Abstract: A process for manufacturing tires for vehicle wheels includes associating at least one reinforcing structure with at least one surface portion of at least one tire component laid on a forming support, wherein associating the at least one reinforcing structure includes bringing, through a handling and deposition member, at least one reinforcing element to the forming support and depositing, through said handling and deposition member, the reinforcing element on a respective deposition part defined on a surface portion of the component. The depositing includes gradually laying the reinforcing element on the deposition part following the profile of the deposition part in a circumferential direction.

Abstract: A process and a drum for looping annular anchoring structures in a process for building tyres for vehicle wheels includes: depositing a loop on a drum including a radially expandable/contractible intermediate annular portion and, in a position axially adjacent to the opposite axial ends of said intermediate annular portion, a pair of radially expandable/contractible lateral annular portions; associating an annular anchoring structure with a radially outer annular surface portion of the loop defined at the intermediate annular portion; and turning up each of opposite end edges of the loop on the annular anchoring structure through the lateral annular portions as a result of a thrusting stress imparted by a respective lateral annular portion of said pair of lateral annular portions because of a synchronous radial movement and a synchronous axial displacement of a respective plurality of circumferentially adjacent first angular sectors.

Abstract: A method of building a sequence of tires different from each other, includes generating a first deposition surface by a first series of consecutive circumferential sectors. The first deposition surface is selected as a function of the type of a first tire to be built. Each circumferential sector of the first series is removably coupled to a central body of a forming drum. The method further includes manufacturing at least one component of the at least one first tire by deposition of the at least one component at a radially external position to the first deposition surface of the forming drum, removing the at least one component from the forming drum and replacing each circumferential sector of the first series with a circumferential sector of a second series for generating a second deposition surface selected as a function of the type of a second tire to be built which is different from the first tire.

Abstract: Building the carcass structure of tyres for vehicle wheels includes associating, each end edge of a carcass ply, at least one respective annular reinforcement structure formed by depositing along a circumferential direction a plurality of reinforcement elements having a first length. Such elements are cut to size from a reinforced continuous band-like element fed to a cutting group arranged at a first operative position adapted to allow a barycentric grip of the reinforcement elements. The cutting group can translate along a feeding direction of the band-like element to a second operative position for cutting to size a plurality of second reinforcement elements having a second length different from the first length. The second operative position is defined on the basis of the second length, so as to have a barycentric grip of the second reinforcement elements too.

Abstract: Building the carcass structure of tires for vehicle wheels includes associating, at each end edge of a carcass ply, at least one respective annular reinforcement structure formed by depositing along a circumferential direction a plurality of reinforcement elements having a first length. Such elements are cut to size from a reinforced continuous band-like element fed to a cutting group arranged at a first operative position adapted to allow a barycentric grip of the reinforcement elements. The cutting group can translate along a feeding direction of the band-like element to a second operative position for cutting to size a plurality of second reinforcement elements having a second length different from the first length. The second operative position is defined on the basis of the second length, so as to have a barycentric grip of the second reinforcement elements too.

Abstract: Building the carcass structure of tyres for vehicle wheels includes associating, at each end edge of a carcass ply, at least one respective annular reinforcement structure formed by depositing along a circumferential direction a plurality of reinforcement elements having a first length. Such elements are cut to size from a reinforced continuous band-like element fed to a cutting group arranged at a first operative position adapted to allow a barycentric grip of the reinforcement elements. The cutting group can translate along a feeding direction of the band-like element to a second operative position for cutting to size a plurality of second reinforcement elements having a second length different from the first length. The second operative position is defined on the basis of the second length, so as to have a barycentric grip of the second reinforcement elements too.

Abstract: During building of tyres, at least one first forming drum is employed which has a deposition surface and includes sectors radially movable relative to a geometric rotation axis, and circumferentially distributed one after the other. A plurality of strip-like elements is deposited in circumferential side by side relationship on the deposition surface set in the first deposition configuration, to form at least one component of at least one first crown structure. Setting of the deposition surface includes the actions of radially moving the sectors to give the deposition surface a predetermined diameter and carry out a relative movement between a central portion and axially external end portions of each sector to shape the deposition surface according to a predetermined curvature outline.

Abstract: A process for manufacturing tyres for vehicle wheels includes associating at least one reinforcing structure with at least one surface portion of at least one tyre component laid on a forming support, wherein associating the at least one reinforcing structure includes bringing, through a handling and deposition member, at least one reinforcing element to the forming support and depositing, through said handling and deposition member, the reinforcing element on a respective deposition part defined on a surface portion of the component. The depositing includes gradually laying the reinforcing element on the deposition part following the profile of the deposition part in a circumferential direction.

Abstract: A method of building a sequence of tyres different from each other, includes generating a first deposition surface by a first series of consecutive circumferential sectors. The first deposition surface is selected as a function of the type of a first tyre to be built. Each circumferential sector of the first series is removably coupled to a central body of a forming drum. The method further includes manufacturing at least one component of the at least one first tyre by deposition of the at least one component at a radially external position to the first deposition surface of the forming drum, removing the at least one component from the forming drum and replacing each circumferential sector of the first series with a circumferential sector of a second series for generating a second deposition surface selected as a function of the type of a second tyre to be built which is different from the first tyre.