Method for assembling a pneumatic tyre on a wheel rim

A method for assembling a pneumatic tire on a drop center rim of a vehicle wheel, the pneumatic tire comprising a tread, the method comprising:

• gripping the pneumatic tire on the tread in a provision position using a gripper arranged on an articulated arm of a handling robot which can move in three directions,
• bringing the tire up to the rim held in a clamp, and,
• slipping, by a controlled movement of the gripper holding the pneumatic tire, a first tire bead facing the rim over a rim flange of the rim,
• wherein a second tire bead is mounted with the aid of a handling device having an assembly tool, which, during the movement of the handling robot, guides the assembly tool along a circular path on the rim flange and the second tire bead is thereby completely slipped over the rim flange, the movement of the handling robot being coordinated with that of the handling device, and
• wherein the pneumatic tire is conveyed by the handling robot into a wetting station for wetting the first and second tire beads with lubricant and is moved in the wetting station with the first and second tire beads along an application device comprising a brush or a spray nozzle for the lubricant, and
• wherein the movement of the handling robot and the movement of the handling device are coordinated in such a way that the pneumatic tire, held by the handling robot, is tilted along a first circular path and the assembly tool is simultaneously moved along a second circular path that is radially offset from the first, the movements being synchronized by a common controller such that the lowest point of the pneumatic tire and the assembly tool are guided in a defined radial relationship to the longitudinal axis of the rim.