Ever since the Michelin brothers first experimented with inflatable tires on cars in the early 1900s, they have quickly become the standard. But times change. And sometimes going forward means taking a look at the past. Wheels and tires throughout history have often been without air—made of wood, metal, and/or with a solid layer of rubber around the rim. And though they were pretty much immune to a flat, they rode rough and required a large amount of material to produce. So when we fast forward to today, we see that Michelin decided that to start pursuing a tire that is the best of both worlds. One that is immune to flats, but runs comfortably and doesn’t require as much material to produce as a solid tire. And now they say that their airless tire will be available for purchase by 2024.
Lets Take a Look at the Uptis: Michelin’s Puncture-Proof Tires
Uptis tires—the name is an acronym of Unique Puncture-Proof Tire System—are part of an interesting concept that Michelin has for a greener future of tires. You can already see the difference in appearance as soon as you look at the tires as the walls of the tires themselves are see-through from the side. Instead of the fragile membrane of rubber encasing the air that keeps the tire inflated, the tread of these tires is supported by a flexible kind of scaffolding. This structure that replaces the sidewalls of the tire is made of glass fiber reinforced plastic (GRFP) and is designed to bend and flex the same way that a traditional pneumatic tire does, but if the tire is punctured by a nail, it will remain fully functional. The outer rim of the tire where the tread is located appears as if it will largely remain the same as in a traditional tire.
Michelin’s VISION for Greener Tires
In Michelin’s press release they naturally make the case that these airless tires will be better for the environment and better for business. Though they make no claims that Uptis tires use fewer materials to produce, they do refer to the amount of tires that have to be scrapped before the tread is worn away due to punctures or any sort of “rapid pressure loss,” saying that their airless tires should reduce about 20% of tire waste. And though that is a pretty significant amount of reduction in tire waste, the fact of the matter is that 100% of these tires are likely going to the dump in 60,000 miles or so. But here is the most interesting part.
Tires wear down, this is a fact of life. But usually the treads of the tires are pretty much worn away before the integrity of the rest of the tire is compromised. Michelin’s idea here is to eventually be able to keep the still functional inner core of these airless tires, and reuse them by 3-D printing new tread on them. It is unclear how long these cores would be able to be reused as these airless tires are still in the prototype stage, but even if the core is able to be used twice as long as a pneumatic tire, that is a significant difference in the amount of waste produced.
A tire that can’t get a flat and that has a comfortable ride would be a boon to drivers everywhere. It will be interesting to see where this technology goes, and if Michelin can follow through on their prototype and 3-D printing plans.
