Save fuel and CO2: This machine regrooves car tires

Studies by Michelin and Continental show: Regrooving a tire can save up to 0.5 liters of fuel per 100 km. This saving is particularly noticeable in tractor trailers. If a truck with a semi-trailer consumes an average of 30 liters per 100 km, it saves three liters with six regrooved tires on the trailing axles. In addition, up to 650 kg of climate-damaging CO2 emissions can be avoided per tire. Extending the service life of the tires also leads to potential savings on raw materials in tire production.

The only problem is that manually regrooving tires is physically demanding and requires maximum concentration. Bear Machines GmbH from Heek is developing a semi-automatic machine that takes over this job.

During the construction of the machine, the company was faced with the challenge of finding bendable, flexible cables for the motors as well as space-saving guidance for the hose and cable. Conventional cables proved to be inadequate and could not fulfil the necessary requirements.

The engineers switched to robust yet flexible chainflex® motor cables from from igus® (CF280.UL.H301.07.04.D). The cables move in compact Series E2/000 e-chains® made of high-performance plastic.

According to the engineers, the solution perfectly fulfils the requirements for oscillating movements and compliance with the tight bend radius. It has helped to save costs and significantly improve the performance of the system.

Pre-selection and configuration of the components was also easy. Thanks to the intuitive online configuration tools, the company was able to save development time. Last but not least, the solution from igus® also contributed to the machine's energy-efficiency thanks to its mechanical specification. It only consumes a minimal 800 watts of energy in full operation, which further emphasizes its efficiency and environmental friendliness.