Following the introduction of the Autoskive EB-ASW2, Bridgestone’s Central European Operation has announced the introduction of a new automatic buffing machine, Bandag Buffer 8550E, which has been designed to address one of the biggest challenges facing the retreading industry today, namely adopting and optimising automation.
Bridgestone Central Europe Expand Retread Equipment Range
According to Bridgestone, the automated Bandag Buffer 8550E allows manual effort to be reduced further, so that overall productivity can be increased. This, says the company, assures a whole range of advantages - including the user-friendly mounting and centering of casings by the "plate-shaped discs", as well as low power consumption and a self-contained housing. At the same time, this also provides a safer working environment. In addition, the Buffer 8550E offers the option of working with multiple buffing radii.
Meanwhile, it was also possible to reduce blade wear due to the optimisation of the buffing operation. Additional advantages include options for buffing from bead to bead as well as remote diagnosis and BASys connectivity. BASys is the digital carcass and process management system from Bandag, in which the carcass specifications can be automatically read using an RFID scan.
"Customers who rely on Bandag retreads are opting for economic sustainability with full product performance", summarised Christoph Frost, Director Commercial Products Bridgestone Central Europe. “Our Bridgestone new tyres are manufactured in such a way that they can be perfectly renewed using the Bandag retreading process. They meet the same quality standards as new tyres (ECE 109) and receive the original carcass with brand and age."
