Online Measurement of Tire Ply Balance

A critical measurement in the manufacture of tires is the ply balance. This is the amount of rubber above and below the cord. In this talk we will present the online measurement of tire ply balance for both textile and steel cords. A combination of x-ray and nuclear gauges can accomplish this measurement for steel cord, but terahertz is the first technology that can measure balance for textile cord. This is also the first of many possible applications of pulsed terahertz within the tire industry.