Technology focus – Precision tire bladders

Fridingen-Germany-based rubber injection moulding machinery maker DESMA has highlighted the importance of precision in the manufacture of bladders for high-quality tire production. The bladder, it notes, plays a crucial role in this process, acting as a flexible counterpart to the mould.

Filled with process steam at temperatures of up to 200 °C, the bladder presses the tire blank from the inside out into the mould segments.: ensuring that the tread pattern is reproduced in detail and that the various rubber compounds are optimally bonded.

According to DESMA, while bladders used to be manufactured mainly by pressing, injection moulding offers significant advantages in terms of homogeneity, as the rubber compound is distributed much more evenly during injection.

Precision is another important advantage, as “wall thickness tolerances are achieved that are hardly possible with conventional methods,” continued a release from the German equipment major.

Meanwhile, it added, due to the higher structural quality, an injection-moulded bladder can withstand around 300 -400 heating cycles – representing a significant increase in service life.

“Whether for cars, trucks, tractors, or even gigantic mining vehicles: choosing the right manufacturing process for bladders is a decisive lever for efficiency and service life in tire production,” concluded DESMA.