People take tyres for granted. You might think that it’s a silly thing to say, but it’s true! They’re the only thing keeping more than 38 million vehicles on the road in the UK, yet it’s not something that people usually think about. The car itself is almost always front and centre, while the tyres are relegated to the sidelines. Though they’re equally as important.
According to the Tyre Industry Federation, more than 5,000 direct employees work in the tyre industry within the UK. (2011) More than 15 million tyres are made in the UK every year too, with more than £800 million made in exports. They also contribute approximately £80 million per year to the exchequer.
With all these facts and figures, it’s clear that they matter to the UK for practical and economical reasons, so we should know more about them. For example, what goes into making a tyre? What makes a high-quality brand, such as Goodyear, different from the rest? And why do they work so well as a dog bed? (Seriously, it’s a thing. Just Google it)
How to Make a Tyre – A Beginners Guide
We’re going to tell you right now, you won’t be able to make a tyre after reading this blog post. Tyres are immensely complicated, requiring specialist equipment and knowledgeable teams to successfully construct a functional tyre. Research and development is a massive part of this industry, costing Goodyear more than £295 million in 2015. However, you should be able to appreciate the difference that high-quality tyres can make, and how much work is put into their construction.
Step One – Mixing / Blending
The rubber compound of each tyre is a carefully chosen material, but it needs to be created first. A range of materials is chosen for this purpose, including natural and synthetic rubber, carbon and other types of chemicals and oils. If it was in a cooking book, it would be in the difficult section.
The whole process is controlled by automated computer systems that can provide specific measurements, depending on the manufacturers’ requirements. These measurements are mixed in gigantic vertical cement-mixer-like structures. It’s usually mixed in three stages, and the structure of each mixture depends on which part of the tyre it’s used for.
Step Two – Mill Stage
After the rubber has been mixed, it goes through large rolling mills that squeeze the rubber mixture into sheets. Each sheet is used to make specific parts of a tyre.
Body – This consists of a fabric that is covered with rubber. Each strip of rubberised fabric forms a layer called a ply, and there could be more than 4 layers in a typical passenger tyre.
Beads – A large wire wrapping machine is used to create wire bundles, which are then turned into rings for the tyre beads. These are then covered in rubber.
Tread – An extruder is used to further mix and heat the rubber mixture, it’s then forced through a shaped die to create a layer of rubber. The tread rubber is sliced neatly into strips and loaded into flat metal cases called books.
Step 3 – The Building Stage
Now that we’re all prepped and ready, we can move onto the building stage. The tyre is built from the inside out using a dedicated tyre building machine. A specially trained assembler is needed at this process, as they carefully wrap the rubber-covered fabric plies around a rotating drum. If it sounds complicated, that’s because it is!
Once the plies are assembled, they’re joined together with glue, forming the body of the tyre. The beads are then added and locked into place. Once this is done, the assembler shapes the edge of the tyre plies and glues the sidewalls and the tread into place. Et voila, you now have a “Green Tyre”, or a tyre that doesn’t have the required tread pattern or markings that are usually displayed.
Step 4 – The Curing Process
The newly created green tyre is now placed into a mould that closes around it. It then fills with steam, which can heat the tyre to almost 280 degrees! This steam expands the tyre, shaping it and forcing the blank tread to hit the interior of the mould. It’s at this point that the characteristics of the tyre are defined, and different types, such as summer and winter tyres, are left in for different periods of time.
After the curing process is finished, the super-hot tyre is cooled and inspected for faults. It’s thoroughly tested and examined, and the tyre is spun on a test wheel. This allows inspectors to measure the balance of the tyre, which determines whether it runs in a straight line. Then, and only then, is it moved to a distribution centre for delivery to dealerships around the world.
What Makes the Difference?
As previously mentioned, tyre manufacturers such as Goodyear spend millions on research and development every year. The chemistry and composition of the mixtures and the improved efficiency of the manufacturing process allow for better tyres at quicker rates. This results in premium tyres, such as the Excellence and the UltraGrip Performance. It’s always best to buy tyres from a reputable dealer too, which is where ASDA tyres come in. We regularly update our database to ensure that we have the latest tyres at exceptional prices.