How to Do High-Speed Tyre Packing with a Shrink Wrapping Machine

Executive summary

High speed tyre shrink packing groups tyres into small stacks, covers each stack with PE film, seals it, and runs it through a hot-air tunnel so the film pulls tight around the tyres. The result is a dust-proof, labelled pack that stacks and ships without loose film. Our equivalent solution is built for passenger and light truck tyres. This page covers grouping, film sizing, tunnel temperature and dwell time, cooling, and the data we need for a quotation.

Table of Contents

Why shrink pack tyres

Loose tyres collect dust and marks in the warehouse, and single tyres take time to count and load. A shrink pack holds a fixed number of tyres together, keeps tread and sidewall clean, and gives a flat face for a label.

Compared with ring wrapping each tyre, shrink packing works on a stack, so one cycle packs two or three tyres at once. That is where the speed comes from.

The process step by step

  1. Infeed centering and grouping: Individual tyres are positioned horizontally on an infeed conveyor and stacked into 2-tyre or 3-tyre configurations.
  2. Film curtain deployment: Film unwinds continuously from dual top and bottom roll stands, draping the tyre stack across its advance direction.
  3. Sealing and cutting: Lateral guide rails and overhead pressing rollers lead the film snugly around the tyre contours. A seal bar creates the seam and severs the trailing film.
  4. Thermal shrink tunnel transit: The sealed stack passes through a hot-air tunnel where forced convection activates film contraction.
  5. Outfeed cooling and handoff: Post-tunnel cooling fans stabilize the film skin, discharging rigid packs onto conveyors for labelling or palletizing.

Grouping and stack height

The nominal stack height dictates line clearance, film web width, and thermal mass inside the shrink tunnel:

Stack height = tyres per pack × tyre section width

For passenger car radial (PCR) tyres, grouping configurations of 2 to 3 units per pack provide the ideal compromise between package handling rigidity and conveyor stability. As stack height increases, the centre of gravity rises, increasing tipping risks during conveyor transfers. Taller stacks also need more film and longer time in the tunnel.

To maintain stack squareness prior to sealing, an upstream centering station or guide squares the tyres so the seal runs straight. In typical high-throughput lines, the tunnel heat controller operates within a process window of 220–225 °C, balanced against conveyor line velocity to prevent localized film burn-through.

Sizing the film

Industrial tyre shrink packaging utilizes two primary wrapping configurations, each requiring distinct web dimension calculations:

Pack style Film configuration Sizing rule
Sleeve (bull’s-eye) Dual flat rolls (top and bottom) forming a vertical film curtain Roll width ≥ Tyre OD + 2 × side overhang; cut length ≈ 2 × (Tyre OD + stack height)
Full enclosure (L-seal) Single centre-folded film roll enclosing four perimeter edges Flat film width ≥ Tyre OD + stack height + 2 × seal margins

A sleeve wrap leaves circular openings (“bull’s-eyes”) on opposing lateral sides. This design reduces material consumption and provides natural ventilation ports for rapid air escape during shrink tunnel transit. A full enclosure wrap completely seals all sides, creating an airtight, moisture-resistant barrier for export shipping.

Worked engineering example (Stack of three 205 mm section-width tyres with 650 mm OD):

Check parameter Mathematical calculation Engineering result
Total stack height 3 × 205 mm 615 mm
Sleeve cut length (prior to seal) 2 × (650 mm + 615 mm) 2,530 mm
L-seal flat film width (prior to margins) 650 mm + 615 mm 1,265 mm
L-seal flat film width (with 50 mm margins) 1,265 mm + 2 × 50 mm 1,365 mm

Film thickness and shrink ratio depend on the stack weight and the transport. The film grade, thickness and roll size for your tyre range are confirmed at quote.

Tunnel temperature and dwell time

Achieving a uniform, wrinkle-free shrink finish depends on balanced heat transfer governed by conveyor velocity and thermal exposure:

Dwell time = tunnel chamber length ÷ conveyor speed

Insufficient thermal exposure leaves film loose at the curved tyre shoulders, while excessive exposure causes localized thinning and holes over deep tread grooves. Conveyor line speed and zone temperature setpoints must adjust concurrently: increasing line speed requires a corresponding increase in tunnel temperature or air flow.

Symptom Likely cause Fix
Loose film at tyre shoulders Dwell time too short or air flow low Slow the conveyor or raise fan output
Film thinning or holes over tread Chamber temperature too high or dwell too long Lower temperature setpoint
Asymmetrical shrink profile Non-uniform hot air distribution in tunnel Check fans and nozzles
Seam rupture inside tunnel Seal bar too cold Raise seal bar temperature

Shrink tunnel chamber dimensions, heating power, and conveyor drives are sized around your throughput and confirmed at quote.

Cooling and outfeed

Upon exiting the heating chamber, the film remains soft. Forced-air cooling blowers mounted immediately at the tunnel exit reduce the film skin temperature so it sets tight.

This rapid cooling locks film tension around the tyre stack, preventing bundle relaxation and surface marking at downstream transfers. A roller table directly after the tunnel conveyor supports the warm packs and prevents them dropping as they leave the chain conveyor.

Selection checklist

These are the questions we ask before quoting a tyre packing line:

  1. Products to pack: Finished passenger tyres, light truck tyres, wheel rims, or inner tubes.
  2. Dimensional envelope: Tyre outer diameter (OD), inner diameter (ID), section width, and individual tyre weight.
  3. Stack configuration: Number of tyres per bundle (2-tyre, 3-tyre, or 4-tyre stacks).
  4. Line throughput target: Required packs per hour or tyres per hour.
  5. Downstream automation: Labelling, and stacking or palletizing after packing.
  6. Facility utilities: Power supply and floor space.

Safety

The machine is designed to EN ISO 12100:2010 for risk assessment, EN 415-10 (safety of packaging machines, general requirements) and EN 60204-1 for electrical equipment. The hot seal bar and the tunnel are the main hazards. The line is enclosed by a frame with clear panels and mesh, and emergency stops sit on the control panels. Guarding and CE documents are agreed per project.

Engineering FAQ

Q: How many tyres go in one shrink pack? A: Usually two or three passenger tyres. More tyres need wider film and a longer tunnel dwell.

Q: How wide must the film be? A: For a full L-seal enclosure, tyre OD plus stack height plus two seal margins: about 1,365 mm for three 205 mm tyres with a 650 mm OD. A sleeve uses less, OD plus two side overhangs.

Q: Why do the corners stay loose? A: The dwell time is too short. Slow the conveyor or raise the tunnel temperature.

Q: Shrink packing or ring wrapping? A: Shrink packing packs a stack per cycle and gives a flat label face. Ring wrapping covers each tyre singly. For plants that need orbital stretch wrapping instead, our product range covers the Automatic tire packaging line (tyre weight 5–100 kg, packing speed 30–35 sec/pcs [manufacturer rating]) and the Automatic horizontal tyre stretch wrapper (tyre weight 10–100 kg, packing speed 25–35 sec/pcs, rotating speed 10–120 r/min [manufacturer rating]). Cycle rates vary with line configuration.

Q: Do packs need cooling? A: Yes. Fans at the tunnel exit set the film before the pack is handled.

Next step

  1. Send your tyre sizes, tyres per pack and packs per hour to info@fhopepack.com.
  2. We size the film, the sealer and the tunnel.
  3. We reply within 24 hours with a proposal and quotation.

Sources

  • FHOPE tyre packing enquiry checklist
  • FHOPE product pages: automatic tire packaging line; shrink sleeve bundling machine
  • EN ISO 12100:2010; EN 415-10; EN 60204-1

Last reviewed: 2026-10-29

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