Michelin 3D printing JV to aid mold design

LONDON (Jan. 12, 2017) — Group Michelin has set up a joint venture with French machinery supplier Fives Group S.A. to develop industrial machines and production shops for metal 3D printing, with an emphasis on mold design and production.

The new venture, dubbed "AddUp Solutions," will offer "cutting-edge technology which improves tire performance," according to Pierre Robert, director of Michelin's research and development center in Ladoux, France.

"With 3D printing, we are able to make molds with very complex features. The idea is to have tread features that can regenerate throughout the life of tire," Mr. Robert told European Rubber Journal, a sister publication of Tire Business.

Establishing this venture is part of Michelin's drive to make longer-lasting tires that can maintain high levels of grip even at the legal minimum tread depth of 1.6 millimeters (2/32 nd inch).

"When you wear the tire, you have this complex feature and then you make a new sculpture feature appear throughout the whole life of the tire. [This] will increase the grip and compensate the loss of tread depth," Mr. Robert said.

For that, he added, the company has developed complex sculptures and mold features, which make the adherence performance more sustainable.

Michelin announced at the launch of the venture last year that it had, for several years, been developing its own proprietary expertise in metal additive manufacturing in order to produce mold parts commercially that are unachievable using traditional means of production (machining, welding, etc.).

This technology, Michelin said, now makes it possible to develop and market truck and car tires with "exceptional performances".

Fives is a supplier of equipment and production systems for industrial companies in various sectors worldwide. It applies expertise in mechanical engineering, automation, and industrial process control to produce fully digitised machines and systems for additive manufacturing and other industrial processes.

Fives and Michelin intend the 50/50 JV to become a key player in the market for metal additive manufacturing. AddUp was launched in April 2016 following the creation of Fives Michelin Additive Solutions in September 2015 by the two groups.

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Shahrzad Pourriahi is a reporter with European Rubber Journal, a United Kingdom-based sister publication of Tire Business.