Tire Manufacturers to Identify and Combat Corrosion Problems

Tire and rubber plants worldwide suffer from corrosion-related component failures.

FREMONT, CA: Corrosion-related component failures in modern industrial automation systems have become expensive in tire and rubber plants worldwide. Around the world, the Association for Materials Protection and Performance estimates that industrial system corrosion costs approximately US$2.5 trillion.

Corrosion can wreak havoc on most industrial automation products' highly complex and miniaturized electronics. Tire manufacturing environments seem to exacerbate this corrosion process for recently revealed reasons, and knowledge gaps have made mitigation strategies inconsistent and ineffective.

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This insight will help tire manufacturers improve testing and modernization efforts to pinpoint the source of corrosion issues in their plants as manufacturers continue to clarify the industry-specific causes of corrosion of industrial components in tire manufacturing. Then, these discoveries can guide strategic upgrades to industrial components and processes to combat corrosion effectively and enhance machine efficiency, uptime, and dependability.

HIDDEN CAUSES OF A SIGNIFICANT PRODUCTION DIFFICULTY

The miniaturization of electronics has transformed manufacturing capabilities across many industries, including tire and rubber production. In these contexts, miniaturization has enabled more connected, data-driven, and high-performing operations with a smaller footprint on the plant floor.

Corrosion is an unanticipated problem due to the evolution of industrial electronics. In particular, as industrial control products used in tire and rubber plants have become smaller and more densely packaged, their susceptibility to corrosion-related failures has increased.

The cause of this appears to be an industrial mystery at first glance. The corrosion issue has affected various automation products and suppliers without discrimination. Corrosion has also been discovered in every part of the tire production line and plants worldwide, resulting in unscheduled downtime and affecting key performance indicators such as overall equipment effectiveness (OEE). In tire and rubber plants, manufacturers' products have proven especially inconsistent and unreliable, despite their designs to withstand corrosive environments.

Manufacturers are solving the mystery by closely examining these factory environments and the unique characteristics of rubber production. Industrial control products are subject to corrosion accelerated by atmospheric reactive compounds released during tire manufacturing.   There have always been reactive compounds in tire plants. Still, they significantly impact today's miniaturized world of industrial control products requiring more airflow across densely packed electronic components and circuit boards. This creates the ideal conditions for corrosion, a unique manufacturing challenge requiring a tailored and strategic approach.

UNDERSTANDING CORROSION CAUSES LEADS TO MORE EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS

Tire manufacturers can transform their control architectures by implementing a two-pronged strategy that combines corrosion-resistant product enhancements with sealed enclosures to better protect product control systems against the elements that cause corrosion.

Control architectures can enhance tire plant performance by incorporating design elements such as conformal coating to reduce the impact of atmospheric contaminants. Conformal coating entails spraying a non-conducting insulator onto a product's device or component. The insulator "conforms" to the assembly profile and protects it from corrosive gases, moisture, and other environmental stresses.

This conformal coating can be combined with many other design modifications to create an "extra-tough" level of corrosion protection for products. Many businesses have already benefited from these enhancements. As part of its reliability program, a major tire manufacturer that experienced corrosion-related failures every 16 to 18 months switched to "extra tough" drives. The company has distributed over 100 of these drives, most of which are still operational after years of service.

Even the toughest corrosion-resistant assembly upgrades are insufficient to fully combat corrosion in tire plants' efforts to increase OEE and reduce downtime risks. The key to providing a crucial second layer of protection is sturdy, sealed enclosures. Combining high-quality sections and optimized installation and maintenance in manufacturing systems can protect against environmental conditions that would otherwise expose tire manufacturing components to severe corrosion.

An enclosure might use sealed grommets and fittings to seal cables entering or leaving. These measures can prevent contaminants from entering and accumulating within an enclosure. Also, minimal mounting clearance must be adhered to as specified by the manufacturer. This is because improperly mounted heat-generating devices will not only increase corrosion but also cause failures due to overheating.

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