Discover How Tyres Are Made: A Comprehensive Guide

• Tyre manufacturers have to keep in mind the quality essentials while making a tyre.  They must ensure that the final product delivers a comfortable ride, adds stability and control, has excellent traction, is energy efficient, and durable. And most importantly, they should be cost-effective. 

• If you want to understand the story of tyres and know how they are made, we can tell you. As one of the best tyre companies in India, CEAT uses precise engineering to ensure superior quality and high-performing tyres using world-class technology and research.

• But before we go into the details of the tyre manufacturing process, it is necessary that we get familiar with some standard terms related to tyres. Here's a quick tyre glossary to help you learn the different parts of tyres - 

• ●        Belt - Steel belts are fixed around a tyre, to give them strength and rigidity. These are woven sheets of steel wires, coated in rubber.  

  ●        Bead - A bead is made of multiple ring-shaped steel wires and has a rubber coating. It serves as an airtight seal between the tyre and the rim.

  ●        Ply - The plies are your tyres’ skeleton, made up of multiple layers of fabric. Usually, these are created using fiber cords woven together and have a rubber coating around them. These plies are used to add flexibility to the tyre.[1] [2]  To ensure the strength of the tyre, a layer called 'carcass ply' is placed right above the tire's inner liner.  

  ●        Tread - The soft area on the outer side of the tyre where the rubber comes in contact with the road is the tread. It is responsible for both grip and cushioning. The compound and design of the tread define its performance capabilities. 

  ●        Sidewall - It is basically an extra-thick rubber that stretches between bead and tread. It aids in the lateral stability of the vehicle. All the information about the tyre manufacturer is inscribed on the sidewall, in case you want to refer to it sometime.

  ●        Shoulder - It is the small slant edge of a tyre where the tread and the sidewall meet. The design and construction of the shoulder play an essential role in delivering proper performance on the corners.   

  ●   Sipe and groove - The evacuation of water, mud, and snow from the tyres happens through the deep grooves that separate the tread blocks. Along with the deep grooves, the tread blocks also have smaller grooves or cuts to provide extra grip to the vehicle. These smaller grooves are known as sipes.

• The Tyre Manufacturing Process

  Now that you know the common terms, let's take a ‘factory tour’ to  understand how tyres are made. To begin with, these are the five stages of tyre manufacturing:

  ●        Blending

  ●        Milling

  ●        Building

  ●        Curing

  ●        Inspection

  Let’s check out each of these in detail:

• 1. Blending

  ●        The process of tyre manufacturing starts with blending. Around 30 different types of rubber, fillers, and other ingredients are utilized to create the tyre rubber.

  ●        All the ingredients are sent for blending, where they are mixed in blending machines (blenders). After the mixing of these ingredients, a black, sticky compound is made, which is then sent for milling.

• 2. Milling

  ●        Once the rubber cools, it is then sent for cutting wherein the basic structure of the tyre is processed.

  ●        The milling stage also includes the preparation of other tyre elements. Some of these elements are coated in different type of rubber. 

• 3. Building

  ●        In the building process, the tyre is made from the inner side. Various components, including steel belts, textile elements, ply, beads, and tread, are placed in a tyre building machine

  ●        During this process, the tyre appears to gain proper form and is called a 'green tyre.'    

• 4. Curing

  ●        In this stage, the 'green tyre' is processed for vulcanization with hot molds in a curing machine. All the parts of the tyre are compressed together, giving it a final shape.

  ●        Post vulcanization, the tyre is furnished with the tread pattern and the manufacturer’s sidewall markings.    

• 5. Inspection

  ●        In the final inspection stage, the quality team of the tyre manufacturer inspects each tyre through special machinery.

  ●        They check for defects or imperfections before the tyre is shipped out to the sellers.

• CEAT's quality team ensures that only exceptional quality tyres come out of their manufacturing facilities. The entire product range thus adheres to the company's standards.

  And there you have it, folks. This is how the tyres that roll your vehicle back and forth are made. If you're looking for new tyres, you can buy the branded CEAT tyres online here. Googling 'tyre shop near me' to no avail? Click here to find a CEAT Shoppe in your vicinity.