Die (1) representing a tread pattern model for a tread of a tire to be moulded. The die is made up of a plurality of blocks (2) separated by grooves (4), at least a part of the die having surfaces provided with textures (5).

A method of forming a tire includes a mold having a molding cavity defined at least in part by an outermost molding surface and a pair of opposing shoulder-forming portions. The mold includes a sipe-forming element spaced apart inwardly from the pair of opposing shoulder-forming portions with a knife edge oriented towards a first shoulder-forming portion and a knife edge translation member arranged outside the mold cavity and configured to translate in a direction towards the first shoulder-forming portion and from which a sipe-forming portion extends. The method further includes arranging an uncured tire tread within the mold, molding the uncured tire tread, and demolding the tire tread such that the sipe-forming element forms a sipe by the knife edge lacerating a thickness of the cured molded tread as the sipe-forming element is pulled in a direction toward the shoulder-forming portion.

Equipment for molding and curing a green tire includes a curing mold including a first bead molding ring including a first surface for contacting a radially inner and axially inner surface portion of an annular fixing structure of the green tyre and a first sidewall plate including a second surface for contacting a radially inner and axially outer surface portion of the annular fixing structure. The first bead molding ring is radially extendable from a contracted operating position to an expanded operating position so as to delimit a portion of the annular fixing structure between the first sidewall plate and the first bead molding ring, and the first bead molding ring is translatable towards the first sidewall plate for generating a first squeezing pressure on the annular fixing structure. The equipment further includes an inflatable bladder associated for operation with the curing mold.

A mold pin fixed to a tread mold for a tire tread and forming a stud hole is disclosed. The mold pin is provided at one end of its main shaft portion with an expanded portion having a larger outer diameter. The expanded portion comprises a supporting part formed integrally with the main shaft portion, and an outer-shell part disposed on the outer surface of the supporting part to define the maximum outer diameter of the expanded portion. When a force directed from the main shaft portion toward the expanded portion is applied to the outer-shell part, the outer-shell part is moved so as to reduce the maximum outer diameter.

Process for additive manufacturing of at least one part. At least one layer of powder is deposited on a working surface using a layering device for distributing the powder mobile in translation along the surface and at least partly fusing the layer deposited using a beam of energy. The depositing and fusing steps are repeated in order to form the part by stacking of fused layers. The distribution component of the layering device is mobile in a direction substantially parallel to the direction of the length of each fused layer of the part. The depositing and fusing steps are repeated in order to form the part so that the length of the part extends along a direction substantially parallel to the stacking direction of the fused layers and so that the head of the part is oriented substantially perpendicular to the working surface.

Die (1) representing a tread pattern model for a tread of a tire to be moulded, said die being made up of a die body (2) and at least one insert (10) attached to the body of said die, covering at least one of the surfaces of the grooves (4) in the body (2), the insert having at least one substantially flat surface provided with textures.

Disclosed herein are automated systems and methods utilizing a plurality of specialized RFID tags incorporated within various tire manufacturing components (e.g., mold segments, mold container, bladder plates, tire presses, and extrusion dies) that are able to readily track tire manufacture and identify defect source(s) while concurrently being configured to the harsh processes and temperatures of tire manufacture.

To provide a method for producing a tire vulcanizing mold capable of obtaining a tire vulcanizing mold having excellent durability and high precision at low cost and to provide such a tire vulcanizing mold, the method includes producing a tire vulcanizing mold by assembling a pattern molding segment, produced by rapid prototyping, on a metal base segment, the method further includes a step of producing the pattern molding segment from a metal based on a shape of a surface layer part including a pattern shaping surface in a basic model of the tire vulcanizing mold.

The molding element has a molding surface for forming a contact face of the contacting elements and a groove forming rib portion for forming the groove. The groove forming rib portion has opposed rib side faces for forming opposed groove side faces and a rib top face connecting the rib side faces for forming a groove bottom. The groove forming rib portion provides at least one space opening to at least one of the rib side faces and/or to the rib top face and an insert is received in the space. The insert is composed of a plurality of thin plates stacked in a direction along which the rib extends and comprises at least one notched plate of thickness t1 including at least one notch for forming a flexible fence of the closing device; and comprises at least one support plate of thickness t2 without notch.

The invention relates to a matrix (10) for a tire mold, to a tire mold and to a method for producing a tire mold for vulcanizing tire blanks, the matrix forming a negative mold of a profiled tread of a tire, the matrix having a mold shell comprising sipe blades (11) arranged thereon, the mold shell forming an inner mold side (15) and the sipe blade forming a web (19) of the negative mold, a plurality of slots (13) being formed in the mold shell, a sipe blade being inserted in a slot and attached to the mold shell, wherein the sipe blade is attached to the mold shell in a form-fitting manner, the slot penetrating a mold wall (21) of the mold shell and extending from the inner mold side to a rear mold side (16) of the mold shell.