A process for manufacturing a tire for vehicle wheels, includes building, on a forming support extending about an axis, a carcass structure including at least one carcass ply and, at at least one end edge of the at least one carcass ply, at least one annular anchoring structure. Building the carcass structure includes laying the carcass ply on the forming support, bringing the annular anchoring structure in contact position with the end edge of the carcass ply and turning up the end edge about the annular anchoring structure so as to form a turned up end portion of the carcass ply including the annular anchoring structure. A first part of turning up the end edge of the carcass ply is carried out while at least one positioning device retains the annular anchoring structure in contact position with the end edge of the carcass ply.

An apparatus for manufacturing tires for vehicle wheels wherein each tire includes a carcass structure formed starting from at least one carcass ply laid on a forming support extended along a longitudinal axis. The apparatus includes at least one device for positioning at least one annular anchoring structure on at least one end edge of the carcass ply, the positioning device being circumferentially extended around the longitudinal axis of the forming support and axially movable with respect to the forming support between an operating position distal from the forming support and at least one operating position close to the forming support. The apparatus further includes a device for turning up the end edge of the carcass ply around the annular anchoring structure, the turning up device being circumferentially extended about the longitudinal axis of the forming support and axially movable for approaching/moving away to/from the forming support. The positioning device and the turning up device are radially expandable/contractible in a synchronous manner with respect to the longitudinal axis of the forming support and are settable in a plurality of different operating radial positions, each operating radial position being selected based on a respective radial dimension of the tire to be manufactured.

A tire bead carcass member manufacturing step includes a ply turning-up step, a ply layering step, and a ply turning-down step. In the ply turning-down step, an outer circumferential surface 32a of a ply layered body 32 is supported. While the ply layered body 32 is rotated, a turning-down stitcher 38 turns down axial end portions of a second ply around beads from the radially outer side toward the radially inner side. While the ply layered body 32 is rotated, a layering stitcher 40 operates so as to layer the axial end portions of the second ply having been turned down to an inner side of the ply layered body 32, over an inner circumferential surface of a first ply, to form the bead carcass member.

A process for manufacturing tyres for vehicle wheels, comprising the step of building on a forming support a carcass structure comprising at least one carcass ply and, at at least one end edge of the carcass ply, at least one annular anchoring structure comprising at least one substantially circumferential annular insert and at least one filling insert associated to said at least one substantially circumferential annular insert. The step of building the carcass structure comprises the steps of positioning the annular anchoring structure on the carcass ply by moving the annular substantially circumferential insert into contact with an end edge of the carcass ply by means of a special positioning member, pulling down the filling insert on the end edge of the carcass ply and turning up a free end portion of the end edge of the carcass ply so as to form a turned up end portion of the carcass ply including said annular anchoring structure. The pulling down of the filling insert on the end edge of the carcass ply is carried out by a special pulling down member while the substantially circumferential annular insert is retained into a contact position with the end edge of the carcass ply by said positioning member.