The Steelastic Company, LLC

Evan J Smith

Jeffrey Ford Bull

Mark Marabito

Thomas D Miller

Thomas D Cartwright

Ty Rager

A tire belt machine comprises an extruder, a cooling drum, and a cutting station, such that the cooling drum draws a strip from the extruder. The cutting station is adapted to cut the strip into a plurality of plies that are laid adjacent one another to form a splice therebetween. A strip width sensor, a strip tracking system, and a strip temperature sensor are coupled to a central control unit to monitor the characteristics of the strip as it is processed. Based upon the monitored characteristics, the central control unit adjusts the operation of one or more of the components of the tire belt machine to maintain uniform splices between the strips.

Tire belt machine

The assembly applies an apex filler to the outer circumferential surface of an annular bead ring. The apex filler applying assembly incorporates an apex filler applicator that is preferably operable in conjunction with a plurality of server mechanisms. One server mechanism is a conveyor that receives a bead ring. A locator operates in conjunction with the conveyor to position the annular bead ring precisely on the conveyor so that it may be engaged by a transfer mechanism. The transfer mechanism removes the bead ring from the conveyor and mounts it on a chuck turret assembly. A chuck head in the chuck turret assembly engages the bead ring and accurately positions the bead ring relative to applying rollers in the apex filler applicator, in which position the apex filler--which has been directed from an extruder through an orienting mechanism, into an in-feed mechanism and severed to length by an in-flight guillotine cutter--is applied to the annular bead ring. After the apex filler has been applied to the bead ring the transfer mechanism removes the finished tire bead sub-assembly from the chuck head and deposits the tire bead sub-assembly on the conveyor for removal from the assembly.

Method for applying an apex filler to a bead ring

Apparatus for applying an apex filler to a bead ring

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Massillon, OH, United States of America

Evan J Smith