Introduction

Rubber is a product of rubber processing. A natural polymer, rubber gets its name from the Indian word “kaochu,” which means “tree tears,” which appear on a rubber tree when it is cut. Many hundreds of years ago, Indians learned to use white tree resin - rubber.

Natural rubber (NR) is obtained from plants - the so-called rubber plants. Natural rubber dissolves easily in water. When heated to a temperature of 90°C, rubber softens, becomes sticky, and at temperatures below zero it becomes hard and brittle.

The design of the car includes a large number of rubber products. Due to its high elasticity and ability to absorb vibrations and shock loads, rubber products are an indispensable material in the automotive industry. In addition to the listed properties, rubber also has a number of other positive qualities: relatively high performance strength, wear resistance and, most importantly, elasticity, i.e. the ability to restore its original shape after the cessation of the forces causing deformation.

Companies that manufacture rubber goods (rubber products) take partnership issues with automotive industry enterprises seriously, because rubber products in cars are far from an unimportant detail.

Manufacturers of rubber goods strive to stand out among strong competition and are developing new types of products to attract buyers. For example, the most popular spare parts for car enthusiasts are cuffs and oil seals, which need to be changed immediately when anything leaks in the vehicle. It's inexpensive, but quite important details machines whose malfunctions should not be neglected. It is not difficult to replace worn-out spare parts, the main thing is that they are available.

And it is also important to note that it is better not to use oil seals made by domestic manufacturers for foreign-made cars, since the quality of the rubber does not allow cars to travel even ten thousand kilometers without repair.

It should be noted that the production of rubber goods itself is a rather complex process. Proper preparation materials, processing of raw rubber, as well as special rubber mixtures for certain types of products - forms the basis of long-term production process. The high precision required in the manufacture of parts is of decisive importance. All manufacturers of rubber goods strive to bring the quality of their products to a decent level.

1.Varieties

The rapid development of technology could not be limited to the use of only natural rubber and led to the creation of synthetic (artificial) rubbers (SR). Industry in various countries produces an extremely diverse range of synthetic rubber-like materials. The starting materials for producing rubber are: ethyl alcohol, acetylene, butane, ethylene, benzene, isobutylene, some halogenated carbon derivatives, etc. The polymerization of monomers (divinyl, styrene, chloroprene, vinyl chloride, etc.) produces synthetic rubbers. With relatively high strength, natural rubber is significantly inferior to synthetic rubber in terms of frost resistance and resistance to solvents. The properties of rubber mainly depend on the rubbers that make up its composition. The quality of synthetic rubber determines the rubber’s resistance to solvents, weathering, oxygen, aggressive environments, heat resistance, frost resistance, elasticity and elasticity, adhesiveness of rubber mixture solutions and other properties of the metal.

According to their purpose, rubbers are divided into general rubber and special purpose. To the rubber group general purpose includes synthetic rubbers: butadiene (SKB), styrene-butadiene (SKS), isoprene (SKI), divinyl (SKD). Isoprene synthetic rubber chemical composition is closest to natural and has high adhesiveness. SKD rubber is not inferior to natural rubber in elasticity and surpasses it in abrasion resistance. The main disadvantage of SKD is its low adhesiveness. Taking this into account, a mixture of SKD and SKI (SKI-Z) is used in the production of tires.

Special rubbers are divided into several types: wear-resistant, oil- and petrol-resistant, frost-resistant, heat-resistant, etc.

.Method of obtaining

The process of manufacturing rubber and rubber parts consists of preparing a raw rubber mixture, obtaining semi-finished products or parts from it and vulcanizing them.

The technological process includes the following operations: rolling, calendering, preparation of blanks, molding and vulcanization, processing of finished parts.

To make raw rubber, the rubber is cut into pieces and passed through rollers to impart plasticity. Then, in special mixers, the rubber is mixed with powdery components that make up the rubber (vulcanizing agents, fillers, vulcanization accelerators, etc.), introducing them into the rubber mixture exactly according to the weight dosage. Mixing can also be done on rollers. Thus, a homogeneous, plastic and low-elastic mass is obtained - raw rubber. It is easily formed, dissolves in organic solvents and becomes sticky when heated.

The rolled rubber mixture is fed to a calender to produce sheets of a given thickness - the process of producing sheet rubber. Blanks of parts are obtained from calendered sheets by cutting according to templates, cutting with punching knives, and shaping on a syringe machine.

Hydraulic vulcanizing presses with electrical heating are used to produce rubber parts by molding. Pressing is carried out in molds using direct and injection molding methods. Injection molding is used to produce parts with complex configurations. Parts made by injection molding have increased vibration resistance and tolerate alternating loads well.

Molding of rubber has much in common with molding of hardening plastics, but there are some differences. Due to the high plasticity of rubber compounds, filling molds, even of complex configurations, does not require pressure higher than 5 MPa (50 kgf/cm2). In most cases, products are molded under a pressure of 1-2 MPa (10-20 kgf/cm2).

To obtain highly elastic, durable products (tires, transmission belts, belts, hoses), the rubber mixture is applied to high-strength fabrics (cord, belting) made of cotton fiber, polyamide or polyester fiber. To adhere rubber to fabric, pressing or impregnation methods are used. In the first case, thin sheets of calendered raw rubber are pressed onto the fabric on special additional duplicating calenders. In the second case, the fabric is soaked in a solution of rubber mixture (rubber glue) and dried to remove the solvent. The rubberized fabric is cut, collected into bags and pressed into products.

Many rubber products are reinforced with metal parts. Metals or alloys (with the exception of brass) do not have adhesion (stickability) to rubber, so they are easily pulled out of the product. To impart adhesion of metal reinforcement to rubber, an adhesive film is applied to the metal or brass plating is performed. The highest adhesion strength between metal and rubber is achieved by applying a film of isocyanate adhesive “leuconate” to the metal surface or by brass coating it.

Any molding process ends with a vulcanization process. Rubber consists of linear molecules. When heated with sulfur (vulcanization), molecules become larger and a network structure of molecules is formed, and rubber turns into rubber. In addition to linear ones, rubber also contains three-dimensional molecules.

The complication and enlargement of molecules leads to the fact that the substance acquires elasticity without reducing elasticity, and, in addition, resistance to temperature and chemical influences. About one-third of rubber consists of soot, which creates crystallinity in the structure of the substance and increases its strength.

Vulcanization is carried out with and without heating. The duration and temperature of vulcanization are determined by the formulation of the rubber mixture (type of rubber and the effectiveness of the introduced accelerator); but usually vulcanization is carried out at a temperature of 120-150.

When forming parts, they are vulcanized in molds on vulcanization hydraulic presses with steam or electric heating. The mold vulcanization method gives a denser, more uniform structure, more accurate dimensions and a cleaner surface of the rubber product. If it is impossible to vulcanize in a mold, especially products produced on a syringe machine by rolling and duplicating, vulcanization is carried out in a vulcanization boiler.

Almost all synthetic rubbers are produced by emulsion polymerization in aqueous media. The polymer formed under these conditions is obtained with particles close to the size of colloidal particles. In the presence of specially introduced substances (emulsifiers), polymer particles form a stable emulsion of polymer in water, which is called latex.

Currently, a large number of latexes are produced, from which rubber products can be directly produced. They are used to produce friction products, to impregnate cords, to produce abrasive grinding stones, rubber threads, hair elastic pads, dipped products (gloves, pilot balls), thick-walled products, to replace adhesives with latex pastes, to produce rubber foams.

To receive rubber products a form no more than 0.2 mm thick (usually glass) is immersed several times in latex. After each immersion, a layer of latex remains on the mold, from which the water is removed by drying.

The process of manufacturing latex products consists of the following operations: mixing latex with vulcanizing agents and other components of the rubber mixture: planting rubber on a mold in the form of a film as the water evaporates; vulcanization.

Vulcanized rubber parts, depending on the requirements placed on them, are subjected to additional processing. In most cases, removing the flash (burrs) is sufficient, which can also be done with small scissors with curved ends. If there are through holes in the parts, cutting knives are used. To completely remove traces of flash, additional sanding is carried out. In some cases, to receive exact dimensions turning and grinding of the entire surface of the part is required. These operations are carried out in lathe chuck using abrasive or felt wheels.

.Application

Technical sheet rubber is intended for the manufacture of gaskets, valves, seals, shock absorbers, etc.

Rubber cord of round, square and rectangular cross-section - used to work as sealing parts. According to the properties of rubber, cords are divided into five types: acid-alkali-resistant, heat-resistant, frost-resistant, oil- and gasoline-resistant and food-grade.

Flat belts - fabric drive belts, rubber belts, depending on the purpose and design, are divided into three types: threaded, used for small pulleys and high speeds; layer-by-layer wrapped - for heavy work with intermittent loads and medium speeds; spirally wrapped belts are used for work with light loads and at low speeds (up to 15 m/s). Belts of all types can be manufactured either with rubber linings (one or two) or without them. Drive V-belts consist of cord fabric or cord, wrapping fabric, vulcanized into one product. Fan V-belts are designed for cars, tractors and combines.

Sleeves (hoses) and pipes. Rubber-fabric hoses with metal spirals are divided into two groups: suction - for working under vacuum and pressure-suction - for working under pressure and under vacuum. In each group, depending on the pumped substance, the hoses are divided into following types: gasoline and oil resistant, for water, for air, oxygen and neutral gases, for weak solutions of inorganic acids and alkalis with a concentration of up to 20%, for liquid food products.

Rubber-fabric pressure hoses are used as flexible pipelines for moving gases, liquids and bulk materials under pressure; they consist of an inner and outer rubber layer or one or more rubberized fabric pads.

Rubber-fabric steam hoses consist of an inner layer of rubber, intermediate gaskets and an outer layer of rubber. They are used as flexible steam pipelines for saturated steam at pressures up to 0.8 MPa (8 kgf/cm2) and temperatures of 175° C.

Acid-alkali-resistant technical rubber tubes are intended for moving solutions of acids and alkalis with a concentration of up to 20% (with the exception of nitric and acetic acid); heat-resistant at temperatures: in air up to -f-90° C, in water vapor up to +140° C; frost-resistant down to -45° C; oil and petrol resistant.

Rubber-fabric chevron, multi-row seals - serve to ensure tightness in hydraulic devices during the reciprocating movement of plungers, pistons and rods operating in an environment of water, emulsion and mineral oils.

Rubber seals are used for shafts to operate in mineral oils and water at excess pressure.

Rubber O-rings - for connecting heads of brake hoses produced by molding; for fire hose nuts, molded.

Stuffing box packings are intended for filling stuffing box seals in order to seal the exit point of a moving part of a mechanism from the working space of one environment and some parameters into the space of another environment and other parameters; impregnated packings provide lubrication to the moving part of the mechanism.

In electrical engineering it is used as insulating material, especially at high temperatures, as well as in cases involving exposure to moisture and ozone. Silicone rubber is used to make a sheath for cables and wires. In other cases, insulating pipes are made from it, either without reinforcing additives, or together with glass filler. Tapes made from glass or polyester fibers and coated with silicone rubber, in a vulcanized form, serve as an insulating material that is overlapped onto an electrical wire.

In mechanical engineering, silicone rubber plays an important role as a sealing material. Membrane valves and diaphragms made of silicone rubber are widely used. First of all, hot air blowers (hoses) with and without fabric filters are of great importance.

Conveyors are coated with silicone rubber in cases where they transport hot or sticky products.

vulcanized synthetic rubber

4.State standards

GOST 12.2.045-94 System of occupational safety standards. Equipment for the production of rubber products. Security requirements.

This GOST is located in:

Subsection: ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, PROTECTION OF HUMAN FROM ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT. SAFETY

Subsection: Security professional activity. Industrial hygiene

And also in:

Chapter: All-Russian classifier standards

Subsection: RUBBER, RUBBER, ASBESTOS AND PLASTICS INDUSTRY

Subsection: Equipment for the production of rubber and plastics

And also in:

Section: Classifier of state standards

Subsection: General technical and organizational and methodological standards

Subsection: Documentation system

Subsection: System of standards in the field of environmental protection and improvement of the use of natural resources, labor safety, scientific organization labor

And also in:

Section: Thematic collections

Subsection: Occupational safety standards system.

And also in:

Section: Thematic collections

Subsection: Equipment for the production of rubber products(a)

Section: Thematic collections

Subsection: System project documentation for construction

Subsection: Mandatory certification

Subsection: Products of chemical and petroleum engineering

Subsection: Molding and vulcanizing equipment in production; rubber products, including molds for the production of tires and; medical rubber products(a)

And also in:

Section: OKP

Subsection: CHEMICAL AND PETROLEUM ENGINEERING PRODUCTS

Subsection: EQUIPMENT FOR PROCESSING POLYMER MATERIALS AND SPARE MATERIALS

.Information from Russian manufacturers RTI

Factories of rubber products (RTI) - enterprises chemical industry, producing a huge range of products from natural and artificial rubber (rubber), used in all industrial areas and in everyday life.

Depending on its purpose, the products of rubber goods factories are represented by the following groups:

equipping moving mechanisms and devices (drive belts, caterpillar, conveyor, escalator, elevator and other types of belts);

equipping transmission mechanisms and devices operating under vacuum or pressure (suction, pressure, pressure-suction hoses);

elastic structures subject to loads (rubber supports, bearings, suspensions, buffers, shock absorbers, cuffs, valves, seals, seals for moving contacts, shaft linings, membranes);

seals for fixed contacts (spacer plates, rings, cords);

products and materials with electrical insulating properties (insulating tapes and tubes, parts of high-frequency and low-current equipment, battery tanks);

protective coatings for chemical equipment;

building structures, water and aeronautics manufactured using rubberized fabrics;

spongy and hollow products made of rubber and latex (toys, sponges, balls, sanitary products, medical gloves, catheters and other products).

In the production of rubber goods, along with rubber, textiles (yarn, knitwear, fabrics) and metal products (cables, braiding, wire) are used as reinforcing agents.

Despite the wide variety of types of rubber goods, the technological scheme for their production is represented by the following main stages: production of semi-finished products, making blanks, and vulcanization. However, the wide range of products determines significant differences in their production, observed both in the semi-finished products used, and in the equipment and various processing techniques.

Depending on the production method, there are two groups of rubber goods:

molded;

unshaped.

There are about 30 thousand different items in the group of molded rubber goods. These products are manufactured using special molds through the process of vulcanization or injection molding.

The group of non-shaped rubber goods includes 12 thousand types of products, the production of which is carried out in two technological stages:

extrusion of a rubber mixture, during which the melt is squeezed out through molding heads (dies) with channels of a certain profile;

vulcanization carried out using special vulcanizers.

The production of rubber goods in Russia began in the first half of the 19th century. Before the revolution in rubber industry 4 factories were involved: “Provodnik”, “Triangle”, “Kauchuk” and “Bogatyr”. According to 1913 data, they employed 23 thousand people, the products of the enterprises were represented mainly by shoes produced on foreign equipment from imported raw materials (natural rubber). In 1932, the first Soviet plant for the production of artificial rubber opened its doors in Yaroslavl. And since 1951, petroleum products began to be used as feedstock for artificial rubber in the USSR.

List of factories producing rubber goods

Astrakhan RTI plant, Astrakhan

Barnaul plant of rubber technical products, Barnaul

Bakovo Rubber Products Plant, Odintsovo

Balakovorezinotekhnika, Balakovo

Volzhsky Rubber Products Plant, Volzhsky

Yegoryevsk Rubber Products Plant, Yegoryevsk

AZRI plant, Armavir

Plant "Yaroslavl-Rezinotekhnika", Yaroslavl

Kursk RTI plant, Kursk

Krasnoyarsk Rubber Products Plant, Krasnoyarsk

Krasnodar plant of rubber technical products, Krasnodar

Kolomna plant of rubber technical products, Kolomna

Kama-Volzhsky Joint-Stock Company of Rubber Engineering, Kazan

Moscow RTI plant, Moscow

Nizhny Novgorod rubber rubber processing plant, Bogorodsk

Noginsk Rubber Products Plant, Noginsk

Orenburg plant of rubber technical products, Orenburg

RTI-Podolsk pilot plant, Podolsk

Rostov Rubber Products Plant, Rostov-on-Don

Saransk plant of rubber technical products, Saransk

Tula Plant of Rubber Technical Products, Tula

Ural Plant of Rubber Technical Products, Ekaterinburg

Ufa plant of elastomeric materials, products and structures, Ufa

Tchaikovsky plant RTD, Olkhovskoye

Cheboksary RTI plant, Cheboksary

Cherkessk plant of rubber technical products, Cherkessk

Yaroslavl plant of rubber technical products, Yaroslavl

Conclusion

Modern technology cannot do without rubber. Rubber is used to make car tires, wire insulation, various seals, hoses, and much more.

The most popular rubber products for cars are belts, cuffs, and sleeves. All of them have a rather short service life, so they are often not classified as spare parts for a car, and are considered consumables

Our domestic rubber goods have to be replaced especially often. Rubber wears out much faster than metal parts. At the same time, untimely replacement can lead to very disastrous results - excessive wear of metal parts, leakage of oils or other liquids. Sometimes such an attitude towards rubber products can be a waste of money that could be used for more pleasant purposes.

Repair kits are manufactured for domestic car models, and also for foreign cars, which have all the necessary rubber goods for a specific brand. Such repairs to replace the main and important rubber parts can be carried out completely independently, without resorting to the services of a car repair shop, which is undoubtedly very convenient. However, it’s better not to get into serious foreign cars without experience and knowledge yourself - you can ruin delicate foreign electronics, and replacing a simple gasket can turn into major renovation.

List of used literature

1.Vasilyeva L. S. Automotive operating materials: a textbook for universities. - M.: Transport, 1996

.Modern encyclopedia of Russian industry: factories and their products, industrial exhibitions - #"justify">3. Fuel, lubricants, technical fluids. Assortment and application: Reference/ed. V. M. Shkolnikova. - M.: Tekhinform, 1999

4. The GOST database has been opened -

Kirichenko N. B. Automotive operating materials: Textbook. Benefit. - M.: Academy, 2003

Rubber materials and combined rubber products cannot be replaced by other products. The unique combination of characteristics and performance qualities allows the use of such materials in complex work processes, complementing the design of machines, machine tools, instruments and building structures. Modern production The production of rubber has made significant technological progress, which is reflected in the quality of the products. Technologists strive to increase the durability, strength and resistance of products to external factors.

What raw materials are rubber made from?

Most rubber materials are obtained from the industrial processing of synthetic and natural rubber mixtures. This treatment is achieved by cross-linking rubber molecules with chemical bonds. Recently, powdered raw materials have been used for the production of rubber, the characteristics of which are specifically designed for the formation of injection molds. These are ready-made compositions based on liquid rubber, from which ebonite products are also produced. The vulcanization process itself cannot do without special activators or agents - these are chemicals, helping to maintain optimal working qualities of the mixture. Typically, sulfur is used for this task. These are the components that form the basis of the kit required to make rubber. But, depending on the required performance qualities and purpose of the product, technologists introduce production stages at which the structure of the product is enriched with modifying elements.

Additives for modifying rubber compounds

During the manufacturing process, the rubber mixture can be filled with accelerators, activators, vulcanization agents, softeners and other components. Therefore, the question of what rubber is made of is largely determined by auxiliary additives. For example, regenerates are used to preserve the structure of the material. With the help of this filler, the rubber product can be subjected to secondary vulcanization. A considerable part of modifiers does not affect the final technical and operational properties, but plays a significant role directly in the manufacturing process. The same vulcanization process is corrected by accelerators and retarders of chemical reactions.

A separate group of additives are plasticizers, that is, softeners. They are used to lower the temperature during vulcanization and disperse other ingredients in the composition. And here another question may arise - how much do additives and the rubber itself affect the chemical safety of the mixture being formed? That is, what is rubber made from from an environmental point of view? In part, these are truly hazardous mixtures that include sulfur, bitumen and dibutyl phthalates, stearic acids, etc. But some of the ingredients are natural substances - natural resins, the same rubber, vegetable oils and wax components. Another thing is that in different mixtures the ratio of harmful synthetics and natural ingredients may change.

Stages of the rubber product manufacturing process

The industrial production of rubber begins with the process of plasticization of raw materials, that is, rubber. At this stage, the main quality of future rubber is acquired - plasticity. Through mechanical and thermal treatment, rubber is softened to a certain extent. From the resulting base, rubber will be subsequently produced, but before that, the plasticized mixture is subject to modification with the additives discussed above. At this stage, a rubber compound is formed, to which sulfur and other active components are added to improve the characteristics of the compound.

An important step before vulcanization is calendering. Essentially, this is the molding of a raw rubber mixture that has been enriched with additives. The choice of calendering method is determined by the specific technology. Rubber production at this stage may also involve extrusion. While conventional calendering aims to create simple rubber molds, extrusion allows complex products in the form of hoses, O-rings, tire treads, etc.

Vulcanization as the final stage of production

During the vulcanization process, the workpiece undergoes final processing, due to which the product receives characteristics sufficient for operation. The essence of the operation is the effect of pressure and high temperature onto a modified rubber mixture enclosed in a metal mold. The molds themselves are installed in a special autoclave connected to a steam heater. In some areas, rubber production may also involve pouring hot water, which stimulates the process of distributing pressure through the fluid. Modern enterprises are also striving to automate this stage. More and more new molds are appearing that interact with steam and water supply nozzles based on computer programs.

How are rubber products produced?

These are combined products that are obtained by combining fabric materials with a rubber mixture. In the process of manufacturing rubber products, paronite is often used - a hybrid material obtained by combining heat-resistant rubber and inorganic fillers. Next, the workpiece undergoes rolling processing and vulcanization. Rubber products are also produced using syringe machines. In them, the workpieces are subjected to thermal effects, after which they are passed through the profiling head.

Equipment for rubber manufacturing processes

The full production cycle is carried out by a whole group of machines and units that perform different tasks. The vulcanization process alone is served by boilers, presses, autoclaves, formers and other devices that provide intermediate operations. A separate unit is used for plasticization - a typical machine of this type consists of a spiked rotor and a cylinder. The rotation of the rotor part is carried out by means of manual drive. Rubber production is not complete without cooking chambers and calender units, which roll out rubber mixtures and apply thermal effects.

Conclusion

The manufacturing processes of rubber products are largely standardized both in terms of mechanical processing and chemical exposure. But even if the same production equipment is used, the characteristics of the resulting products may be different. This is also proven by domestically produced tires, offering different sets operational properties. The largest share of rubber products in the Russian segment of the industry is occupied by automobile tires. And in this niche, the ability of technologists to flexibly modify compositions in accordance with stringent requirements for the final product is especially evident.

Yaroslavl Tire Plant is one of the oldest tire enterprises in Russia. We will look at how modern Cordiant car tires are manufactured and tested.

First in the world rubber tire was made by Robert William Thomson in 1846, but his invention was not developed into serial production. The idea of ​​a pneumatic tire appeared again only in 1887, when Scotsman John Dunlop came up with the idea of ​​putting wide hoops made from a garden hose on the wheel of his 10-year-old son’s tricycle and inflating them with air. And already in 1890, the young engineer Chald Kingston Welch proposed separating the tube from the tire, inserting wire rings into the edges of the tire and placing it on the rim, which subsequently received a recess towards the center. At the same time, the Englishman Bartlett and the Frenchman Didier invented completely acceptable methods for mounting and dismantling tires. All this determined the possibility of using a pneumatic tire on a car.

1. The main materials for the production of tires are rubber, which is made from natural and synthetic rubbers, and cord. Cord fabric can be made from metal threads (metal cord), polymer and textile threads. The tire consists of a carcass, belt layers, tread, bead and side part.

2. In the photo you see the future cord.

3. Unvulcanized rubber is very sticky, so it is wound into bobbins with a pad made of a special material, which then makes it easy to unwind.

4. The blanks in such reels are sent to the warehouse. Tables with numbers are the dimensions of the cord width.

5. Tread production begins here. The rubber strip is fed into a machine, where it is converted into a future tread using extrusion.

6. For a quick visual assessment of the tire size, color markings are applied to the tread.

7. The bead allows the tire to fit tightly onto the wheel rim. The bead rings and the inner layer of viscous airtight (for tubeless tires) rubber are designed for this purpose.

8. The wire from these reels goes to the machine, where it is covered with rubber.

9. On this machine, rubber-coated wire is twisted to the required diameter and cut into circles.

10. The result is these bead rings, which are the basis for the production of the entire bead.

11. The board is assembled here. Below you will find a video of this process.

12. The most interesting stage is assembling the tire. This machine receives all the necessary workpieces.

13. A machine from the “Hail to Robots!” class. The assembler only hangs the side rings.

15. After the tire is assembled, it is sent further along the conveyor...

16. ... where control awaits her - weight check and visual inspection for defects.

17. After this, the workpiece is sent to the most interesting workshop, where vulcanization takes place. But first, let's look at the process of preparing molds.

18. The mold itself consists of several segments that form the tread pattern, inscriptions and all the lines on the sidewalls. And most importantly - mustaches on new tires!

19. It turns out that the antennae are channels for air removal during vulcanization. And when used, they clog first. After this, the mold must be cleaned.

20. Hot process - hot shop!

21. The vulcanization process takes place on these machines.

22. The tire blank is fed inside. The outside is compressed by a mold, and the bubble is inflated inside so that the tire does not collapse into itself. In this case, hot steam is supplied under high pressure.

23. The tire is installed in place, and now the mold will lower from above.

24. This is a non-working machine, but the same inflating bubbles are visible here.

25. It’s very hot here, and there’s some kind of special haze.

26. If you look inside the vulcanization machine, you can see industrial beauty in its original form.

29. After vulcanization, the finished tire undergoes inspection again. At this place, special workers carry out a visual inspection.

32. The plant is constantly in the process of manufacturing new compounds, compounds and tread patterns for new tires. All this is tested on special machines.

33. Disassembled testing machine. The flywheel is rotated by an electric motor, and the tire rotates from it.

34. A new machine that allows testing in different weather conditions six tires at the same time.

35. In this hangar, aircraft tires are tested for takeoffs and landings.

36. The next take-off test cycle.

37. But you can’t just look at the production of aircraft tires - this requires permission from the FSB and other bureaucratic hassles.

Taken from russos in Tire production

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Description of Amtel-Vredestein Group of Companies

Uniting several enterprises under its roof, the Amtel-Vredestein group of companies is a leader in the European tire manufacturing market. The concern includes Russian factories and industrial enterprises in the Netherlands. Russian enterprises: 2 large tire production complexes - "Povolzhye" in Kirov and "Amtel-Chernozemye" in Voronezh, 1 chemical industry enterprise - "Amtel-Kuzbass" in Kemerovo. Dutch tire manufacturer - Vredestein Banden. Factories in the Russian Federation are the largest suppliers of the freight and passenger cars, aviation and agricultural special equipment, bicycles and motor vehicles.

The Amtel-Vredestein group of companies in the Russian Federation is the leader in the tire market. In 2004, annual turnover exceeded 14 million units of products in physical terms, the growth of market share was 13.4%. 1/2 of the manufactured products are produced for passenger cars and passenger cars.

Description of the Sibur holding

40% of all tires produced in Russia come off the assembly lines of the Sibur - Russian Tires holding company. 4 tire factories in Russia are Voltair-Prom (Volgograd region, Volzhsky), Uralshina (Ekaterinburg), Omskshina (Omsk), Yaroslavl Tire Factory (Yaroslavl). In addition to those listed, the members of the holding are 2 more Russian enterprises - Rezinotekhnika (Saransk) and Sibur-Volzhsky (Volgograd region). The last plant produces synthetic fiber.

Until the beginning of 2006, there was a trade and marketing company “Sibur - Russian Tires”, restructured into a holding company of the same name. A large network of enterprises is a link in a complex chain, subordinate to the petrochemical holding Sibur-Holding and a subsidiary of the Russian energy leader, Gazprom.

Description of "Nizhnekamskshina"

Founded in 1971, the company was initially focused on meeting the demand for domestically produced tires for passenger cars, agricultural and trucks (manufactured by KamAZ and VAZ).

The release of the first batch of products occurred at the end of April 1973. Today, the open joint-stock company Nizhnekamskshina is one of the leaders of the Russian tire market. The company produces car tires of brands such as KAMA. The range of standard sizes includes more than a hundred models, on the development of which we worked the best specialists STC "Kama". The plant was the first among Russian enterprises to begin supplying tires to foreign partners - manufacturers Volkswagen, Fiat and Skoda.

JSC "SP "ROSAVA"

Until 1996, tires in Ukraine were produced by the Belotserkovshina production association, which was transformed into Rosava OJSC. Later, based on the open joint stock company JSC "SP "Rosava" was created (1998).

The company today is a powerful manufacturer providing tires for cars, trucks, and agricultural vehicles; micro and simple buses; trolleybuses and floor transport. All of them have a progressive design - a steel cord breaker and a radial design. The plant produces more than 5 million passenger tires and 500 thousand tires for agricultural and truck transport per year.

Description of the Yaroslavl Tire Plant

The Yaroslavl Shipping Plant began operating back in 1932, becoming a pioneer in this industry. The first of all the plants operating at that time, Yaroslavl began the development of synthetic rubber.

The plant today is a business partner of famous automakers. Among them: UAZ, Minsk and Lipetsk Tractor Plants, GAZ, the Likhachev Plant in Moscow, MAZ, etc. The prestigious Russian competition “100 Best Products of Russia” has repeatedly noted the quality of YaShZ products with finalist awards. A modern plant is a dynamically developing production enterprise.

Tire manufacturer from the Urals - "Uralshina"

Throughout the entire territory of the Urals, only one serious enterprise producing tires can be noted - Uralshina OJSC. Year of foundation: wartime 1943. The first types of products produced were massive tires for tracked and armored vehicles. The plant also has recognized successes, confirmed by awards. All-Russian competitions. Thus, in 2001, the company received a Diploma for the quality of massive “Superelastic” tires in the category of the “100 Best Products of Russia” competition.

For two years (1995, 1996), the plant’s engineers developed new radial tires for passenger cars of the GAZ and VAZ brands. This product allows you to reach speeds of more than 210 km/h. Now the annual production of these products has exceeded one million copies. Since 1997, Uralshina OJSC has been supplying the Russian and foreign markets with such tire models as “Lynx”, “Snow Leopard”, “Severok”, “Malachite”, “Taganay”, “Berkut”, etc.

Description of the Omskshina plant

The year 2002 was marked by the 60th anniversary of OJSC Omskshina. Now the plant produces more than a hundred different sizes of diagonal and radial tires for almost all types of equipment: passenger cars, trucks, agricultural, motorcycles and bicycles. The product range includes two hundred articles of rubber products with a wide range of applications.

Omsk tires are supplied to all Russian regions, 70% of sales are in 4 regions: East Siberian, Ural, Far Eastern and Western Siberian. 20% of turnover goes abroad - to partners from near and far abroad. Tires are purchased in large quantities by the Volga, North Caucasus and Central regions.

Description of the Moscow Tire Plant

The country's leading plant specializing in the production of pneumatic tire models is the Moscow ShZ. Consumers of the products are domestic cars, trolleybuses, buses and trailers. Tires from this manufacturer are purchased by the main domestic automakers - GAZ, ZIL for their equipment. In the total volume of tire production in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, the Moscow Tire Plant owns almost 8%. Products are exported to Poland, Hungary, CIS countries, the Czech Republic, Egypt and other countries.

Tires produced by MSZ are manufactured according to traditional technologies and experimentally - single-layer tubeless products for passenger cars.

Description of the enterprise "Matador - Omskshina"

The main specialization of the Omskshina joint venture is the production of tubeless tires for R14 and R13 passenger cars. The plant began producing radial tires in the spring of 1996. By the end of 2001, the annual output exceeded the first batch by almost 3 times.

The Moscow IV International Exhibition “Tires, Rubbers and Rubbers”, which took place in the spring of 2001 in Moscow, awarded the plant a well-deserved award. For participation in the competition “Best car tire on the roads of Russia" model 175/70 R13 MP 12 received third place, and model 205/70 R14 MP57 - "gold".

Description of the Krasnoyarsk tire plant

In Eastern Siberia, we can note the only tire manufacturer - Krasnoyarsk ShZ. For more than 4 decades, the company has been developing, mastering new technologies and following global trends in the field of tire manufacturing. Thanks to the introduction of innovative ideas, the use of the experience of real professionals, the use modern materials and the reconstruction of production facilities, mastering production modern models tires for various equipment.

Consumer demand research forms the basis of the developed marketing strategy. Each client of the plant is guaranteed an individual approach, which is the key to long-term partnership and long-term cooperation.

Description of the Voronezhshina plant

VShZ began its work in 1950 with the production of 3 standard sizes of tires. Gradually, the company’s range expanded, now it includes 38 different modern tires for trucks, agricultural and passenger vehicles.

In addition, tires are produced for bicycles, motorcycles, road construction equipment and scooters. Modern Voronezhshina is the largest plant in Russia, occupying a leading position in providing agriculture. The products of the Voronezh tire company are known and appreciated all over the world. VShZ marking means high quality and reliability.

Description of AK "Sibur"

Four tire manufacturing plants form the Matador joint venture. These are Voltair-Prom (OJSC), Uralshina (LLC), Omskshina (LLC) and Matador-Omskshina (CJSC). The above companies are the founders of AK Sibur, a holding company in the petrochemical industry, specializing in the use of polymers, rubbers and the production of tires and liquefied gas.

The holding's dealer is the limited liability company Sibur - Russian Tires, through which all tire purchase and sale transactions take place. The dealer network allows us to implement a unified marketing policy for the holding and control the country’s tire market.

Description of the Altai Tire Plant

AShK is a major tire manufacturer in the Russian Federation. Produces a wide range of various rubber products. Production is modernized annually, thanks to investments from investors, it is used modern equipment And advanced technologies. Current models of cameras leave the assembly line of the Altai Tire Plant every day. The production of tires for the aviation industry has been established; this line is considered promising, and the products are considered elite.

The production improvement policy made it possible to establish the production of exclusive tire models under the “Forward” brand. Along with these products, the production of traditional tire sizes for the domestic automobile industry is not being reduced.

Foreign tire manufacturers in Russia

Russia is a spacious country and foreign tire enterprises also operate and are built on its territory:

2. The city of Vsevolzhsk in the Leningrad region has become the location of the plant since 2005 (Finland);

Photo tour of the famous Yaroslavl tire plant, one of the largest tire factories in the central region of Russia. A report from the workshops where Cordiant tires for passenger cars are produced and tested.

I already knew that a tire is not a simple subject. It turned out that production is even more complex than I imagined. And most importantly, I learned the secret of where the antennae on new tires come from and why they are needed!

1. A little history:
Not many people know that long ago tires were made of wood or metal (as I was told at the institute). The world's first rubber tire was made by Robert William Thomson in 1846, but the author of the pneumatic tire is considered to be Scotsman John Dunlop, who in 1887 came up with the idea of ​​putting wide hoops made from a garden hose on the wheel of his 10-year-old son's tricycle and inflating them with air. It was with bicycles that the era of pneumatic tires began.

2. The main materials for the production of tires are rubber, which is made from natural and synthetic rubbers and cords.
The production of a tire begins with the preparation of rubber compounds, which can include up to 10 chemicals, ranging from sulfur and carbon to rubber. Various blanks for the future tire are made from the mixtures on special machines using the extrusion method.

3. This is, for example, what the future cord looks like on the conveyor.

4. On the rejected section of the workpiece you can see the “skeleton of the tire” - a frame that is made of high-strength steel cord. Many narrow-minded car owners believe that it is time to throw away a tire only when it wears down to the cord.

5. Machines produce components for assembly. The extrusion process is similar for most products, and the components look roughly the same - leaving the machine with a long rubber band.

6. Rubber is very sticky before vulcanization, so the material is wound into bobbins, each turn having a protective layer.

7. All components are sorted by tire size, and a barcode is glued to each reel so that you can understand at any time what type of tire the material is made for.

8. Machines with giant spools make bead rings. Side ring - important element tire, which is made from many turns of rubberized bead wire. This is an inextensible, rigid part of the tire, with the help of which it is fixed to the rim of the disk.

9. Many, many threads are woven into rows, which are then rubberized.

10. This machine rounds the rubber-coated wire into a ring to fit the required seat size of the disk. On the left in the frame are ribbons of wire, on the right are finished rings.

11. Finished bead rings.

12. On assembly machines, all parts of the tire are connected into a single whole. The necessary components are loaded from reels onto conveyor belts.

13. This is what the tread blank looks like. Before vulcanization, it's just a thick strip of rubber with no tread pattern. Colored lines are a special coding so that you can quickly and clearly understand what the radius of the tire is, the width and height of the profile, etc. (a kind of tire barcode).

14. The reel with the workpiece unwinds, the component goes onto the conveyor, and protective layer, (brown tape to prevent the material from sticking together) is wound onto another spool.

16. Then a large robot arrives and deftly inflates the workpiece with air, crushes something, compresses and wraps it, and the result is a semi-finished tire.

17. The workpieces are sent along conveyor lines to the vulcanization shop.

19. Here the tire is subjected to thermal treatment with hot steam under high pressure. Rubber, carbon black and additives are “sintered” into a single whole, and tread patterns, lettering and other technical profiles are applied to the outer and inner surfaces of the tire using molds.

20. The workshop has a whole series of vulcanization units with molds for various types of tires.

21. On the left is the vulcanization process, and on the right is an empty chamber with a diaphragm that inflates the tire under high pressure.

22. The workpiece is in the chamber, the molds are visible from above. Under pressure, a relief pattern is drawn along the sidewalls and tread. Happening chemical reaction(vulcanization), which gives rubber elasticity and strength.

23. This is what the disassembled mold looks like. Over time, the high temperature and pressure causes the mold to become dirty and must be cleaned.

24. First of all, the air exhaust channels become clogged during vulcanization. It is because of these channels that those mysterious “antennae” are formed on new tires.

25. Molds for sidewalls.

26. A workshop where contaminated molds are cleaned.

27. Historical background:
In June 1943, as a result of a German air raid, the plant was completely destroyed. But already at the end of September the consequences of the bombing were eliminated and the plant was restored.
1950s For the first time in the USSR, the plant began to produce tubeless tires: for passenger cars “Pobeda”, “Volga”, “ZIM”.
Late 50s. The country was experiencing a “tire crisis”; vehicle downtime increased due to a tire shortage.
1966 The 100 millionth tire is produced.
1969 YaShZ, the first domestic plant, was given the right to produce tires for the new Zhiguli passenger car.

28. The inside of the vulcanization installations is incredibly beautiful!

29. This is where the Terminator should have been filmed.

32. Finished tires enter the general conveyor and are sent for final tire quality control before being sent to consumers.

34. During control, a visual inspection of tires is carried out.

36. All new models must undergo bench and laboratory road tests at the factory’s experimental testing center, which are carried out on special machines where operating conditions are simulated, several times higher in impact than road conditions.

37. Wheels for all types of tires.

38. And this is what a stand looks like for testing six tires at once.

39. And these are aircraft tires. How are they produced - big secret! At the enterprises of the SIBUR - Russian Tires company, which produce Cordiant tires, they produce not only products for a wide range of consumers, but also special products, for example, tires for the 5th generation fighter, known as the T-50, or PAK-FA.

40. To look at the production of aircraft tires, you need to obtain permission from the FSB.

41. In this workshop, stands are installed where they simulate the speeds and loads on the wheel during takeoff and landing of an aircraft.

43. This is how Cordiant tires are made.
“Modern assembly equipment is a fully automated production, in which humans have only a minimal role. Automation of production reduces the influence of the human factor on the quality of tires, which leads to significant improvement performance characteristics the final product."

Many thanks to Pavel Kukushkin, Yuri Kremnev and Alexander Gerastovsky for organizing the shooting!

Colleagues' reports.