Compagnie Generale Des Etablissements Michelin

Michelin Recherce Et Techinque S.a.

Chris Beccavin

Chinglin Pan

Michael D Petrovich

David C Lung

John E Hommerson

James Fortner

A system for the continuous extrusion, molding, and curing of tread rubber is provided. A plurality of discrete mold sectors are arranged adjacent to each other along a longitudinal axis between an in-feed and an out-feed of a mold sector transport mechanism that extends through a heated press. As the mold sectors are continuously advanced along a process direction in steps, rubber material is extruded and placed onto at least one of the mold sectors near the in-feed end such that an elongated strip of rubber material extends over multiple mold sectors along the longitudinal axis. As the strip of rubber material exits the press, the mold sectors are sequentially removed from the rubber material and returned to the in-feed. An extruder outlet positioned near the in-feed can be moved towards or away from the mold sectors to supply rubber material and prevent backflow.

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Greenville, SC, United States of America

Chris Beccavin