Kobe Steel launches “fastest cycle time” tire testing machine

Tokyo – Kobe Steel, Ltd has launched the Librota-GS tire testing machine, claiming that the system has “the world’s fastest cycle time of 18 seconds per tire and the world’s highest repeated measurement accuracy.”

Used for final inspection and quality checks of passenger car, truck and bus tires in the manufacturing process, tire testing machines verify the uniformity, runout and other properties of tires.

In the field of tire uniformity machines, Kobe Steel is regarded as the top manufacturer with an estimated 30% world share.

Kobe Steel, which claims to have a 30% share in the tire uniformity machines market, plans to supply the new model to tire makers in North America, Europe and other world regions.

The Librota-GS is a more advanced version of its predecessor, the Librota, which was launched in 2013.

In the Librota-GS, said Kobe Steel, the cycle time has been reduced from 20 to 18 seconds in the previous Librota model. This involves incorporating “a newly developed control system and optimising measurement conditions,” said Kobe Steel.

The machine, it said, enables tire makers to achieve a 10% increase in productivity, compared with conventional tire uniformity machines.