High-precision tech solutions

Founded in 1987, the international company now employs 200 members of staff and, in addition to a global dealer network, also has sales subsidiaries in the USA, Brazil, China, India, France, UK, Portugal and Russia.
The patents of 1990 for the interferometer with temporal phase shift are one of Steinbichler’s first patent applications. They form an important basis for subsequent work, in particular in the field of tyre testing using shearography.
The patents cover a method for determining the displacement of beams, in particular light beams, and a facility for performing this method. The unique new technology initiated the development of the later INTACT tyre testing systems.
Those testing systems have been developed for the non-destructive testing of new tyres in R&D and quality control, as well as for the inspection of tyre carcasses in the retreading industry.
During the test cycle, a pressure difference (vacuum, e.g., 50mbar) is generated in the vacuum chamber, thereby inducing deformations which are caused by the expansion of air pockets occurring in faulty areas in a tire carcass. With the phase shearography technique - a holographic measurement method which reliably detects material deformations in the range of microns- faulty areas can be localised clearly and reproducibly.
Steinbichler’s INTACT tyre test systems have successfully proven their functionality in the worldwide car, truck and aircraft industries, as well as in the Formula 1 racing tyre business.

High end partners

“Michelin, Bridgestone, Goodyear, Continental, Pirelli, Maxxis and as well the Indian company Birla, all work with Steinbichler INTACT systems to improve their product quality. The famous retreading companies, who use our tyre testing systems are Bridgestone/Bandag, Galgo, Vacu-Lug, Yusan Tire, Fu-Chian Tire, Dunlop aircraft tyres, and especially in India Jinhu und Fortune.“ Rainer Huber, Product Manager for Non-Destructive Testing Systems, told Polymers & Tyre Asia.
Several hundred systems are installed with worldwide companies covering the whole INTACT product range from INTACT 1200-1, 1200-2, 1600, 2800 to the huge OTR machines, he points out. The unique Intact OTR series offers a machine concept for vertical orientation. The tyres can thus be easily loaded/unloaded with a common forklift.
For inspection of the second sidewall, no tyre flipping is necessary. Huber says. With the new Intact OTR 4300 system concept, a revolutionary inspection unit for EM tyres is now available. The machine is designed for giant OTR tyres with an inner diameter of between 45” and 63”, a width of 550 - 1550 mm and a maximum weight of 7500 kg.
The German retreading company Edler Reifen, for example, could increase the product quality and thus improve sales and reputation by the use of shearography. “Shearography eliminates between 15% and 20 % of tyres after visual inspection. Thus, the ratio of complaints could be significantly optimised.“ says Karl Praunegger, signatory from Edler Reifen.
Nokian Tyres, who is the only tire manufacturer in the world that focuses on customer needs in northern conditions, could reduce both test and development time. “We can much faster analyse and evaluate tyres that have been tested on test bench and also tyres which have been field-tested on taxis and other cars.“ says Jouni Kainulainen from Nokian Tyres.

New products

The shearography tyre inspection system Steinbichler’s INTACT 30 is one of the new products the company has launched. It has been developed especially for the testing of passenger car, light truck and medium truck tyres and carcasses in new tyre manufacturing and retreading plants with the highest production output, says Huber.
Including loading and unloading, the cycle time is only 30 seconds for the complete inspection of the tyre tread and shoulder area, he points out. This makes the system ideally suited for the testing of incoming carcasses and for the final quality check of retreaded or new tyres.
The system is designed for continuous operation and is therefore optimised for the highest production output. Thus, the system facilitates a complete quality inspection for state-of-the-art tyre production and retreading plants.
Another new tyre inspection system is the INTACT 80 for the quality control of passenger car, light truck and medium truck carcasses. It is especially designed for new tyre production plants.
Including loading and unloading, the cycle time is only 45 seconds for a complete tire inspection, claims Huber. This makes the system ideally suited for output control in new tyre industry.
The maximum inspection capacity is achieved by the combination of two basic units and an interconnected tire flipper. The system components including tyre feeding, tire flipper and unloading unit are perfectly tuned which facilitates a simultaneous tire inspection through synchronous operation of both basic units.
With the shearography tyre inspection system INTACT V20, Steinbichler offers a multitude of different possible uses. It is especially suited for retreading plants with small production quantities, test laboratories and tire development units.
The favorable price-performance ratio and the revolutionary innovative technology of the INTACT V20 system series provide an extremely economic and reliable solution for all inspection tasks at lower production volumes.
Partnership for the future
With 96 years expertise in aircraft tire manufacturing and retreading, Dunlop Aircraft Tyres Limited (DATL) undoubtedly know how to provide their customers with premium-quality products and a flexible service totally focused on their customer´s individual needs. A major part in the company´s quality control processes is represented by the INTACT shearography tire testing systems from Steinbichler Optotechnik.
Dunlop uses a Steinbichler INTACT 1600-AC system for many years, this effective and high-end tyre test machine has become an indispensable tool for them to inspect the tire carcasses going to be retreaded.
“Our customers trust in Steinbichler products because of our 25 years of experience in international business and particularly because of our in house development of software and hardware. That guarantees easy customisation, continuous development and professional support and ensures a reliable partnership for the future”, says Huber.