According to the Rubber Machinery and Mold Branch of China Rubber Association, 2023 is a year of accumulating strength and rebuilding. Affected by the steady improvement of the tire industry and the booming production and sales, China's rubber machinery industry has seen many innovative breakthroughs in new technologies and the introduction of new products, presenting a scene of flourishing and contending.

The National Rubber and Plastic Machinery Information Center, Rubber and Plastic Technology and Equipment Magazine and China Rubber and Plastic Equipment Online Platform focus on major events in my country's rubber machinery industry in 2023. After industry recommendations and the selection of experts and industry organizations, 10 major industry events of the year were selected as the "Top Ten Events in China's Rubber Machinery Industry in 2023", which are now announced.

01Soft Control Launches a New Generation of PUB-3 Passenger Tire Dynamic Balance Test Line and Mixing Workshop Overall Solution

On September 4-5, 2023, Soft Control grandly launched the PUB-3 Passenger Tire Uniformity/Dynamic Balance Online Test Line and the latest generation of mixing workshop overall solution at the China International Rubber Technology Exhibition.

PUB-3 is a newly developed iterative product based on the ROC R&D platform, combining the experience of the past two generations of models for 20 years. It can realize the fully automatic online detection of the uniformity, dynamic balance, and eccentricity of semi-steel tires. It has completely independent intellectual property rights. Its equipment stability, test accuracy, test efficiency and other indicators have reached the advanced level of similar international products.

The latest generation of overall solutions for mixing workshops is based on the stability and reliability of equipment, with the design concept of "One is enough". Through intelligent upgrades, it solves the problem of equipment production being different for different people, and continuously promotes the automation, intelligence, and information upgrade of the rubber industry. Its technical and economic advantages are obvious.

Figure PUB-3 Passenger car tire uniformity/dynamic balance online testing line

02 Guilin Institute's first 580 conical twin-screw extruder tablet press successfully shipped

In order to meet the development requirements of large-scale and high-yield products in the rubber machinery market, Guilin Rubber Design Institute Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of China Chemical Equipment Technology Group Co., Ltd., organized technical and process research and successfully developed the company's first 580 conical twin-screw extruder tablet press, which has now begun to be shipped to users.

Figure 580 Conical twin-screw extruder tablet press

According to reports, the 580 conical twin-screw extruder adopts a new separation structure, with a designed output of 22 tons per hour, which is twice that of the commonly used 450 conical twin-screw extruder. The energy consumption per ton of product is reduced by 17%, which is the main development direction of the conical twin-screw extruder in the future.

The successful development of the 580 conical twin-screw extruder has added new momentum to the future development of China's rubber machinery industry and promoted the development of China's high-end equipment manufacturing industry for rubber machinery.

03 Guilin Rubber Machinery's various all-steel giant tire molding machines and 88-inch hydraulic vulcanizers have been successfully upgraded and produced

In December 2023, the intelligent 57-inch radial giant engineering tire molding machine independently developed by Guilin Rubber Machinery was successfully shipped to large domestic tire manufacturers after innovation and upgrading.

The 57-inch radial giant engineering tire building machine is 45 meters long, 32 meters wide and 6.8 meters high. It has 36 patented technologies, 15 technical breakthroughs, 12 innovative upgrades, and optimized and upgraded the automatic finger-shaped positive and negative packaging device to more effectively improve the quality of the tire embryo; it has an intelligent tire layer rubber correction device; it has a new tire unloading device that can be adjusted according to the shape and size of the tire embryo, making the operation simpler and more efficient without damaging the tire embryo. Achieve a more efficient and more accurate production method.

Guilin Rubber Machinery has been committed to solving the production problems of radial giant engineering tires and promoting the radialization process of giant engineering tires. At present, it has a full range of all-steel giant engineering tire building machines, bias engineering tire building machines, all-steel load-bearing tire building machines, all-steel load-bearing two-way radial tire building machines, agricultural radial tire building machines and other multi-specification model building machine design and production capabilities. Guilin Rubber Machinery currently produces intelligent giant engineering tire molding machines with specifications of 49-51 inches, 57 inches, and 57-63 inches. In particular, the 2270 (88-inch) hydraulic dual-mode engineering tire vulcanizer launched and industrialized in recent years has become the biggest highlight. They are all tailored for large tire manufacturers, helping customers and manufacturers to transform to high-end, digital, and green, and accelerate the formation of new quality productivity.

04 Yiyang Rubber Machinery's world's largest shearing GN700 internal mixer successfully rolled off the production line

On April 23, 2023, the first domestic and world's largest shearing GN700 internal mixer independently developed and produced by Yiyang Rubber and Plastic Machinery Group Co., Ltd. (referred to as Yiyang Rubber Machinery) was successfully rolled off the production line in Yiyang, Hunan.

The single-vehicle rubber mixing capacity of Yiyang Rubber Machinery's shearing GN700 internal mixer can reach 570Kg~600Kg, which is the largest in the world. The servo hydraulic system uses advanced high-voltage AC permanent magnet drive and servo hydraulic drive technology (silent drive technology) with independent intellectual property rights. The energy consumption of the servo hydraulic system is reduced by more than 40% compared with the ordinary hydraulic system, and the production efficiency is 1.8 to 3 times that of small and medium-sized internal mixers. It has significant advantages in terms of floor space and investment cost. With the implementation of the national "carbon peak and carbon neutrality" strategy, this product will become the main model used for mixing rubber in large tire and product industries, and play an important role in helping tire companies achieve low-carbon, environmental protection and energy-saving development.

This model is the first to use advanced high-voltage AC permanent magnet drive and servo hydraulic drive (silent drive) to successfully achieve complete domestic substitution of high-pressure variable pumps and closed-loop proportional valves in hydraulic systems, solving the problem that important components of internal mixers in my country have been "stuck" by foreign countries for a long time.

In recent years, Yiyang Rubber Machinery has focused on the development of rubber machinery products and has made remarkable achievements in helping energy conservation and consumption reduction in industries such as tires and rubber products and conveyor belts. In June, the first domestic XJY-ZS1100/500 double-cone twin-screw extruder with the largest specifications independently developed and produced by Yiyang Rubber Machinery was successfully launched; in July, the GK400N internal mixer with the new technology of permanent magnet semi-direct drive system was successfully launched. Compared with the original DC dual-motor drive system, the machine is expected to save about 15% energy. It is another new technological achievement of the company after the use of the new technology of servo hydraulic drive (silent drive); in December, the GE580/GE1000T ultra-large tandem internal mixer independently developed and produced by Yiyang Rubber Machinery, which first adopted high-voltage AC permanent magnet semi-direct drive, full servo hydraulic drive technology, artificial intelligence diagnosis and intelligent rubber mixing system technology, was successfully launched and successfully passed the customer's on-site test and acceptance.

In the future, Yiyang Rubber Machinery will continue to strengthen key technology research, enrich product portfolio, develop more powerful rubber machinery products, and help tire and rubber products companies achieve high-quality development.

Figure XJY-ZS1100/500 Large Double Cone Twin Screw Extruder Tablet Press

05 Saixiang's "Key Equipment for the Production of High-efficiency and Flexible Agricultural Radial Tires" won the third prize for scientific and technological progress

In December 2023, the "Key Equipment for the Production of High-efficiency and Flexible Agricultural Radial Tires" developed and produced by Tianjin Saixiang Technology Co., Ltd. for one and a half years won the third prize for scientific and technological progress of the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation.

For the first time, this equipment has adopted a modular layout and flexible production design in a limited space, and developed one-stage, two-stage and integrated machines. The equipment has high compatibility, can be flexibly disassembled and assembled, and can produce agricultural tires of all specifications; it has the characteristics of flexibility, modularity, miniaturization, high efficiency, wide coverage, and super compatibility. According to the layout of the tire company's plant, it can achieve the switch between the one-step method and the two-step method production process by replacing local key mechanisms.

The achievement has obtained 13 authorized inventions and 1 software copyright, which is applicable to the production processes of various tire factories at home and abroad, improving the labor-intensive production characteristics of agricultural tire production, and the performance indicators have reached the international advanced level. It can greatly improve the radialization rate of agricultural tires in my country, providing strong equipment and technical support for the country to promote the development of modern agriculture, improving the technical level of domestic agricultural radial tire tooling equipment and the quality and output of agricultural tires, and reducing the construction investment and production costs of tire companies.

06 Dalian Rubber and Plastic Machinery Co., Ltd.'s technological innovation achievements continue to improve efficiency for customers

In September 2023, Dalian Rubber and Plastics Company signed a purchase order for more than 10 320L tangent mixers with a well-known tire company. The unit has overcome key technologies such as the efficient four-sided synchronous rotor configuration suitable for final refining, high-hardness wear-resistant crack-free alloy surfacing technology, and predictive maintenance system technology, and optimized the design of the whole machine sealing system, fuel-saving system, and cleaning system. Compared with similar units at home and abroad, the rubber refining capacity has been increased by more than 15%.

In recent years, the rubber and plastic company has actively promoted technological innovation and achievement transformation, and strived to create high-quality equipment that integrates high efficiency, energy saving and environmental protection for customers. The series of large-scale tandem internal mixers adopts independently developed high-efficiency low-temperature meshing rotors and intelligent mixing control systems to achieve constant temperature rubber mixing, reduce the number of rubber mixing stages, and significantly reduce the energy consumption per ton of rubber; the steel wire fiber dual-purpose calendering production line can meet the production of semi-steel, full-steel and OTR engineering tire cord fabrics, realize one machine for multiple uses, greatly reduce production costs, and increase production capacity by more than 5%, which is widely praised by customers; the country's heavy equipment large-scale extrusion granulation unit has been put into use in many key petrochemical enterprises at home and abroad, and the latest domestically developed largest specification 400,000 tons/year FDPE granulation unit will be delivered to customers soon; EVOH, POE, PGA and other high-value-added new resin granulation equipment are also being continuously promoted, which will continue to solve the country's "stuck neck" problem and escort the country's economic security.

07 Lian Ya Intelligent's two scientific and technological achievements passed the appraisal of scientific and technological achievements of the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation

On February 20, 2023, Lian Ya Intelligent Technology (Suzhou) Co., Ltd.'s "Fully Automatic Laminating Technology and Equipment for Tire Quiet Materials" and "Tire Full Nitrogen Vulcanization Electric Heating Technology and Device" successfully passed the appraisal of scientific and technological achievements of the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation.

In the achievement of "Fully Automatic Laminating Method and Device for Quiet Materials", the fully automated production of picking, cutting, winding and laminating of quiet materials is realized. The adhesive multi-group glue supply and coating system equipped with it can realize multiple groups of precise glue supply, greatly improving the glue coating efficiency; the intelligent detection system installed in the device realizes the precise control of adhesive coating and quiet material laminating. Among the achievements of "Electric Heating Technology and Device for Tire Full Nitrogen Vulcanization", the rapid heating technology of electromagnetic heating of internal temperature nitrogen was developed, which directly heats nitrogen through electromagnetics; a special electromagnetic heating controller and internal temperature heating system were developed, which can realize the circulating heating of nitrogen during the vulcanization process; an external temperature electric heating zone heating device was developed to achieve uniform control of external temperature, and the radial temperature field can be controlled on demand.

These two technical achievements have complete independent intellectual property rights, good economic and social benefits, and broad market promotion prospects. The overall technical level of the equipment fills the domestic gap and reaches the international advanced level, showing the refined design and automation upgrade level of Lianya Intelligent Technology (Suzhou) Co., Ltd., and has made outstanding contributions to improving the quality and efficiency of rubber enterprises, achieving the output of higher quality products, and improving the level of rubber machinery products and rubber machinery industry.

08 Zhongjin Machinery 1320 Semi-steel Radial Tire Two-stage One-step Forming Machine New Product Launch

On October 26, 2023, Jiangsu Zhongjin Machinery Co., Ltd. successfully held a new product launch conference for the 1320 semi-steel radial tire two-stage one-step forming machine independently developed in Hangzhou, Zhejiang.

It is understood that the 1320 semi-steel radial tire two-stage one-step forming machine began to be developed in March 2022 and was successfully launched in February 2023. This model adopts an integrated design, covers an area of ​​15m*15.5m, has a fixed operator of 1 person, and has a single tire cycle time of 38-40 s. The current single-shift output has reached a maximum of 738 pieces, and the daily output has exceeded 1410 pieces; there is no human intervention in the forming process. One drum adopts a large-diameter flat drum for fully automatic bonding, and the sidewall also adopts a flat drum for automatic bonding and automatic jointing, so that no human intervention is required in the production process. The new model breaks the traditional layout of two independent equipments, one section and two sections, and integrates the two sections into one; it realizes the automatic transfer of tire embryo tube from one section to the second section, and the fully automatic operation of the second section. In addition, it also has the characteristics of fully automatic lamination of steel rings and various rubber materials (including sidewalls) outside the machine, and unmanned production in the equipment operation area during the whole process.

The release of this model will inject new blood into tire forming machinery, and play a positive role in promoting the technological upgrading of the tire manufacturing industry and realizing digital transformation.

09 Two aviation tire forming machines of Longxiang, Jianyang, Fujian, are put into design and manufacturing

In December, the 4-8 inch bias aviation tire forming machine and 8-15 inch secondary method radial aviation tire forming machine of Longxiang Technology Development Co., Ltd. of Jianyang, Fujian, won the bid for the aviation tire forming machine procurement project of Huangpu Materials Research Institute in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao Greater Bay Area, Guangdong, and now have been put into manufacturing.

It is understood that the 4-8 inch bias aviation tire forming machine and the 8-15 inch secondary method radial aviation tire forming machine are the first domestic aviation tire forming machines with high efficiency, high precision and high stability. The molding machine realizes full automation of the equipment, reduces the labor intensity of workers, improves the production efficiency of the equipment and the molding quality of the tire, effectively solves the "bottleneck" problem of my country's aviation tires, and helps my country's aviation industry to develop independently and steadily.

10 Doublestar Tire Launches "Black Technology" Power-Boosting Wheels in the Tire Industry

On May 15, Doublestar launched the "Black Technology" of the tire industry - "Power-Boosting Wheels" at the 13th China (Guangrao) International Rubber Tire and Auto Parts Exhibition.

This tire type is a mechanical wheel made of steel, with almost no rubber. Its structure includes inner and outer wheels, stoppers, cylinders, dampers and treads, and has the characteristics of no need for inflation, no rims, no wheel unloading, and no tire blowouts. During operation, the "Power-Boosting Wheel" will use cylinders and dampers to continuously buffer and pressurize, making the vehicle more comfortable, energy-saving and safe. The outer wheel of the product is equipped with a polyurethane tread, which can be replaced without removing the wheel. The life of the "Power-Boosting Wheel" can match the vehicle, up to 15 years.

It is understood that the "Power-Boosting Wheel" has 7+26 invention patents worldwide, subverting the 178-year history of "tire + rim". The advent of the "Power-Boosting Wheel" has also brought new opportunities and challenges to the technological innovation of the rubber machinery industry.

(Contributed by the National Rubber and Plastic Machinery Information Center, "Rubber and Plastic Technology and Equipment" Magazine, and China Rubber and Plastic Equipment Online Platform)