A series of experiments has been undertaken to investigate the feasibility of using a CO{sub}2 laser to vaporize tyre compound that becomes trapped in the tyre mould micro-vents during tyre manufacture. The primary aim of the experiments was todetermine the speed and reliability of the process. The experiments have investigated a range of laser and processing head parameters and determined the optimum conditions for the complete removal of the rubber plug blocking each micro-vent. It was foundthat a fully blocked micro-vent can be laser cleaned in about one second with an incident laser power of 60 W. The experiments have demonstrated the potential of the laser method for cleaning tyre mould micro-vents.
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