In building tyres, an intermediate portion of a carcass structure is built at a time on a respective forming drum within an intermediate forming line. The forming drum with the intermediate portion of the carcass structure is made available at a first transfer location. The intermediate portion of the carcass structure is completed through n completion locations with n1 and then transferred for the subsequent assembling with a crown structure to a second transfer location. At an operating moment in which the first transfer location is occupied by a forming drum coming from the intermediate forming line or intended for the intermediate forming line, from one to n locations selected from the n completion locations and the second transfer location are occupied by respective forming drums.

A method for making a carcass for a pneumatic vehicle tire includes building up a carcass free from sidewalls with an inner liner, a single-ply or multi-ply carcass inlay and bead cores, at a carcass station on a carcass building drum, while creating ply turnups. The carcass produced without sidewalls is transferred to a transfer device. The carcass is kept on the transfer device while applying sidewalls to the carcass. The carcass is retained on the transfer device while transferring the carcass provided with the sidewalls to a shaping machine where the carcass is shaped into a toroidal shape.

In an apparatus for building tires for vehicle wheels, a forming drum is loaded on a shuttle movable on a guide along a deposition line. The shuttle is moved on the guide in the two running directions to bring it to dispensing stations of semifinished products disposed in at least some deposition locations positioned in space succession along the deposition line. At each of the dispensing stations, at least one semifinished product is laid on a radially external surface to the forming drum carried by the shuttle for forming at least one component of a tire. The shuttle is moved on the guide in a different sequence from the space succession of the deposition locations along the deposition line.

A tire manufacturing device includes: a molding drum; a first moving portion in which the molding drum moves in order to mold an inner liner layer on the molding drum; a second moving portion in which the molding drum moves in order to mold a ply layer on the inner liner layer; a stitcher position where a carcass band is formed by performing pressing from above the ply layer laminated on the inner liner layer; and a transfer position where the carcass band is transferred from the molding drum to a transport device that transports the carcass band to a subsequent process, and the stitcher position and the transfer position are adjacent to each other.

A method for building tyres for vehicle wheels is described. Second stage forming drums are moved in a crown structure building line for building respective crown structures. Movement occurs along a first path for building a first part of components of the crown structure and a second path for building a second part of components of the crown structure. Additionally, first stage forming drums are moved in a carcass structure building line for building respective carcass structures. The flow of the second stage forming drums is managed through a first manipulator, while the flow of the first stage forming drums is managed through a second manipulator.

A space required for forming a cylindrical carcass band is reduced and productivity of carcass band forming is improved. A first forming drum (21) forms a cylindrical carcass ply (3). A second forming drum (22) forms a cylindrical member (7) by forming a cylindrical inner liner (4) and combining the inner liner (4) with the carcass ply (3). A third forming drum (23) forms a cylindrical side member (5) a carcass band (8) by forming a cylindrical side member (5) and combining the side member (5) with the cylindrical member (7). A conveying device (30) conveys the carcass ply (3) from the first forming drum (21) to the second forming drum (22) and conveys the cylindrical member (7) from the second forming drum (22) to the third forming drum (23). The third forming drum (23) is arranged below an arrangement space for the first forming drum (21) and the second forming drum (22).

Method, process and plant for building tires for vehicle wheels wherein: in a service position of a carcass structure building line, a forming drum is associated with a pair of support elements including a first support element and a second support element; the forming drum is moved, associated with the pair of support elements, in a deposition line in the carcass structure building line; and the forming drum is transferred from the deposition line to a subsequent work station of the carcass structure building line. The transfer from the deposition line to the subsequent work station includes dissociating the forming drum from the second support element, keeping the forming drum associated with the first support element; transferring the forming drum, associated with the first support element and dissociated from the second support element, to the subsequent work station; dissociating, in the subsequent work station, the first support element from the forming drum, leaving the forming drum in the subsequent work station; and transferring the first support element, dissociated from the forming drum, into the service position.

A plant for building tires for vehicle wheels, includes at least one forming drum having a supporting shaft axially projecting from opposite sides relative to a central body. A handling device is adapted to engage the forming drum and transfer it between at least one loading/unloading location and a work location provided for carrying out at least one process working on the forming drum. The handling device includes a grip assembly carrying at least two grip members each engaging the supporting shaft in the vicinity of each of the end portions thereof, and at least one motor associated with at least one of said grip members for driving the forming drum in rotation while the at least one process working is being carried out in the work location.

A first ply and then a second ply, which is superposed on the first ply, are produced on a hoop-type first support. The hoop-type first support has a first receiving surface, to form a laminate. The first and second plies forming the laminate are transferred onto an annular second receiving surface of a core so that the laminate is wrapped on the core until each ply is closed on itself and the laminate is thus closed on itself in a ring about the central axis of the core.

A plant for building tyres includes a plurality of working locations, at least one first working location being associated with at least two loading/unloading locations, a proximal one and a distal one, each of said working locations and loading/unloading locations being associable with a forming drum. The production cycle is controlled by the method of: (i) loading a first forming drum into the at least one first working location; (ii) loading a second forming drum into the loading/unloading location; (iii) at the end of the working provided in the at least one first working location, unloading the first forming drum into the proximal loading/unloading location.