Production process and performance impact of tires

my country's automobile tires have also experienced a long time, and a large number of automobile tire companies have emerged, but how is the tire production process related to the performance and quality of tires? How are domestic tires made? Tires come into use as soon as the vehicle appears.

With the development of technology, the performance of tires has been greatly improved. As far as the current process is concerned, the production of tires will go through the following processes.

1. Mixing process

The internal mixing process is the process of mixing carbon black, natural/synthetic rubber, oil, additives, accelerators and other raw materials together and processing them in an internal mixer to produce "rubber". All raw materials must be tested before entering the mixer and can be used after being released. The weight of each pot of the mixer is about 250 kg. The compound used in each rubber component in a tire has specific properties. The composition of the compound depends on the performance requirements of the tire.

At the same time, the changes in the composition of the rubber compound also depend on the needs of the supporting manufacturers and the market, which mainly come from the requirements of traction, drivability, road conditions and the tire itself. All rubber materials must be tested before entering the next process - the preparation process of rubber parts, and can only enter the next process after being released.

2. Preparation process of glue parts

The glue parts preparation process includes 6 main sections. In this process, all the semi-finished rubber parts that make up the tire are prepared, some of which are pre-assembled.

3. Tire forming process

The tire building process is to assemble all semi-finished products on a building machine into a green tire. The green tire here refers to the unvulcanized tire. After the green tire is inspected, it is transported to the vulcanization process.

4. Vulcanization process

The green tire is loaded into a vulcanizer, where it passes through the mold for the proper time and under the proper conditions, thereby vulcanizing it into a finished tire. The vulcanized tire has the appearance of the finished tire—the pattern/font and tread pattern. Now, the tires will be sent to the final inspection area.

5. Final inspection process

In this area, the tires are first visually inspected and then inspected for uniformity, which is done by a "uniformity testing machine". The uniformity testing machine mainly measures radial force, lateral force, cone force and fluctuation. After the uniformity test, a dynamic balance test should be done. The dynamic balance test is done on the "dynamic balance test machine". Finally the tires are X-rayed and shipped to the finished product warehouse for shipment.

Tire performance: comfort and fit

1. The influence of tire pattern on ride comfort:

(1) Pattern noise:

When the tread surface touches the ground, the air in the grooves is compressed and sound occurs when the air is released. The shape and area of ​​the slot determines the frequency of the noise, and the sound energy emitted increases as the vehicle speed increases.

Rolling resistance: The so-called rolling resistance refers to a kind of resistance generated when the tire rolls on the road surface. There are several main factors that create rolling resistance:

①The deformation of the tire;

②The unevenness of the road surface;

③The friction between the tire and the road surface;

④Mechanical friction of the wheel axle installation part;

⑤ Air resistance during tire rotation.

A commonly used rolling resistance test method is the dynamometric method, which measures the reaction force on the axle. The test equipment is mainly composed of a road driving system based on the drum, a loading device that presses the test tire on the outer peripheral surface of the drum, and a measuring device that detects the test data.

(2) Steering performance:

When cornering, the tires generate a force called the steering force (turning force) that acts on the inside of the inner turning circle. It is this steering force that makes the car turn. In fact, the direction of the car's headway is slightly outboard than the direction of the wheels. With this angle difference, the tire can steer while slipping. This angle difference is called the sideslip angle. The slippery the road surface, the less steering force is generated and the greater the sideslip angle. That is to say, on a slippery road, if you don't turn the steering wheel a little more than on a normal road, you won't achieve the same steering angle. Generally, radial tires have larger steering force and smaller sideslip angle. Therefore, the steering angle of the steering wheel is small, and the sensitivity of its manipulation can be felt.

2. The influence of tire pattern on tire performance:

(1) On the road with accumulated water, a layer of water film will be formed between the tire and the ground, that is, the water film effect. Very easy to cause wheel slip. After the tread groove is designed on the tire, the water between the road surface and the tread can be discharged along the groove, which can prevent the water film effect from occurring. Make the wheels less prone to slipping. It also naturally reduces the phenomenon of slippage on the asphalt road in rainy days. The depth and shape of the groove pattern has an effect on drainage performance. The tires with deep grooves are generally configured for cars participating in rallying and driving at high speed on rough unpaved roads.

(2) Driving in poor road conditions, because the unevenness of the road surface is very large and loose, so this road surface pursues the adhesion performance of the tire more than the drainage. Such a tire pattern is generally called a block. in the form of patterns. However, the rubber texture of tires with this pattern is relatively hard. The rigidity and shape of the block (the part surrounded by the grooves), and the sharpness of the edge corners of the block all affect its performance. Therefore, a tread pattern design that can improve the drainage performance on asphalt roads and the adhesion performance in poor road conditions is produced. Therefore, tires with heavier wear tend to slip on wet asphalt and poor road conditions.

The national tire industry policy and investment orientation have prompted the adjustment of the industrial structure, and the main production enterprises have achieved large-scale production. All-steel radial tires of domestic enterprises have become products with strong competitiveness in domestic and foreign markets. The focus of tire industry development has shifted from "scale, quantity, and speed" in the past to "structure, quality, brand, and efficiency" to drive the social benefits and rational development of the industrial economy.