Smithers has ramped up its wheel and tyre testing laboratory in Suzhou, China, installing the ozone resistance and low-temperature durability testing capabilities for tyres.

The new machine, installed at the Smithers Tire and Wheel Testing lab, will serve tyre testing customers across the globe.

Tyres are exposed to various environmental stressors, such as temperature swings, UV rays, and more which influence rubber material properties and lifespan. Ozone can have a potent influence on rubber material properties and lifespan due to its solid oxidising abilities.

Explaining the new capabilities, Smithers said that the tyre industry relies on laboratory testing to measure ozone resistance. Most of this testing focuses on rubber compounds rather than whole tyres. However, inadequate ozone resistance can be a symptom of sidewall cracking in consumer tyres. To better test for this issue, the industry has been interested in options for ozone testing for whole tyres. Another issue currently faced by the industry is a limited number of options for conducting whole-tyre low-temperature endurance testing indoors. Most of this testing occurs outdoors.

“At Smithers, our top priority is to meet our clients’ needs and deliver accurate testing data, on time with excellent service,” said Henry He, General Manager, Tire and Wheel Testing Center Asia Pacific, Smithers Materials Science and Engineering Division.

“We invested in ozone resistance and low- temperature durability testing to our tire laboratory in Suzhou to help our clients evaluate the durability performance of whole tyres in a controlled, indoor environment. This will shorten the development cycle for our clients and lower their R&D costs.”

The new testing equipment can conduct ozone aging durability testing at an ozone concentration of up to 250pphm and maintain temperatures as low as -40°C for low temperature durability testing.

Under these conditions, expert test engineers can evaluate tire performance and durability at different speeds and air pressures and under different loads.

“Smithers is committed to fulfilling our promise of providing our clients with key testing capabilities to meet their changing R&D needs, said Derek Read, Vice President, Asia Region, Global Development, Smithers Materials Science and Engineering Division. “We chose to add this specific capability to support industry development in Asia and help our clients continue to improve their products for the global marketplace.”

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company and TNO have successfully demonstrated that the integration of tyre intelligence technology into the automatic emergency braking (AEB) system of a vehicle has the potential to mitigate crashes even in challenging road conditions.

According to recent wet road testing, an improved AEB system with Goodyear SightLine technology may help reduce collisions at up to 80 kmph (50 mph) by applying brakes early. All things considered, the combination of AEB and SightLine insights on tyre and road condition data contributes to reliable performance in a variety of situations. This follows Goodyear and TNO's successful CES 2024 demonstration of tyre intelligence integration with antilock braking systems (ABS).

The automotive industry has placed a lot of emphasis on the AEB system, which applies the brakes automatically when a collision is about to occur in order to assist prevent or lessen the severity of crashes. The AEB system can work more efficiently in a variety of driving conditions, including low-friction surfaces like wet roads or ice, by integrating Goodyear SightLine, the company's suite of tyre intelligence solutions. Currently, existing systems are usually tuned for high-friction surfaces like dry asphalt. Tyre intelligence may give the AEB more detailed information about the real tyre and road conditions through the contact patch with the road, allowing for more intelligent and accurate decision-making.

Chris Helsel, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Goodyear, said, "Safety is a cornerstone of Goodyear's commitment to innovation. By providing critical inputs about tyre and road conditions into AEB systems, we are helping OEMs and their customers take a leap forward in safety, well ahead of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) 2029 mandate for AEB systems in passenger vehicles. Beyond this mandate, AEB systems will play a critical role in automated driving, helping to provide a comprehensive safety solution at all times."

Martijn Stamm, Marketing Director, Unit Mobility & Built Environment, TNO, said, "TNO is dedicated to enhancing the safety, efficiency and sustainability of vehicles. Our collaboration with Goodyear aims to predict the braking distance of a vehicle in more conditions, like dry and wet asphalt, and trigger the AEB timely to reduce accidents and ultimately safe lives. This knowledge is a key enabler for a safe introduction of higher levels of automation."

Italy-headquartered Rodolfo Comerio, a leading supplier of advanced systems for calendering lines, has come out with a new innovative solution, which it believes will further make plants more sustainable.

The company’s new calendering lines provides rigorous control, which enables thickness uniformity. Its production versatility processes a wide range of technical materials with different chemical and physical properties. This reduces production times and maximises productivity all the while cutting down on wastage.

Rodolfo Comerio stated that energy efficiency in buildings starts with roof insulation, which is also an effective way to cut down on thermal dispersion and enhance indoor comfort.

The company claims that materials manufactured with its calendering lines are higher efficient, have better durability even in extreme weather conditions and are much more sustainable.

Comerio Ercole, the Italian machinery manufacturer, is poised to enhance industrial performance with its advanced calendering solutions, which enable greater flexibility, precision and efficiency in production processes.

The company’s innovative Shuttle CE windup unit is designed for fully automated roller changes without halting operations, offering substantial cost savings and improved productivity.

The Shuttle CE unit features two identical stands on a shifting platform. While one stand operates under the cross-cutter unit, the other remains offline for roller replacement. This dual-stand configuration, combined with offline loading and unloading via dedicated cranes or integrated systems, eliminates manual intervention and enhances process optimisation.

Further demonstrating its technological leadership, Comerio Ercole recently commissioned a cutting-edge MINIDUPLEX rubber sheeting calendering plant. The plant’s HYDROPLUS configuration achieves ultra-thin rubberised sheets as fine as 0.075 mm, marking a significant breakthrough in precision calendering. The company continues to invest in R&D to refine its solutions and maintain competitive leadership.

Sumitomo Rubber Industries has decided to deploy Rockwell Automation's manufacturing execution system (MES) platform at its largest domestic factory in Shirakawa City, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan.

The factory will begin operations using the new platform in the second half of 2025.

This move comes as part of the company’s efforts to promote the use of digital technology in tyre production, aiming to enhance and streamline factory operations globally.

Kenji Saito, Executive Officer, General Manager of Manufacturing HQ, Tyre Business HQ Sumitomo Rubber Industries, said, “We believe that leveraging Rockwell Automation’s expertise and flexibility, and our strong partnership with PTC to the maximum will enable us to standardise manufacturing management and enhance operational efficiency globally, driving our growth. To implement DX management as set out in our management vision, we intend to deploy the MES system beginning with the domestic factory and other manufacturing sites thereafter. We will continue to collaborate with Rockwell Automation, a global leader in manufacturing, and embrace new challenges with a forward-looking approach, making full use of AI.”

James Glasson, Vice President, Global Industry Auto, Tire and Advanced Mobility, Rockwell Automation, said, “This initiative will enhance operating efficiency, minimise manufacturing risks, reduce implementation costs and significantly accelerate speed to market.”

In recent years, the manufacturing industry has faced numerous challenges, including rapid changes in the business environment and labour shortages due to Japan’s declining working-age population. To address these challenges, Sumitomo Rubber Industries has been working with PTC since 2019 to adopt PTC’s IoT platform and develop applications to integrate data across production lines and manufacturing sites.

This system has been rolled out at nine of the company’s 11 tyre manufacturing sites, including all four factories in Japan.

The deployment of the Rockwell Automation MES platform will accelerate data organisation and enable the accumulation and sharing of valuable data such as quality and production forecasts across the company. By linking the collected and managed data with the enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, corporate management can gain a comprehensive view of manufacturing operations worldwide.

The Shirakawa Factory will begin operating the MES platform in the second half of 2025. After verifying its effectiveness by the end of 2026, Sumitomo Rubber Industries aims to standardise and roll out the platform to its factories in Japan and overseas.