Write a 5 pages paper on how tires are made. John Boyd Dunlop, another Scotsman, reinvented the pneumatic tire in the 1880s (madehow.com, 2014). His design gained popularity with bicyclists.The raw ma

Write a 5 pages paper on how tires are made. John Boyd Dunlop, another Scotsman, reinvented the pneumatic tire in the 1880s (madehow.com, 2014). His design gained popularity with bicyclists.

The raw material primarily used to manufacture tires is natural rubber. Sometimes, tires are also made with synthetic rubber. Treatment of the rubber with a variety of chemicals along with subsequent heating helps create the characteristics of wear-resistance, resiliency, and strength. Rubber is strengthened through the process of curing or vulcanization discovered by the American inventor Charles Goodyear in the year 1839 (madehow.com, 2014). Natural rubber exists in the form of a milky liquid on the rubber trees bark. Raw rubber is produced by mixing the liquid latex with acids that cause solidification of the rubber. Excess water is squeezed out with presses to convert rubber into the form of sheets. The sheets are subsequently dried into tall smokehouses so that it gets pressed into the form of enormous bales. On the other hand, polymers in crude oil are used to produce synthetic rubber. Carbon black, a soft and fine powder is the other major ingredient used in the manufacturing of tire rubber. This powder is produced by burning natural gas or crude oil with limited oxygen. This causes incomplete combustion and produces fine soot in large amounts. Carbon black is used in making tires in such large volumes that it is translated in rail cars and stored in huge silos at the factory to be used when needed. Other chemicals including sulfur are used in manufacturing tires which when combined with rubber and heated develops specific characteristics in the tires such as high friction or bigger mileage depending on whether the vehicle is a racing car or a passenger car.

“A tire acts like a part of the suspension system as it supports the load of the car, isolating the passengers from road shock as its sidewall deflects” (Gilles, 2003, p. 786).