Development of a process to hot vulcanize ten tires simultaneously, research into the heating curve parameters during the vulcanization process for retreaded tires, with automation of the machine

• Grant number: 03/07997-9
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Innovative Research in Small Business - PIPE
• Start date: December 01, 2004
• End date: November 30, 2007
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Chemical Engineering - Industrial Operations and Equipment for Chemical Engineering
• Principal Investigator: José Eugênio Ganade
• Grantee: José Eugênio Ganade
• Company: Camelback Comércio de Pneus de Santos Ltda. - ME

Abstract

The observation of the inefficiency of a project with more than 40 years without innovations and the evidence of constant customer complaints about the guarantee of a repaired product which often lasted only a few days, led the company to the decision to develop new methodologies to refine the tire vulcanization process. This project’s objective is to build a piece of equipment to hot vulcanize ten tires simultaneously and introduce a vulcanization control system by means of monitoring of the heat curve of the camelbak, with the automation of the equipment. In this way, the intervention of operators during the process is reduced and the quality of the final product is guaranteed, since the software developed accompanies the entire operation, correcting the temperature and the vulcanization time necessary to guarantee the uniformity of the repaired tire. A system was developed of doing away with two accessories which are used during the conventional process, allowing for all ten repaired tires to maintain the same internal pressure by means of compartmentalization. Thus, all the tires are brought together in a single pressure chamber, which is controlled during the vulcanization and kept stable during the entire repair process. (AU)