Name : Augustine Thomson
District & State : Thrissur (Trichur), Kerala
Category : Engineering
Award : State
Award Function : 5th National Grassroots Innovation Awards
Award Year : 2009
Innovation Description
- Award Status
“It is ironical that in some instances, I was called to replace the tread machines of those local businesses who had tried unsuccessfully to copy my machine”.
Usually tyre retreading is done using steam based heating system, which consumes about 1.5 tons of firewood to cure a 14 kg of matrix. Proper vulcanizing requires about 150° C temperature and 80 psi steam pressure. The tyres are directly exposed to heat, which results in reduction in life also.
Thomson has developed an electrically heated matrix system for tyre retreading. The system has coil heaters with ceramic beads, digital thermostat control and timer to maintain constant temperature throughout the process for balanced curing. One can complete the operation in 18-20 per cent of the cost of the conventional process by using this innovative process and mechanism.