If you’re in the automotive industry, you know how important tire and wheel balancing is to anyone who wants their vehicle to ride smoothly – and you also realize that bead seating and uniformity play important roles in smooth rides, too! Lately, we’ve been seeing more auto plants adding tire bead seating and uniformity equipment and capabilities to their wheel rooms. Like other businesses, auto companies are responding to increased customer demands for a smooth ride by adding these capabilities into their balancing line. The balancing business has always been there, and will continue to be there. But adding uniformity and bead seating equipment to the production line is a smart move right now.
Keep in mind that eliminating vibrations that can destroy a smooth ride is literally a balancing act: Bead seating, uniformity and balancing all must be in line and in synch with each other for positive end results. This “balancing act” applies to the tires and wheels for all types of vehicles – cars, trucks, motorcycles, farm equipment that’s driven, etc. Bead seating machines are needed to make sure tire and wheel assemblies are mounted properly and that the bead for each tire is set properly for ideal balance and force variation. Without proper bead seating, incorrect balance and uniformity values will be measured during the bead seating process. Then later, when a vehicle’s bead is finally set while the vehicle is driving, balance and uniformity values change and this results in unnecessary and uneven wear on a vehicle’s tires, and, ultimately, it causes unwanted vibrations.
For proper setting and accurate measurement, bead seating, uniformity and balancing equipment are all important. When you’re looking for this type of equipment, make sure it offers flexibility and can handle a variety of wheel sizes and can adjust automatically for changeovers. Ideally, you want equipment that can accommodate wheel sizes from 13” to 24”, ODs up to 36”, and wheel widths up to 14”. It’s also a good idea to get your equipment – all three pieces – from one supplier so that they’re in line with each other. Presently, there aren’t many suppliers that offer all three types of equipment: bead seating, uniformity and balancing equipment.
