Building drum with a metal forming module

A tire building drum comprising:

• a guide;
• two half drums mounted on and movable along the guide;
• a drive device for moving the two half drums equally and oppositely along the guide and between a parted idle position and an adjacent forming position;
• forming means connected to the two half drums, and deformable for imparting a substantially finished toroidal shape to the tire;
• and
• said forming means comprising two annular end elements connected respectively to the half drums and elastic means interposed between and deformable elastically by the two half drums, said elastic means including a tubular body connected at opposite ends to the annular end elements, said elastic means being further defined by a number of side-by-side axially extending elastic blades connecting the two end elements and deformable to and from a deformed position wherein the blades define a toroidal body substantially corresponding negatively in shape to that of a finished tire when in the deformed position, each of said blades being a one-piece member having a substantially constant thickness with a pair of ends and a central portion, said central portion being wider in the circumferential direction and circumferentially overlapping the central portions of the adjacent blades when in the deformed position.