New R&D Centre Making Konstrukta’s Ideas Reality

An essential part of the development and production of any item of tyre manufacturing equipment is the availability of a suitable testing centre, a facility that permits engineers not only to test the functionality of their equipment but also to solve and whenever possible prevent technological problems during the production process. This fact has not been lost on Konstrukta–Industry, a Slovakia-based manufacturer of machines and equipment for the tyre industry. In recent years the company has grown considerably in terms of product range, customer base and market share, and these last two factors have prompted Konstrukta to engage in the construction of its own new research and development centre.

The centre’s main focus, says Konstrukta, is the development and examination, by means of simulation, of new functional components for extrusion devices and lines. A major initial project for the centre is a 120 mm-diameter extrusion testing machine equipped with additional sensors that are not fitted to standard machines. These sensors allow for detailed monitoring of the extrusion. The company has also mounted a feeding conveyor, temperature control units, shrinkage conveyor and other accessories to the machine, and further plans to add a new type of cooling equipment to the machine – a spiral drum –cooling device – a product of centre’s own R&D technicians, are now under way.

The new testing facilities cost US$500,000 to develop but the company feels the investment worthwhile and necessary for taking the development of extrusion technology to the next level. Konstrukta’s engineers believe it necessary to split this development process into individual processes in order to better understand how the influence of individual parameters affect the whole process. This work allows them to evaluate the quality of the process, as well the quality of the output, and the information gained enables the engineers to make changes to the construction of functional components, technological nodes or complete machines.

The knowledge thus obtained is intended to enable the company to become more effective at machine construction with respect to drive aggregate dimensioning as well as resistance construction. The opportunity to provide practical verification of operational processes as inputs are altered enables the company to act quickly and effectively in regards to changing to new kinds of synthetic rubber or adjusting rubber stock.