CATEGORY - PLANT AUTOMATION
29 Jul 2024
Advances in tire & rubber product manufacture – at one or more stages of the production process
ERJ readers are invited to identify, and comment on, entries they believe to be of particular significance for the industry. Your emailed feedback will guide our selection of the winners in each category, to be published in ERJ Sept/Oct 2024 issue.
HF Mixing Group
Smart Final Mix
HF Mixing Group has developed an AI-based algorithm, called Smart Final Mix, which analyses and optimises final-mixing processes in tire and rubber-product manufacture. Studies have shown that the tool can deliver major savings in terms of mixing-time, throughput, and energy. In tests on industrial machines a mixing-time saving of up to 39% and an energy-reduction of up to 29% were achieved.
HF technical paper... /
Michelin
Visual SLAM AI robotics project with ABB
A new AI robotics technology Visual SLAM technology from ABB has been validated for smart factory applications in collaboration with Michelin in a real production environment – for intralogistics at a factory in Spain. The navigation technology combines AI and 3D vision, enabling autonomous mobile robots to “safely” collaborate with humans while making intelligent decisions in dynamic factory environments.
ABB case study... / Supplier release... /
Rodolfo Comerio
Calender quick-change system
The patented system is designed to minimise the time required for production-changes: making a configuration change at the materials inlet to the calender, in order to pass from the textile cord production to the steel cord one and vice versa. The calendering line has been designed and manufactured to allow the textile and steel cord to have a quick and automatic change with also the insertion and change of grooved rolls for steel cord end-count.
Company release... /
VMI
Revolute
Introduced in 2022, the highly automated VMI Revolute machine is designed to cut cycle times – about half that of its predecessor – without compromising quality and allow one operator to manage multiple machines. Innovative features also include automatic tooling changes and minimal operator intervention for recipe adjustments contribute to reduced downtime and higher productivity, resulting in increased OEE. The highly automated design allows for the use of a wider range of compounds than is possible with traditional machines.
VMI FTR Awards entry... / Technology backgrounder... / Related video...
