The Greek island of Crete was the location for the recent tenth anniversary celebration of Earthmax, BKT’s OTR radial tyre range. Designed to favour enhanced load distribution on the ground for dumpers, wheel loaders, dozers, graders and other multi-purpose vehicles, Earthmax can claim to be a key achievement in BKT’s history.
BKT Marks a Decade of Earthmax Excellence
The event, held from 5-7 June, and attended by BKT dealers and specialist press from around the world, was opened by BKT’s Chairman and Managing Director, Arvind Poddar, who welcomed the audience and outlined the company’s core values, correlating them with the main features of the Earthmax tyres.
“Building and constructing the Palace of Knossos was a great achievement and advancement in ancient times,” he said. “Today we would call it a milestone. Similarly, engineering and building our first Earthmax tyre has been a great achievement and progress in modern times – a milestone in BKT’s history.”
Poddar went on to compare some of the premium features of the Earthmax range with the company’s strategic choices made in the ten years since the range was launched and concluded by drawing reference to BKT’s status as a global player in the off-road market.
“Only big projects go hand in hand with big motives,” he said, “and big motives call for big strength. That is why the dimensions of our tyres are simply “big”. They remind us that nothing is given and easy, since every tyre is the result of tireless research, and a strong desire for improvement. It is also the result of a new challenge that has been taken up for the purpose of having the lead and keeping promises.”
Poddar’s words were continued by BKT’s President and Director of Technology. Dilip Vaidya, who outlined some of the significant investments made by BKT in recent years, and described some of the innovations and new technologies aimed at taking the company to the next level.
Of key importance in this is the company’s plans to enter the Giant OTR segment.
Says Vaidya: “After the development of the 27.00 R49 size in 3 different patterns, namely EARTHMAX SR 45 PLUS, SR 46 and SR 48, we had the opportunity to study the effects of tread design features on tyre performance taking into consideration heat development, heat dissipation, and wear characteristics. This knowledge will be applied for designing optimised tread patterns for 51” and 57” sizes, which are expected to be released in the second quarter 2019 and the second quarter 2020, respectively, thanks to significant investments into new tyre building machinery that is suitable for the sophisticated and complex processes of building Giants.
“The major challenge in Giant Tire Development compared to previous production is the high speed with extraordinarily heavy loads over long distances in addition to extreme lateral forces provoking mechanical stress on belt edges. Coping with these challenges we have reached a stage of advanced engineering, in which the analysis of the entire tyre structure and all features is essential.
For this purpose, tyre simulation by means of ABAQUS FEA – Finite Element Analysis – is applied to work on all tyre components including inner liner, belt, tread and beads, sidewall, carcass and bead fillers plus reinforcements.”
Vaidya went on to outline some of the investments in machinery carried out since OTR All Steel Radial production was moved from the company’s pilot plant in Chopanki to BKT’s state-of-the-art production plant in Bhuj enabling large-scale manufacturing.
For the purpose of improving compound uniformity, seven latest-generation 440 lt-HF mixers have been purchased, providing automated temperature control and enhanced rotation by means of synchronised technology. As a result, the entire compound mixing process is enhanced by optimal specific energy supply leading to ideal silanization.
Another essential purchase from a worldwide leading supplier in this field was a 4-roll calender for steel cord processing, which has enabled the company to calender higher-diameter cords for Giant tyres and which provides the possibility to control top and bottom calendering thickness for best adhesion and improved final quality.
Other significant investments include the purchase of a state-of the-art steel cord cutter and a new tyre building machine with three carcass drums.
BKT have also implemented a specific green tyre building process for Giant tyres to guarantee utmost material cohesion during the several deposition and turning up stages. The movement of packages is performed in such a way that perfect alignment is ensured by means of a transfer ring. Among other features, the machine also provides a specific lamination process for tread and cushion preparation resulting in high-precision tread profiles and improved uniformity.
In other areas Vaidya announced a Joint Research Agreement with KULTEVAT Inc., a leading US biotechnology company that is specialised in the cultivation and processing of TKS Dandelion as a renewable and sustainable alternative for natural rubber.
The agreement involves a first project stage with several sample deliveries for Lab Research by October 2018, whereas stage 2 of the project provides the supply of one metric ton of stabilised TKS Rubber by October 2019.
Last but not least, Vaidya also drew reference to some of the latest developments in terms of tools and support for the OTR sector. These include a tyre pressure monitoring system and SPOTECH, an innovative tool developed by BKT in-house to provide information about a dumper’s exact position as tracked by satellite. The system incorporates an “accelerometer” in the data logger, which is placed on a level part of the dump truck recording latitudinal, longitudinal and vertical motion and forces involved in addition to speed, cycle times, and other parameters.
BKT欢庆Earthmax 10周年
希腊群岛的克利特岛是BKT的OTR子午轮胎系列Earthmax十周年的欢庆地点。 Earthmax的设计有利于提升倾卸车、铲土机、推土机、平地机和其他多用途车辆在地面上的轮胎负荷分配，可说是BKT历史上的关键成就。
该活动于6月5日至7日举行，吸引来自世界各地的BKT经销商和媒体。 BKT主席兼董事经理伯德达（Arvind Poddar）负责开幕，他在致欢迎词时讲述了公司的核心价值，并将之与Earthmax轮胎的主要特点做连结。
他说：“兴建克诺索斯王宫象征着古文明的伟大成就和先进。今天，我们将它称之为里程碑。 同样，打造我们首款Earthmax轮胎在现代也是一项巨大成就，也是BKT历史上的一个里程碑。”
伯德达持续比较Earthmax系列的高端功能与公司在推出十年的战略选择，并且阐述BKT作为全球越野市场的领导品牌地位。
他说：“只有大型项目才能带来巨大的动力，而巨大动力可以唤醒强大的能力。这也是为何我们的轮胎尺寸都要’大’。它们提醒我们，天底下没有不劳而获的事，所有轮胎都是努力研究和强烈改善意愿的成果。这也是我们接受全新挑战与遵守承诺的结果。”
BKT总裁兼技术总监维迪亚（Dilip Vaidya）则阐述BKT近几年的几项重大投资，同时也介绍将公司提升到新水平的创新技术。其中最重要的是公司即将进入巨型OTR轮胎市场。
维迪亚表示：“在开发EARTHMAX SR 45 PLUS、SR 46和SR 48三款轮胎的27.00 R49尺寸后，我们有机会研究胎面设计特征对轮胎性能的影响，同时也考虑到生热、散热和磨损。 这些知识将用在设计51寸和57寸的优化胎面花纹，这些花纹将分别在2019年第二季和2020年第二度发布，这要归功于新轮胎生产机器的大量投资，该机器适合打造生产过程复杂的巨型轮胎。
“跟之前的制造相比，开发巨型轮胎的主要挑战是高速、远距离的超重负荷与极端的侧向力，将为带束层边缘带来机械压力。为了应对这些挑战，我们已经进入先进工程的后期阶段，其中对整个轮胎结构和所有特征的分析至关重要。为此，我们通过ABAQUS FEA – 有限元分析轮胎模拟，用在所有轮胎配件，包括内衬、带束层、胎面和胎圈、胎侧、胎体和胎圈填充物以及强化材料。”
维迪亚也讲述自OTR 全钢子午胎生产线从位于Chopanki的试验工厂，搬迁到Bhuj最先进生产工厂的部分机器投资。
为了提高混合物的均匀度，该公司购买7台最新一代的440 lt-HF混合器，通过同步技术提升自动温控和强化旋转，并且透过最佳能量供应强化整个混合过程，进而达到理想的硅烷化。
该公司也从另一家全球领先供应商购买四辊压延机作为钢丝加工用途，该压延机让公司可以压平巨型轮胎较高直径的钢丝帘线，并且控制顶部和底部压延厚度，以达到最佳效果和品质。
其他重大投资包括购买最先进的钢帘线切割机和带有三个胎体成型鼓的新型轮胎成型机。
BKT也为巨型轮胎实施特定绿色轮胎生产流程，以确保轮胎在多次沉积和翻转阶段可获得最大的材料粘聚力。包装通过转环自动定位，以确保精确对准。除了其他功能之外，该机器也为胎面和缓冲胶准备提供特定的工艺，从而获得高精准度的胎面轮廓和改善均匀。
在其他领域，维迪亚则宣布与美国领先的生物科技公司Kultevat Inc.达成联合研究协议。该公司专门从事TKS蒲公英种植和加工，作为天然橡胶的可持续替代品。
该协议的首个项目阶段是在2018年10月之前，交付多个样品给Lab Research。项目的第二阶段则在2019年10月之前，稳定供应一吨的TKS橡胶。
最后，维迪亚也提到OTR轮胎领域的一些工具和支援的最新发展，其中包括胎压监测系统和SPOTECH，这是由BKT内部开发的一项创新工具，可透过卫星跟踪自卸车的准确位置。此系统包含了一个‘加速计”数据记录器，这个被放置在自卸车水平部位上的记录器，除了车速、循环时间和其他参数外，还能记录自卸车的横向、纵向和垂直活动。
