Michelin presents a tire concept that would last the life of an automobile. The idea? Retread the tread using a 3D printer.
Michelin has made longevity one of its workhorses in tires. For this reason, the manufacturer presents an innovative concept of tire that would last the life of an automobile. In reality, the tire would wear out like today, but it would be retreaded or recharged by printing a new tread using a 3D printer. Why not ?
A vision of the future
It was in Montreal, Canada that Michelin unveiled this concept called Vision. Nineteen patents have been filed. It should be noted that the tire merges here with the wheel so that the tread becomes one with a structure capable of supporting the weight of a car. The tire therefore has no air-filled cavity and therefore cannot puncture or burst.
Refillable
It is also rechargeable. We explain: thanks to a 3D printer, we can deposit the certain amount of rubber on the tread and regroove grooves in it to make the tire usable. This obviously makes it possible to adapt the tire to all situations. We could for example imagine digging slats there for the winter and then going back to drawing "summer" afterwards. Michelin also indicates that "the material uses cold vulcanization technology and that it offers the same performance as a conventional tread".
Also connected
This Vision tire is obviously also connected, which allows you to know its condition and wear in real time. The Vision concept will also delight green people because it is entirely made from recycled and recyclable materials. Even the tread would be biodegradable. Hopefully the research results will lead to a real production tire.
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