VMI introduces New Body Ply Stock Splice Handling System

In mid-June the VMI Group reported the introduction of its new system for body ply stock splice handling. The company claims its new system offers an advance on previous models in that it not only prevents interference between splices from two different piles – it does this in a manner that reduces scrap and should also facilitate a high level of uniformity.

Body ply stock splice detection is a standard feature on VMI tyre building machines. The system measures the position of all stock splices in the body ply. If a stock splice comes to close to one of the body ply’s ends, the system automatically slices off a piece of material to prevent the stock splice being located too close to its machine splice within the tyre.

Current systems only prevent interference between stock and machine splices within the same body ply; they do not prevent possible interference occurring between stock and machine splices in adjacent body ply layers, even though their presence together can influence tyre quality. In the new system introduced by VMI, two adjacent body ply layers are examined for stock splices. No stock splices may occur in a layer’s own machine splice area or in the machine splice area of the other layer. Furthermore, no stock splices are permitted in areas where the other layer’s stock splices are located.