It’s fair to say we tend to take our tyres for granted. I might be speaking for myself, but I just expect to them to be there and to work when it comes to heading out for a spin.
Sure, they’re super helpful, you know, gripping the road and basically saving your life at corner your car propels itself around, and granted, we do often just refer to them as “the rubber”, but there’s actually a pretty sophisticated process that goes into manufacturing them.
Once you know all the work that goes into making them, you might like to read our article on how to keep your tyres in the best condition!
Blending the rubber
Tyres can contain up to 30 different types of rubber, as well as filler and other materials. Once these ‘ingredients’ have been gathered, they are placed in a huge mixer, where they are blended into a black sticky concoction that may be delivered to the mill.
Milling the rubber
The rubber compound mix is then cooled right down after blending so it can be taken to the mill and cut into strips. These strips eventually become the tyre’s basic structure. At this point, other elements of the tyre are also prepared.
The tyre build starts
The name says it all. Once all the different parts are ready, the tyre needs to be put together. This is done starting from the inside and working out. All the different parts such as textile elements, steel belts, tread, ply and beads are put inside a tyre-building machine. Once this stage is over, the tyre should begin to start looking like a tyre. But it’s not quite ready yet.
The tyre is cured
The tyre is vulcanised with hot moulds during the curing process. This is what gives the tyre its final shape, tread pattern, and all the letters, numbers, and marks on the sidewall by compressing all the pieces together.
Inspection time, very important!
The inspection of the tyre is the final step in the process. This necessitates the use of specialised machinery by a trained professional to inspect each tyre for flaws before it is shipped out. It also entails taking a sample of tyres from the batch and running them via an x-ray equipment to ensure that there are no interior flaws.
Some tyre brands will also choose tyres at random to cut open and inspect visually to ensure they match their criteria.
MyAutoShop can help with tyres
Need help? A tyre specialist booked through MyAutoShop is ready and waiting to help you figure out how much life is left on your tyres, and what your options might be for a wheel alignment, or even a new set of tyres.