TYRE RETREADING

Study Of Mold Cure Process

PROJECT REPORT
ON
TYRE RETREADING
(STUDY OF MOLD CURE PROCESS)
Mini Project Report submitted in partial fulfillment of the
Requirements for the award of
BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY
IN
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
BY
V.SUMANTH KUMAR
08B61A0357

NALLA MALLA REDDY ENGINEERING COLLEGE
Divya Nagar, Kachvanisingaram post, Ghatkesar 501 301.
Approved by AICTE * Affiliated to JNTU * Code B6
NALLA MALLA REDDY ENGINEERING COLLEGE
Approved by AICTE, Affiliated to JNTU, Code B6
DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that this is a Bonafide record of the project work entitled
STUDY OF MOLD CURE PROCESS satisfactorily carried out by
V.SUMANTH KUMAR (08B61A0357) in partial fulfillment of his
B-Tech Examination.




Internal Guide Dr. T. Mohandas
N.Pavan kumar Head of Department
Assistant professor Mechanical Engineering
External Examiner
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The envisaged project on hot working Process in tyre retreading has been successfully completed with the unmitigated bestowed
on me by the management of Om Engineering Works pvt.ltd
I would like to express my deep felt gratitude to our principal Dr. V. Siva Rama Prasad for giving me an opportunity to go ahead
with the project.
I would like to express my profound gratitude to Dr. T.MOHANDAS(Head of the Department, Mechanical Engineering,
NMREC), for permitting me to do the project.
I would also like to thank my internal guide N. PAVAN KUMAR (Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering, NMREC) whose
encouragement, guidance and valuable suggestions are of utmost importance in successful completion of this project.
Lastly, I extend my profuse thanks to all employees working at OM Engineering Works Pvt. Ltd for co-operating with me in
completing the project.

V.Sumanth Kumar
Abstract

Topic: Study of Mold Cure Process

Description: TYRE RETREADING

Is a technology, where the old tires are made serviceable by removing worn out and damaged treads (rubber belts) and replacing it with
new treads. Similar to the new tires, the treated tires can be very well used on all vehicles, irrespective of light or heavy vehicles. Uncured
rubber is added to a buffed casing and cured in the mold at temperatures of approximately 150C to160C.
This temperature allows uncured rubber to flow in the matrix forming the tread design during vulcanization.
This is one of the process in tyre retreading, comparing with the other tyre retreading processes this is more
efficient as bonding of tread is strong due to heat treatment.
INTRODUCTION
\
Tires
It is estimated that over 290 million tires from cars and trucks are thrown away by Americans
every year. About 55 million of these tires are either taking up space in our landfills or are being thrown illegally on the
side of the road or onto private properties. When you throw away used tires they become breeding grounds for mosquitoes
and rodents, and many of these creates carry diseases.

Since children like to play with discarded tires, this makes it a recipe for disaster. Many people also try to
burn their tires, and these fires can last for months, releasing toxic chemicals into the air that can also run off into our water
sources. The best way to stop these discarded tires from carrying disease and toxic chemicals is to become involved in tire
recycling.


What is tire recycling?

Tire recycling is the process of recycling old tires that can no longer be used efficiently by vehicles into
other types of products. In 1989 only about 10% of tires were recycled, but in 2003 over 80% of tires were sent to scrap tire
recycling facilities. The market for scrap tires is increasing in demand, so to keep it successful you need to do your part to
prevent tires from polluting our environment. The best thing about recycling tires is that they can be retread. This means
that the old tread is buffed away and a new tread is put on the tire so it can be used again on an automobile














Nomenclature of Tyre


What Is Tyre Retreading?

Tyre Retreading is a technology, where the old tyres are made serviceable by removing worn out and
damaged treads (rubber belts) and replacing it with new treads. Similar to the new tyres, the treated tyres can be very well used on all
vehicles, irrespective of light or heavy vehicles.


Why Retread?
Retreaded Tyres are Great Value for Money! !
Retreaded tyres can and do perform as well as new tyres and they do it at a substantial savings over the high cost of new tyres.
.
It should be remembered that every major truck tyre manufacturer, with no exceptions, manufactures its tyres for multiple
lives, meaning they are designed to be retreaded. So when an owner operator or a fleet manager doesn't retread his tyres, he is simply
throwing money.If you are a private car owner, retreads also offer a viable economic alternative to new tyres. Retread tyres are proven
to be as safe and durable as compared to new tyres. Many truck fleets plan their new tyre purchases with the intention of having worn
casings retreaded two or more times as a routine part of their tyres budget.
.

How it is done?
Retreading is recycling Retreading is the process where selected and inspected worn tyres, called casings, receive a
new tread. The worn tread is buffed away and a new tread is bonded to the tyre body in a process very similar to the manufacture of new
tyres. There are several different process techniques, but the ultimate objective is the same, affixing a new tread through the application
of heat, time and pressure. There are basically two ways in which tyres can be retreaded - the Hot process (mould cure system) and the
Cold process (precure system).
Retreading Industry in India

In the manufacture of a new tyre, approximately 75%-80% of the manufacturing cost is incurred in tyre body and
remaining 20%-25% in the TREAD, the portion of the tyre which meets the road surface. Hence, by applying a new TREAD
over the body of the worn tyre, a fresh lease of life is given to the tyre, at a cost which is less than 50% of the price of a new
tyre. This process is termed as 'tyre retreading'.

However, the body of the used tyre must have some desirable level of characteristics to enable retreading. Retreading
cannot also be done if the tyre has already been over used to the extent that the fabric is exposed/damaged. Retreading could
be done more than once.
Selection of Tyre Retreading

To be suitable for retreading a tyre must:
Be structurally sound
Be of an inherent quality suitable for retreading ("80% of some types of car tyres are not suitable for retreading)

Need to be of the right size for the retreader's markets
Once the tyre has been selected, it will undergo continuous visual inspection as it moves through the retreading process, until as a
finished tyre it is subjected to the final quality checks and put into stock. Different methods are employed for the selection process
and the final quality check including manual, visual, ultrasonic, laser shearography and inflation testing. The choice of test depends
to some extent on the throughput of the process.
Manual/visual selection is the conventional process for acceptance, and is a highly successful method, carried out by well-trained
inspectors. Tyres are subjected to visual and tactile inspection, which can discern component fractures and delamination between
tyre layers. However, manual testing used as an acceptance criterion of casings for retreading has some limitations. Smaller
delaminations cannot necessarily be detected at this stage, but they can grow during the curing process to a discernable size and are
subsequently detected. Manual/visual inspection is well suited to car tyres, due to the ease of manipulating lighter structures and the
ability to detect defects by feel.
Ultrasonic methods are usually used as acceptance tests, and measure how high frequency sound is transmitted through the tyre.
Damaged areas absorb the sound, which can be detected from data scans. Ultrasonic testing is excellent for revealing delaminations
within the structure.
Some empirical information arises from an analysis of selection data for commercial vehicle tyres over a three month period at
one major site. This provides an indication of the main reasons for rejection of tyres collected at end of operational life.
Flow Procedure of Mold Cure Process

Inspection

Drying

Buffing

Building-Hot Retreading Tread

Rubberizing-Side Wall Glue

Fixing Inner Tube

Curing By Segmented Mold

Final Inspection




Generally all the above processes are used depending on the size and specifications of the tyre that is to be
retreaded. Most of the industries in India,lack skilled labour because of this manual inspection at the initial stages is not preffered
.Only the top most reputed industries are well equipped regarding the inspecting machinery.








Inspection
The purpose of initial inspection is to verify that casing is acceptable for retreading or not using a thorough inspection of each tyre
inside and outsid and the tyre surface should be intact, sidewalls should not over size.The presence of nails or any other material like
particles are detected.


This inspection involves both manual and machinery equipment to approve the tyre for further processing. Manual/visual inspection
involves checking of holes or external damages of the tyre. Whereas, machinery inspection involves passage of small currents through
bunch of small cables and these cables produces spark when ever there is a presence of nails or iron particles.

Drying
Here after the inspection the tyre is cleaned and dried in order to remove all the moisture content on the surface of the tyre
so that there will no further defects can arise in further processing


After drying,the tyre's old tread is mechanically
removed on high speed buffers.Then worker make second polishing and section repairs, including the sidewall of the tyre.


Here after removal of old tread the repair sections were found initial treatment of tyre is done i.e. patching of holes and
skiving is done


BUFFING MACHINE


Buffing provides the uniform and smooth surface after removal of old tread the repair sections were found clearly on the
surface and initial treatment of tyre is done i.e. patching of holes and skiving.
.

Building-Hot Retreading Tread
The buffed tyre needs a thin layer of cushion gum to be wrapped around its crown area.The hot retreading tread
(different from the cold retreading tyre tread ,no flower patters is then applied with the Tyre building Machine .

A tread with out any pattern represent the plane nylon sheet that is applied over the cushion gum.


Rubberising-Side Wall Glue

After building the tyre tread, then worker filling glue on the the sidewall of the tyre .then all of the tyre are
decorated with the glue . Actually the addition of glue to the side wall imparts rised letters during vulcanizing.


Fixing Inner Tube

The built tyres are then mounted with curing inner tube to prepare them for vulcanizing.This is not necessary for modern
autonomous machinery use of this process is to make the tyre expand after inserting into the mold.
Curing By Segmented Mold
The tyre is then placed in the hot retreading machine-segmented mold retreading machine. During this processing , the tyre
tread are to be printed by the flower patterns of machine mold .After vulcanization ,the new retreaded tire is taking shape.It is
new tyre and have own brand .

Curing mold

Final Inspection
The retreaded tyre is subjected to a final inspection.This inspection insure that only tyres. which meet the industry quality
standards, are allowed to leave the retread plant.
Tire Footprint Pressure Measurement

The TireScan system is a unique tool used throughout the tire industry to capture static or dynamic tire footprint pressure patterns
of passenger, truck, off road, agricultural, and aircraft tires. Various industry leaders such as Goodyear, Michelin, Bridgestone, and Pirelli
use the TireScan pressure measurement system to analyze tread designs and conduct quality control experiments.
AIRCRAFT TYRE RETREADING
All the processes mentioned above are similar to all types of tyre retreading except the thing that inflation of tyre is
different depending on the accuracy and time available.
Incase of aircraft tyre retreading, the inflation is different that is nitrogen is used because of following reasons:-
Nitrogen is a inert gas and ensure maximum uniformity at high temperature
Nitrogen extends life of bladders because not oxydating
Nitrogen is preferred by aircraft tyre retreaders working at high pressure because it assures the maximum adherence between the aircraft
tyre (more rigid) and the mould
Nitrogen reduces the curing time if used heated

CONCLUSION

The retreaded tyres' life is almost equivalent as of the new tyre. But the expense of retreading is only 30 to 40% cost of the new tyre. So
truck owners, tractor owners and OTR (Off-The-Road) vehicle owners will prefer to retread the tyres instead of purchasing new ones
because using retreaded tyres becomes economical. Even car and Jeep tyres can easily be retreaded to save cost and increase life
expectancy of tyres.

Retreads are extremely environmentally friendly.

Firstly, the production of a retread saves substantial amounts of fossil fuels. In fact, the manufacture of a passenger retread requires 4.5
gallons less oil than a newtyre.

Secondly, retreaded tyres sold are almost exclusively manufactured within the territory itself, which means they don't have to be shipped
from the other side of the world, unlike many budget new tyres a high proportion of which are manufactured in China and other Far East
countries. .

Retreading is also the best practical environmental option for tyre recycling. Every retread used means one less new tyre saving in natural
resources. It also means that less tyres ultimately have to be burned, thereby reducing pollution. In fact, a recent study by the
Environmental.

An often named advantage of mold-cure retreading is the appearance of the retreaded tyre which is difficult to distinguish from a new tyre.
With precure retreads, a bond line can be visible on the side wall.

The look of a retread doesnt tell you any thing about its safety and performance.