Tire History from Metal to Present
Centuries ago, tires were used primarily for small carts and medium-sized
wagons. These tire were made up of iron bands place around wood frame wheels. As
technology progressed, the tires were made of steel. These tires had to be
specially placed to fit snuggly on the wood frame by a specialized smith known
as a wheelwright. On most surfaces these tires were very resistant to wearing
out.
Scot John Boyd Dunlop is credited with the first successful design of a
pneumatic tire. His motivation was to give his son smoother bike rides so that
he wouldn't get so many headaches. Scot John Boyd Dunlop file an invalid patent
because an artist, Scot Robert William Thompson, had previously depicted such a
tire.
With the pneumatic tire the ride was not only softer, but the softness of the
tire allowed it to absorb the impact of frictions against the tire. The impact
of objects in the road against the hollow tire have much of the contact energy
absorbed by the air compressing response that takes place inside the tire as the
tire flexes. What this mean was that the pneumatic tire changed tire history by
decreasing rolling resistance and increasing vehicle and cart efficiency.
Eventually pneumatic tires were reinforced to provide greater durability.
Flexible outer materials were used for the best grip on the road and the most
elasticity to reduce friction. But reinforcements were made with sturdy fabrics
and/or wire. It wasn't until the 20th century that the major tire companies we
know today grew up into large industries. This of course accompanied the growth
in the automobile industry.
There are now over four hundred factories dedicated to manufacturing tires
globally. Each year they produce more than 1 billion tires. Of these 1 billion
tires, more than 600 million are produced by the top three tire manufacturing
corporations. |
