Tire mold design method to minimize unique annular mold parts

A method of making a tire mold, the method comprising:

• designing an initial tire mold that includes a total number of annular mold pitches, each having a circumferential pitch length, wherein each of the total number of annular mold pitches have complementary leading and trailing edges;
• determining an initial number of unique annular mold pitch lengths that include an initial number of unique annular mold parts, wherein each unique annular mold pitch length comprises more than one annular mold part;
• designing the initial number of unique annular mold parts to include adjacent annular mold parts having complementary leading and trailing edges, and wherein at least one of the initial number of unique annular mold parts can rotate 180 degrees and join to at least one other initial number of unique annular mold parts in a complementary arrangement;
• specifying a target number of unique annular mold pitch lengths and a target number of unique annular mold parts, wherein the target number of unique annular mold parts is less than the initial number of unique annular mold parts;
• and
• replacing at least one of the initial number of unique annular mold pitch lengths with at least two actual unique annular mold parts to design and produce a final tire mold including an actual number of unique annular mold pitch lengths equal to or less than the initial number of unique annular mold pitch lengths, and the actual number of unique annular mold parts is less than the initial number of unique annular mold parts.

A method of designing a tire mold, the method comprising:

• designing an initial tire mold that includes a total number of annular mold pitches, each having a circumferential pitch length, wherein each of the total number of annular mold pitches have complementary leading and trailing edges;
• determining an initial number of unique annular mold pitch lengths and an initial number of unique annular mold parts, wherein each unique annular mold pitch comprises more than one annular mold part, and wherein circumferentially adjacent annular mold parts have complementary leading and trailing edges;
• and
• replacing at least one of the initial number of unique annular mold pitch lengths with at least two of an actual number of unique annular mold parts to design and produce a final tire mold having the actual number of unique annular mold parts less than the initial number of unique annular mold parts.