Tire building machine

A method of building a giant tire comprising the steps of:

• cutting a plurality of successive panels of predetermined length from a running length of ply stock having a multiplicity of reinforcement cord elements extending therein parallel to said length;
• spacing said panels apart end to end on one surface of a running length of separating liner and winding said liner and said panels about a core beam while maintaining said elements parallel to said running length;
• passing said beam in a direction parallel to said cord elements repeatedly forward and back across the horizontal top reach of an endless belt while transferring from said liner to said reach one of said panels during successive passes in one direction across said belt;
• moving said reach foward toward band building means a distance which is a function of the width of said panel in the direction of such movement as such pass is completed and joining the longitudinal edge of each successive panel to the adjacent edge of the next preceding panel to form an integral single length of tire ply stock;
• juxtaposing said belt and tire band building means and then rotating said belt and said means at like surface speeds to transfer said ply from said reach of belt to said means and wind said ply about said means;
• and
• transferring the band from said band building means to a tire carcass building drum and thereafter effecting completion of the tire.