Ölflex employed for high-tech cable production.
One of Continental’s largest production facilities in Europe is located in Germany, producing 34 000 car, SUV and van tyres each day. Alongside this, sport is a major focus with skilled employees sewing special racing covers onto the bicycle tyres supplied to Tour de France riders. As well as cyclists, the company also caters for motorcycle fans and industrial tyres, such as those found on fork-lift trucks are also produced at Korbach.
Tyre making is a complex process
The process begins at the loading level of the internal mixer where the raw materials are gathered before processing up to 12 different rubber mixtures, there are specific formulas for each type of tyre with everything operated via a central control desk. Ölflex Classic 110 connection and control cables are used to supply the motors and material weighing machines, saving space and providing a high level of electrical security thanks to the 4 kV test voltage. Data is transferred to the sensors and actuators via Unitronic Bus cables that are particularly flexible, halogen-free and oil and flame resistant.
A loading belt and several pipes and tubes carry the raw materials into the mixer, the hydraulics on the loading level feature two 36 kW pumps for the stamp, saddle and loading flaps. Ölflex FD Classic 810 P cables ensure secure transportation, with the assistance of cable chains. Oils are also mixed in here and so oil-resistant Ölflex 191 connection and control cables are employed. The next stage is the mixer, which has a power output of 1900 kW. The plastic material produced in the mixing system continues on to the extruder, which rolls the mixture sheet out of two barrel extruders and calls for a considerable amount of power. The multipurpose Ölflex Classic 100 connection and control cable is used to supply the extruder.
A conveyor belt transports the sheets to the cooling system where parting agents are added to prevent the sheets from sticking together. After this, the system discharges accordion-shaped mixture sheets, one pallet of these weighing about a ton. After quality checking, the steel belts are embedded in one or more rubber layers. The side strips are produced in the side strip injection machine and the air-tight inner layer is manufactured using the inner-liner calender. All of the semi-finished products made here move on to the assembly machine together, where they are combined to form blanks.
The vulcanising press uses heat and pressure to give the tyres their final shape and is where the natural rubber becomes vulcanised rubber. The tyre profile and the lettering on the sidewall are also formed in the press. Following this, final quality control checks are carried out.
The system extends over four storeys and is operated by a single employee. Along the length of the machine, the cabling is laid under the floor in special ducts. Bernd Emde, head of electronic assembly at Continental, was in charge of arranging the cabling for the entire internal mixer system. “We used Lapp cables almost exclusively, because of the excellent quality of their products and the first-rate service the company provides. Good identification was also important to us as dust accumulates throughout the machinery as a result of the carbon black and silica that are used as fillers.”
To ensure that any future orders can be processed as quickly as possible, all the required Lapp products are stored in Continental’s Electronic Ordering System, simplifying the work of the purchasing department during maintenance or in the event of an emergency.
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