Building Giant Pneumatics
Page 65
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Interesting Methods Employed at the Goodyear Factory at Wolverhampton
T"past few years have witnessed a great increase in the use of pneumatic tyres of large section for both passenger and goods types of commercial vehicle. One of the concerns which has been very active in providing durable tyres for this class of service is the Goodyear Tyre and Rubber Co., Ltd., which commenced operations in its British factory at Wolverhampton towards the end of 1927, By February, 1931, two million tyres had been produced, and the output is still on the increase.
In the course of a recent visit to the plant we were able to examine in detail the many intricate processes which are involved in making tyres of large section ; incidentally, we also inspected the biggest cover so far produced by this concern, the section of which measures 13.i ins, and fits on a 20-in. rim.
An essential part of the Goodyear tyre is, of course, the Supertwist Cord fabric, which is made in Lancashire to a special specification, and is carefully inspected upon reaching the Wolverhampton factory. The fabric is impregnated with rubber and, subsequently, is cut diagonally into strips in such a way that when these are made up into tyre covers the plies run in a sloping direction at right-angles to those of the• layers above and below.
Big covers for commercial, vehicles are built by skilled operators on collapsable rims in special machines. Layers of fabric which have previously been joined to form rings are placed in position one after the other, every care being taken to ensure circularity and an absence of air pockets. The strong rubber tread and side walls are added in a similar way, and the complete tyre is then ready for curing.
The curing process takes place in a deep well containing a number of steel moulds, within each of which a tyre cover
is placed. Inside each cover there is an air bag which expands it against the pattern formed in the mould. The batch of moulds is held secure by hydraulic pressure, air is then admitted to all the bags, and, finally, steam heating is employed to effect the cure. The whole process is controlled by recording thermometers and other special instruments. -Features noticeable everywhere in this factory are cleanliness and extreme care for detail. The floors are all covered with polished maple and several men are continually employed with large vacuum cleaners in order to keep down. dust. This may seem to be an unimportant detail; but, in actual fact, it has a marked influence upon the quality of the product.
In going around the works we also noticed that a large number of inspectors is employed, both the materials and the product being checked at every stage by physical and chemical tests.