In mining, construction, and other extreme working environments, tire failure has long plagued heavy-duty equipment operators. Traditional pneumatic tires suffer over 200 hours of annual downtime due to punctures and maintenance. Solid rubber tires, while puncture-resistant, increase fuel consumption by 15%. To address these challenges, Feilong Polyurethane Equipment has developed a polyurethane pressurized injection machine that leverages precision ratio control and high-pressure injection to fill tire cavities with rigid microcellular polyurethane. The result is a threefold breakthrough—airless, puncture-proof, and energy-efficient tires.
Core Technology: The Fusion of Precision and Pressure
Feilong’s pressurized injection machine achieves innovation across three key areas: ratio accuracy, high-pressure injection, and intelligent automation.
- The system employs high-precision low-speed gear pumps, maintaining a mixing accuracy within ±0.5%, ensuring the ideal A/B ratio of 100:20–50.
- Its 10–15 MPa injection pressure allows the polyurethane material to penetrate complex tire cavities, forming a uniform structural network.
- With a discharge range of 8–120 kg/min, the equipment supports tire sizes from 18 to 44 inches, covering the full spectrum of engineering vehicles.
Automation elevates its performance even further. Featuring a 10-inch touchscreen with PLC integration and a 30-recipe process library, operators can monitor temperature (±2°C precision), pressure curves, and material flow in real time. Automatic cleaning and diagnostic functions streamline operation, while integration with MES systems enables real-time production data tracking, raising OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) to 92% at a smart manufacturing base in Shenzhen.
Reinventing the Engineering Tire Filling Process
Conventional tire-filling workflows face three major challenges: inconsistent density from manual mixing, air bubbles from high-pressure injection, and long curing times reducing productivity. Feilong’s equipment resolves all three through a three-stage process redesign:
- Pre-Treatment: Laser cleaning automatically identifies and repairs inner-tire defects, ensuring a smooth bonding surface.
- High-Pressure Injection: A dynamic mixing head rotating at 2,800–5,000 rpm ensures micro-level homogeneity. The unique zigzag injection path achieves a gradient density structure—60 kg/m³ at the tread for load-bearing and 45 kg/m³ at the sidewall for cushioning.
- Curing and Forming: With precise mold temperature control (40–80°C adjustable), curing time is reduced to 40 minutes—50% faster than conventional methods. Integrated ultrasonic sensors provide real-time density monitoring, lowering defect rates from 12% to 1.5%.
Material Revolution: How Polyurethane Outperforms Traditional Solutions
Rigid microcellular polyurethane demonstrates outstanding advantages in engineering tire applications. With a density of 45–60 kg/m³, it provides 1.5× the load capacity of rubber while maintaining 27.53% higher compressive strength at -20°C. A closed-cell rate ≥97% limits water absorption to 0.2 kg/m², effectively preventing aging and hydrolysis.
Performance Comparison:
- Puncture Resistance: After an 8 mm steel nail puncture test, PU-filled tires retained 85% of their load capacity, whereas pneumatic tires failed immediately.
- Service Life: PU-filled tires last up to 14 years, 2.3× longer than traditional rubber tires.
- Total Cost Efficiency: Despite a 30% higher upfront cost, lifecycle costs drop by 42%. A construction fleet of 100 vehicles reported annual savings exceeding ¥8 million.
Feilong also ensures environmental compliance through a solvent-free polyurethane system with free TDI content ≤0.1 mg/kg, meeting EU REACH standards.
Industry Value and Future Outlook
As a National High-Tech Enterprise and Chair Unit of the Equipment Committee of the China Polyurethane Industry Association, Feilong’s breakthroughs are redefining the engineering tire industry. The pressurized injection machine marks a shift from experience-based to data-driven tire manufacturing.
Its modular design allows seamless adaptation to diverse tire production lines with retrofit times under 72 hours, already serving mining, construction, and port logistics sectors.
From deep mines to construction sites, from port terminals to polar expeditions, Feilong’s polyurethane pressurized injection machine is expanding the boundaries of reliability through precision engineering and material innovation. When the last pneumatic tire retires, it will be remembered that this transformation began with Feilong’s unwavering pursuit of millimeter-level accuracy.
