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Machinery: STEELASTIC® Introduces Combo Belt & Body Ply Machine – Tyre Asia

Steelastic Belt Body Ply Combo MachineSTEELASTIC, the world leader in extrusion-based systems for manufacturing tyre reinforcing components, has introduced its new Combo Belt & Body Ply Machine. This combination machine, originally developed for STEELASTIC’s own Calenderless Manufacturing Cell, can switch from running steel belt / breaker material to textile or steel body ply in a matter of minutes. The combo machine shares a common extrusion, cooling and accumulation system, with separate cutting and splicing lines for belt / breaker and body ply. Material is produced in one, end-to-end process, from creel to wind-up, eliminating the need for expensive calendering and off-line processing operations.

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Technology: ‘Calenderless’ Manufacturing Cell – Tyre Asia

Tyre Asia Technology Calenderless Manufacturing CellHistorically, calendering machines with secondary offline processing operations have been used to produce steel and textile belt/breaker, steel and textile body ply, textile and steel cap strip, inner liner and other single compound components. Replacing the calendering equipment used in producing these materials with highly automated and versatile extrusion-based systems eliminates WIP and all the associated steps moving material in and out of storage. The added automation and quick-change versatility of these machines also serve to perfectly align the tyre manufacturing process with modern needs. This is the significance of the ‘calenderless’ solution that STEELASTIC recently introduced.

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Steelastic® Introduces Combo Belt & Body Ply Machine

 

Detail images of Combo Belt & Body Ply Machine from Steelastic

CUYAHOGA FALLS, OH – Nov. 6, 2019. Steelastic, the world leader in extrusion-based systems for manufacturing tire reinforcing components, has introduced its new Combo Belt & Body Ply Machine. This combination machine, originally developed for Steelastic’s own Calenderless Manufacturing Cell, can switch from running steel belt / breaker material to textile or steel body ply in a matter of minutes. The combo machine shares a common extrusion, cooling and accumulation system, with separate cutting and splicing lines for belt / breaker and body ply. Material is produced in one, end-to-end process, from creel to wind-up, eliminating the need for expensive calendering and off-line processing operations.

 

“We wanted to make it easy for tire manufacturers to try our calenderless manufacturing process, using their own materials, with the finished product produced to their exact specifications,” said Ian Dennis, Steelastic President. “To achieve this, we invested in our groundbreaking Calenderless Manufacturing Cell incorporating our new generation of highly flexible Belt and Body Ply machines. This combination machine format is very attractive to tire manufacturers, particularly for R&D facilities, where smaller batch sizes and regular SKU changes are the norm.”

 

The new Steelastic® Combo Belt & Body Ply Machine is custom-designed for every application and can even be adapted to add extruded textile cap strip manufacture. The basic set-up includes creels for steel or textile reinforcement cords, which feed into a cross head extrusion die where the cords are fully encapsulated in rubber. The material then passes through a cooling and accumulation unit, before being processed in either the belt / breaker or the body ply machines, and then wound with liner on an in-line wind-up system. In-line hot or cold gum edging of the steel belt can also be added if needed. The machine is operated by a single operator to minimize operational cost.

 

For more information about the Steelastic® Combo Belt & Body Ply Machine, call us today at +1-330-633-0505 or email at sales@steelastic.com. www.steelastic.com.

 

About Steelastic:

Founded in 1970, The Steelastic Co., LLC is the leading designer and manufacturer of extrusion-based systems for manufacturing belt, cap strip, inner liner, and apex components for passenger, truck, bus, off road, aircraft and motorcycle tires. Steelastic is the fuel behind the “Go Calenderless” revolution in the tire making industry, allowing tiremakers to now profitably manufacture shorter runs of multiple SKUs. Today, Steelastic has over 900 systems operating in more than 55 countries around the world. Steelastic has been owned by Heico Companies LLC since 1998. Chicago-based Heico is a privately held, WBENC-certified business with a portfolio of more than 50 companies worldwide representing engineered components, specialty equipment, construction and industrial services and steel products.

 

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Nokian Inaugurates Tennessee Tire Plant – Rubber & Plastics News

Nokian Tire Plant Dayton TennesseeDAYTON, Tenn.—Nokian Tyres P.L.C. has commissioned production at its Dayton passenger/light truck tire factory two years after breaking ground on the $360 million project.

Speaking to an audience of several hundred tire dealers, state, regional and local government officials, local and trade media and other invited guests, Nokian Tyres CEO Hille Korhonen and other Nokian executives declared the factory—the company’s third overall and first outside of Europe—open for business.

Calling the opening a “key milestone” in Nokian’s growth journey, Korhonen noted the Dayton factory will provide the impetus for her company’s ambitious growth strategy—to double sales volume in North America by 2023—as well as considerable career opportunities for residents of eastern Tennessee.

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Technology: STEELASTIC® Introduces Calenderless Manufacturing Cell – European Rubber Journal

Calenderless Tire Manufacturing Cell Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio – Steelastic has built a calenderless manufacturing cell to enable tire manufacturers to test run their materials for the production of a range of tire reinforcement components.

Manufactured at Steelastic’s Akron facility, the cell’s extrusion-based manufacturing processes for belt/breaker, body ply, cap strip and inner liner are claimed to eliminate the need for calendering and off-line processing equipment.

The single-operator equipment used in the cell have been developed in response to growing demand for “more flexible, highly automated and lower capital outlay manufacturing systems,” said the extrusion machinery supplier in a 24 Sept statement.

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STEELASTIC® Introduces “Calenderless” Manufacturing Cell

Calenderless Manufacturing CellCUYAHOGA FALLS, OH – Sept.25, 2019. STEELASTIC has built a Calenderless Manufacturing Cell in its Akron area facility to enable tire manufacturers to test run their own materials to produce the full range of tire reinforcement components. STEELASTIC’s extrusion-based manufacturing processes for belt/breaker, body ply, cap strip and inner liner eliminate the need for expensive and inflexible calendering and off-line processing equipment.

The compact, single-operator machines used in this cell have been developed in response to a growing demand for more flexible, highly automated and lower capital outlay manufacturing systems. “This dedicated manufacturing cell is a key component of our drive to help manufacturers, worldwide, convert to more versatile, smaller footprint systems, necessary to profitably manufacture shorter runs of multiple tire types,” said Ian Dennis, STEELASTIC President.

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STEELASTIC® Introduces Calenderless Manufacturing Cell – Tire Review

extruded steel belt textile body ply machineSteelastic has built a calenderless manufacturing cell in its Akron-area facility to enable tire manufacturers to test run their own materials to produce the full range of tire reinforcement components.

Steelastic’s extrusion-based manufacturing processes for belt/breaker, body ply, cap strip and inner liner eliminate the need for expensive and inflexible calendering and off-line processing equipment, the company says.

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STEELASTIC® Completes Puzzle with New System – Rubber & Plastics News

Ian Dennis Shows Body Ply Splce

Photo by: Bruce Meyer, Rubber & Plastics News

HANOVER, Germany—Machinery maker Steelastic Co. L.L.C. has been a bit cryptic in its marketing efforts in recent weeks.

The Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio-based producer of equipment used in tire component preparation has been urging its customers and perspective clients to “Think Small” or “Go Calenderless.”

Steelastic, part of the Heico Tire & Rubber Group, started the campaign in conjunction with its unveiling of the firm’s Extruded Textile Body Ply System.

The company launched the system at the Tire Technology Expo, and said it is the first option on the market that can replace the textile calender and offline cutting equipment that currently is used to produce all textile body plies, according to Steelastic President Ian Dennis. He discussed the new offering during the expo, held March 5-7 in Hanover.

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New Generation of STEELASTIC® Extruded Steel Belt System Gets First Sales

CUYAHOGA FALLS, OH – Almost two years ago, the Steelastic Company embarked on an exciting long-term strategy to develop a range of machines for the smaller, more flexible, high-efficiency tire plants of the future.  In February 2018, this strategy produced its first major new piece of equipment with the launch of the Steelastic Next Generation Extruded Steel Belt Machine at the Tire Technology Expo in Hanover, Germany.

The Tire Technology launch was quickly followed in May 2018 by the first sale of two Next Generation Extruded Steel Belt Systems to Finland-based premium tire manufacturer Nokian, for its greenfield factory under construction in Dayton, Tennessee.  When it comes on-line, this new plant will have a capacity of four million car and light truck all-season tires per year, with room for further expansion.

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