Nexen Tire has provided further insights into its use of emerging technologies, such as XAI (eXplainable AI)-based design processes and 3D printing for tyre mould production. The company aims to “further expand its partnerships with global automakers through these innovations.”
Toyo Tire Corporation has adopted a seventh-generation Hewlett Packard High-Performance Computing (HPC) system for its proprietary high-precision tyre design platform, T-MODE. This move establishes a robust product development framework to expedite the creation of higher-performance tyres.
On 4 July, Nexen Tire unveiled its ‘High Dynamic Driving Simulator,’ a VR-based tool for tyre development. This initiative, which Nexen Tire says is a first for a Korean tyre maker, draws upon the specialist know-how of British equipment supplier Ansible Motion. The tyre maker anticipates that the driving simulator will foster collaboration with vehicle manufacturers, reducing vehicle development times and costs through accelerated virtual development.
The holy grail of off-highway tyre development is a tyre that is robust and durable yet delivers eco-friendly performance in its given application. Sharing its experiences in this area, Trelleborg Tires credits continuous research and “the right dose of AI” as indispensable factors.
Testing, consulting, information, and compliance services firm Smithers has, together with tyre and vehicle development technology specialist Stackpole Engineering Services, debuted the Virtual Tire Lab. Announcing the launch, Smithers describes Virtual Tire Lab as a “unique, comprehensive toolset for analysing raw data and comparing, contrasting, and adjusting virtual tyre models for use in design analysis, simulation, and model certification.”
April 1 has been and gone this year, so there’s no danger in admitting that I’ve seen imaginary tyres being tested on cars that don’t even exist. No fooling. I’ve even driven with these non-tyres, at the Goodyear Simulation Center in Luxembourg. The illusion felt very real.
More than a year after completing and commissioning its Simulation Center in Luxembourg, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company officially opened the facility yesterday. Tyrepress.com was present to see and experience this “new era for tyre design and development.”
A new simulation technique will aid tyre development at Sumitomo Rubber Industries (SRI) by helping to minimise the impact of air resistance. This ‘Tire Aerodynamic Simulation’ technique uses artificial intelligence to visualise the airflow that develops around the tyres when a vehicle is in motion, and the Falken brand manufacturer will use the knowledge it gains to “pursue the development of a tyre shape that optimises aerodynamic performance.” SRI aims to launch an EV tyre developed using Tire Aerodynamic Simulation in 2027.
Nexen Tire lays claim to being the first Korean tyre maker to utilise virtual reality (VR) in the product development process. To strengthen its digital design process capabilities, the tyre maker has developed a VR design simulation system at the Nexen Central Research Institute in Seoul. It says this VR design review system allows users to “appreciate the scale of real tyres in a virtual space.”
After months of fine-tuning and integrating into development processes, Continental has begun operations with its new driving simulator for tyres and aims to use it in particular to assist original equipment tyre development. Tyrepress recently visited the simulator to find out more.
Within the framework of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Korea Expressway Corporation’s Road Traffic Research Institute, Nexen Tire intends to reduce the time and expense required to produce tyres for original equipment customers. The two partners signed the MoU on 27 November at the Research Institute’s headquarters in Dongtan, Hwaseong.
Apollo Tyres has shared details about the recently-launched Vredestein Quatrac Pro EV, Europe’s first dedicated all-season tyre for electric vehicles. Specifically, the manufacturer sheds light on tyre development using its state-of-the-art virtual prototyping and simulation platform and how this helped to “dramatically reduce time-to-market as well as the product’s environmental impact and development costs.”
For the past ten years, Hankook Tire has incorporated tailored analysis and simulation software into its tyre development programme. This software is set to gain a performance boost through a new partnership with high performance computing (HPC) cloud simulation platform Rescale.
Kumho Tire says it intends to respond more quickly to changes in the mobility sector by transforming its tyre development process. The tyre maker refers to its plans as a “digital transformation” and says it will create a “twin” of the tyres it develops in order to cut lead times. Through the use of big data and artificial intelligence, this digital twin will be able to predict the characteristics of the tyre’s compounds as well as how the tyre will behave when driven.
Kumho Tire Europe has a vision to “grow into a major brand,” shares Namhwa Cho. Speaking with the CEO Edit, a show presented outside the UK by BBC StoryWorks, the Kumho Tire Europe president spoke about the tyre maker’s aspirations as well as its experiences during the pandemic and plans to capitalise on mobility megatrends.
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