The South Korean tyre manufacturer NEXEN TIRE is increasingly relying on 3D printing and artificial intelligence in the production of tyre moulds. By using these technologies, the company has been able to reduce production time by 70% and costs by 50%.
The traditional tyre development process involves several steps. Structure and pattern design, mould making, prototype production and finally vehicle testing for product release. NEXEN TIRE has optimised this process by integrating explainable AI (XAI) and 3D printing.
XAI analyses information such as basic designs, key design variables and performance contributions. This allows optimal structures and designs to be proposed that meet the requirements of the developers. With XAI-powered designs, NEXEN TIRE creates virtual tyre models that enable accurate performance evaluation in simulated environments.
After the virtual development phase, a physical prototype is produced for final evaluation. For this, NEXEN TIRE uses 3D printing technology to produce the tyre moulds. This enables the simultaneous creation of prototypes with different designs and specifications.
3D printing-based mould production allows for innovative tyre designs with complex patterns and sipes. This is particularly important for high performance vehicles and improves performance and safety for consumers. NEXEN TIRE has applied for an international patent for this application of 3D printing.
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