Mumbai: Looks like Michelin is trying to reinvent the wheel and then mass produce it. Well, the tyre manufacturer's latest production facility will be solely dedicated towards making its new airless radial tyres. Christened the Tweel, this tyre combines the tyre and wheel assembly into one solid unit and takes the all-important air out of the equation.
The components of the Tweel that remain common with the conventional tyre are the rigid hub at the centre and the shear beam - but the difference lies in the method in which these two components are connected. Where regular wheels use metal or alloy spokes, the airless radial tyre employs polyurethane as material, which is "flexible and deformable."
The highlight of the non-pneumatic technology is, of course, the fact that the Tweel can never go flat. As Ralph Dimenna, head of Michelin Tweel Technologies puts it, "The Tweel airless radial tyre enables Michelin to enter new markets and expand its reach in existing business segments within the low-speed application category. The industry is hungry for solutions contributing to productivity, safety and bottom lines. Serving our customers is at the centre of our strategy for success."
The idea conceptualised by the company's research engineers over the last decade will now be produced commercially for the first time at the new 1.35 lakh square-foot facility, set up in the Greenville area, South Carolina, USA.
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