing bladder during vulcanization. The method involves creating channels in the green tire's internal surface that connect to the bladder's drainage channels. This allows trapped fluids to be evacuated and prevents blistering or incomplete vulcanization. The channels are continuous elastomeric coils with circumferential grooves. They extend from the belt area to the sidewall where the tire sections bulge.

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Decentralized tire manufacturing system that allows pre-selection of casing and tread properties to optimize tire performance. Instead of making green tires as a whole, the casing and treads are separately manufactured with preselected components and processing. This allows tailoring the casing and tread properties for specific combinations that maximize desired tire characteristics when assembled.

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Manufacturing pneumatic tires using winding unvulcanized rubber tapes instead of extruding rubber components for flexibility and size reduction. The method involves winding unvulcanized rubber tapes around a drum to form the desired shape of the tire components. This allows making tires with fewer extruders and smaller plant size while reducing the number of required rubber tape types. The tapes can have short fiber reinforcement for improved rigidity and crack resistance. The tread, sidewall, bead, and inner liner components are all made by winding tapes instead of extruding. The green tire is assembled using the wound components, then vulcanized.

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