TireScan™ System

tire pressure measurement system

Complete pressure imaging system for conducting tire tread analysis.

Tire Footprint Pressure Measurement

The TireScan^TM system is a unique tool used throughout the tire industry to capture static or dynamic tire footprint pressure patterns of passenger, truck, off road, agricultural, and aircraft tires. Various industry leaders such as Goodyear, Michelin, Bridgestone, and Pirelli use the TireScan pressure measurement system to analyze tread designs and conduct quality control experiments.

Because of its USB connectivity, TireScan can be used with equal ease in the lab, the factory, or in the field. Sensors can be placed directly on a roadway, a garage floor, mounted on a tire-rolling machine, or secured to a moving plank test machine. Sensors can even be buried underground and simply driven over to take a measurement within the soil.

Key TireScan Features:

Fast, accurate, and repeatable measurements
Dynamic recording and playback
Graphing and data analysis capabilities
Real-time viewing
Durable & reusable sensors
Thin & incompressible
Suitable for lab and field testing
Sensors with more than 82,000 sensing elements
Sensel density of up to 96.9 sensels per square centimeter
Sensor scan rates of up to 250 Hz (frames per second)
Easy to set-up & portable
USB connection
Integrated external triggering & synchronization
All scanning electronics conveniently located on one side of the sensor
Tested & proven by dozens of tire manufacturers worldwide
Ruggedized offering available

TireScan System Specifications:

Sensor Technology	Resistive
Accuracy	± 5%
Pressure Range	0-300 psi (2,068 KPa)
Thickness	0.008" (0.20 mm) Not compressable - dimensional stability is key for repeatable measurements.
Ambient Temperature	15 °F to 140 °F (-9 °C to 60 °C)
Ambient Humidity	5% to 90% RH
Connection Type	USB 2.0
Cable Length	15 ft (4.57 m) (Up to 100 ft (30.48 m) available)

A Tekscan system consists of scanning electronics, software, and patented thin-film tactile, pressure sensors. To learn more about our scanning electronics and sensor performance specifications, please visit our Sensor Technology page. Our qualified engineers will help you select the optimal system configuration to meet your application requirements.

TireScan Components (system model TV8400):

Scanning Electronics - Every Tekscan system uses specially designed scanning electronics called Handles or Cuffs. The electronics connect to the sensor, gather the data from the sensor, and then process and send this data to your computer via USB connection.

Equilibration Device

TireScan Software CD

Tactile Pressure Sensor(s)-Sensor selection dependent on application

*Components depend on system configuration. Additional items may be included with your system purchase.

View computer requirements

Choose from a variety of Tactile Pressure Sensors

Tekscan offers a variety of tactile pressure sensors for capturing tire footprints of passenger, truck, agricultural, mining, and OTR tires. The most common selections are displayed below. Sensors in our catalog can be created to accommodate high temperature applications (up to 400° F). Custom tactile pressure sensors and pressure ranges can also be created to meet your specific application requirements.

Tire pressure Sensor Configurations
Sensor Specifications	#8408	# 8405	#8400	#8000	#7101
Sensing Area	402.3 mm x 433.2 mm (15.84 in. x 17.06 in.)	268.2 mm x 317.0 mm (10.56 in. x 12.48 in.)	268.2 mm x 317.0 mm (10.56 in. x 12.48 in.)	292.6 mm x 268.2 mm (11.52 in. x 10.56 in.)	487.7 mm x 447.0 mm (19.20 in. x 17.60 in.)
# of Sensing Elements	133,408	82,368	36,608	8,448	8,448
Spatial Resolution (X,Y)	1.1 mm x 1.1 mm (0.045 in. x 0.045 in.)	1.0 mm x 1.0 mm (0.040 in. x 0.040 in.)	1.5 mm x 1.5 mm (0.060 in. x 0.060 in.)	3.0 mm x 3.0 mm (0.120 in. x 0.120 in.)	5.1 mm x 5.1 mm (0.200 in. x 0.200 in.)
Scanning Rate (Hz)	TBD	71	107	200	160
Tire Type	Passenger or Truck	Passenger or Truck	Passenger or Truck	Truck	Agricultural, Truck, & OTR
Construction	Rugged or Standard	Rugged or Standard	Rugged or Standard	Standard	Standard
Visual Output

pressure Sensor Configurations For Larger Tires
Sensor Specifications	#7101Q	# 3150Q	#3150H	#5400NQ	#5400NH
Sensing Area	980 mm x 890 mm (38.40 in. x 35.20 in.)	0.87 m x 0.74 m (34.32 in. x 29.04 in.)	1.31 m x 0.74 m (51.48 in. x 29.04 in.)	0.87 m x 0.74 m (34.32 in. x 29.04 in.)	1.31 m x 0.74 m (51.48 in. x 29.04 in.)
# of Sensing Elements	33,792	9,152	13,728	7,072	10,608
Spatial Resolution (X,Y)	5.1 mm x 5.1 mm (0.200 in. x 0.200 in.)	8.4 mm x 8.4 mm (0.330 in. x 0.330 in.)	8.4 mm x 8.4 mm (0.330 in. x 0.330 in.)	17.0 mm x 17.0 mm (0.669 in. x 0.669 in.)	17.0 mm x 17.0 mm (0.669 in. x 0.669 in.)
Scanning Rate (Hz)	160	537	537	258	258
Construction	Standard	Standard	Standard	Standard	Standard

View all of Tekscan's Pressure Sensors

Click to enlarge images and play videos.

Tekscan's TireScan™ system dynamically captures tire footprint pressure patterns of passenger, truck, off road, agricultural, and aircraft tires.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eM6dTYTFzt8
2-D pressure display of a passenger tire. Also measuring the tire's area over time and pressure versus distance.
2D pressure distribution image of an agricultural tire footprint showing Perimeter Area,Contact Area, and Cross Sectional Pressure Profile of the tire. It also shows the Length and Width of the tire footprint.
The TireScan® pressure measurement system and pressure sensor were used to capture dynamic tire footprints of a large truck tire as it was being lowered to the ground.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrLtJHkQd_0

Analyze Tire Footprint Pressure Profiles

TireScan displays high resolution, multi-colored, images of the tire contact pressure pattern in real time. The intuitive graphing and imaging software enables quantitative, qualitative, and application specific analysis.

TireScan Software Features:

Measures force, pressure, and contact area - dynamically
Record and Play-back pressure “movies”
Display real-time and recorded data as 2-D and 3-D pressure images and graphs
Measures contact area, perimeter area, tread length and width, and cross sectional pressure profiles
Ability to isolate and analyze specific areas

Plot pressure, area, and force data over time and distance
Windows compatible copy and paste of pressure images or data values into other applications
File output in ASCII format
View and compare multiple tests
Save files as AVI movies

TireScan software is available in several languages including Spanish, French and German. View software languages available.

Software Options

TireScan Applications

Tire footprint pressure pattern evaluation
Analyze various tire compounds and tread designs
Assess suspension and camber
Sipe and tread block design and testing
Road surface predictive wear studies
Tire mold adjustment
Race vehicle "set-up"
Manufacturing quality assurance
Competitive benchmarking

There have also been a number of research projects conducted where pressure measurement technology has played a crucial role. For a list of research studies, download the Industrial bibliography.