ROLLING OUT GOOD VALUE
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We report from the UK's largest tyre and retread technology show
Brii yrex is usually good value as far as innovation and new developments are concerned—and this year it proved so again.
Swiss retread specialist VV System was displaying tyres produced by its advanced Cmwnline System. These tyres, available in two drive-axle patterns plus coach and tii-axle trailer applications, result fmm a complete production system incorporating tread design. ultra-sound casing analysis, advanced buffing and building techniques and intensive training.
Advantages said to be offered by Crownline System tyres include improved performance (due to maximised footprint), excellent reliability (pre-cured tread gives good mileage potential) and new tyre-like appearance (without employing a sidewall veneer).
Most popular sizes are available with particular emphasis towards the heavy trucks. Moves are afoot to bring in more light commer cial applications in due course. There are six appointed franchises at present but further expansion is planned. (Write no 77on the reader reply card).
An innovative ultrasonic scanning device, the Tyrescan TS1 Mk5, was presented by Mitchell Technical Systems. (Card no 78.) This device is aimed at remanufacturers and remoulders and is used to detect faults within a tyre's construction. Linked to a PC, the machine will highlight damaged casings, porosity, cord movement, corrosion, belt and belt edge separations and liner problems. Test results are displayed clearly on a screen and can be downloaded to a printer if necessary. The whole operation takes about one minute per tyre.
The alternative methods of shearography and holography reportedly take much longer and the equipment needed can cost up to £250,000. The Tyrescan TS] Mk5 retails at £22,000 and running costs are min :nial.
Also from Mitchell Technical Systems was Tyreguard (Card no 79), a new tyre pressure monitoring system. Sensors are placed on each tyre valve and preset at the desired pressure. Any unwanted reduction will trigger the decoder Winton Engineering's gearless Driveline PTO W150. unit in the cab (via a screen-mounted aerial). An audible warning will highlight the pressure drop and single out the offending tyre or tyres.
The system has just completed successful testing at MIRA and is on sale now Up to 80 wheels can be monitored and an encoder unit is available for use with drawbar trailers. Price varies depending on application but a 12-wheel system will cost £750 (ex-VAT).
New from Ring Tread System UK is the Entyre a retreading con cept said to offer the advantage of pre-cured tread mileage combined with the cosmetic appearance of a bead-to-bead remould.
Entyre is available now in all popular large sizes and incorporates a high-quality, ozoneresistant sidewall veneer. This, RTS says, enables a greater proportion of casings to be processed, increases sidewall protection and strength and can be used to personalise the product.
LIGHT COMMERCIAL
wrs expects to expand the Entyre range to include light commercial applications by the end of the year. (Card no 80.) The hot news from Stertil-Koni UK is that a new hydraulic mobile column lift will be available by May with a load capacity of 6.5 tonnes. Stertil-Koni's Tony Edge is convinced that conventional screw lifts area thing of the past and believes hydraulic power is the way forward. Benefits include lower running costs, increased speed and greater reliability.
The company also produces a range of fourpost hydraulic lifts with capacities up to 24 tonnes. The KS 4080 model is the only one of its type on the market without crossbeams and will lift up to 10 tonnes. It costs about £10,000 delivered and installed. An eight-tonne version is available for £9,000, (Card no 81.) If you require mobile power then Winton Engineering's Driveline PTO units will be of interest. Used to generate electricity and pneumatic or hydraulic power, the novel gearless design offers more than 99",, transmission efficiency, near silent and almost vibration-free operation and low operational costs.
Built to customer specification, power modules can be installed inside a vehicle or slung underneath. The basic PTO costs about £1,000 with complete installations ranging from £2,500 to 44,000. (Card no 82.) Also on the mobile power theme, Compressed Air Centre was exhibiting the Tyre-Mate trailer-mounted compressor. A lightweight yet durable galvanised steel structure supports an 11hp OHV Honda petrol engine with electric start. This operates a twostage air compressor capable of producing 36cfm at 150psi.
The trailer is braked and a balanced design ensures ease of movement by hand when necessary. Two sizes of Tyre-Mate are available (with standard compressor installation), the smaller costing about £2,000 while the larger, with 500kg capacity, sells for about £2,500. (Card no 83.) Retna Tip Top UK's stand featured a product called Equal—intended to reduce the vibration and increased wear created by tyre imbalance.
Being a dry, granular polymer resin, Equal can be added either when a new tyre is fitted, or injected through the valve of an existing one. It costs about £20 to treat one tyre (about the same as conventional lead weight balancing) and apparently works by reacting to the load forces and speed of the tyre—the makers claim it will reduce tyre wear by 10%. It's important te to treat each tyre .10111 with the correct quantity of resin granules and that the air used to maintain pressure subsequently is dry and clean. To help this process Rema is marketing filter adaptors for airlines and valve stem filter extensions for the wheels themselves. (Card no 84.) Pipe Sealant 577, from Loctite UK. is a product new to the tyre market but one which has been well proven in industry Claimed to abolish the need for PTFE tape, 577 is a single-part anaerobic compound which cures to a thermoplastic when deprived of air.
COUPLE OF DROPS
A couple of drops on a thread (whatever type) will seal it to withstand pressures of up to 18,000psi and it's both quicker and easier to use than PTFE tape, says the maker. The cost is Also from Loctite UK is Fast Orange hand cleaner. This is a solvent.free product which can be used with or without water. Fast Orange is based on citrus rind extract, jojoba oil and aloe vera, so is environmentally friendly and is also available with added pumice for heavy duty applications. Prices are £11 for a three-litre container and £28 for 10 litres. (Card no 85.) Zevoc tread cement is the first water-based adhesive of its sort and is distributed in the UK by Newgate Simms. Developed in the US, largely by Goodyear, this adhesive contains no solvent or other hazardous materials. It's been approved by the RAIN and can be used as a direct replacement for solvent-based adhesives in the retread process. It has a 46% solid content which is significantly higher than the solvent-based products. (Card no 86.) Finally, just released from Peterboroughbased Ritelite Systems is the Linelite Plus. This vehicle-based torch made in the US is fully rechargable (automatically) and designed tube used for up to 18 hours at a time. It has a rugged body design, a universally adjustable lamp head, a reserve bulb with automatic cut-in, three beam intensities, low battery warning, constant light output system and "soft start" to prolong filament life. The cost is £165. (Card no 87.)