Process and plant for building tyres

A process for building a tyre, comprising:

• engaging a forming drum, designed to carry a tyre and having a supporting shaft axially projecting from opposite sides of the forming drum, by a handling device, the handling device comprising first and second jaws each housing a portion of a rotation bushing configured to engage one of opposite end portions of the supporting shaft, the engaging comprising:
• moving the first and second jaws toward each other on opposite radial sides of the supporting shaft,
• coincident with said moving, inserting a drive pin in a fitting seat between one of the portions of the rotation bushing and the supporting shaft by moving the first and second jaws together linearly, the insertion rotationally locking said one of the portions of the rotation bushing relative to the supporting shaft, and
• associating a driving mechanism housed in one of the jaws with the supporting shaft;
• transferring said forming drum between a loading/unloading location and a work location designed to carry out a process step of the work location on the forming drum;
• and
• setting the forming drum in rotation by rotating the rotation bushing with said driving mechanism while said process step of the work location is being carried out in the work location, wherein the steps of transferring said forming drum and setting the forming drum in rotation are carried out by holding the one end portion of the supporting shaft with the first and second jaws and the other, opposite end portion of the supporting shaft with a pair of jaws of the handling device.