What is the complex shape of lamellas for

Often, analyzing tire presentations, one can notice that among winter technologies, lamellas stand out. We have already detailed that the main function of a lamella is two important factors - creating a multitude of gripping edges in the tire's contact patch with the road and removing a thin layer of water that cannot be removed by massive water-repellent channels.

The functions of lamellas are clear, but manufacturers do not stop working in this direction. Initially, the lamella was introduced to the world by the Michelin company, and it is this company that regularly brings new trends in this direction.

A simple solution to the problem may seem to make multiple cuts, but in this case, the tire's tread will lose its monolithicity, and this will inevitably and significantly reduce handling. That's why it was decided to make not a straight, but a zigzag shape of the lamellas. Thus, deforming, the tread blocks retained their shape.

Further, engineers found new properties of lamellas. For example, "Y-shaped" lamellas, which simply increased in number as the tread wore out, giving worn-out tires more grip due to the increased number of lamellas. Thus, drivers did not feel a sharp drop in characteristics as the tire wore out.

In any case, lamellas are already maximally close to their limiting possibilities, since it should not be forgotten that their complex shape is proportional to the complexity of manufacturing molds. And even if this is solved by new 3D printing technologies, the durability of such forms is already at the limit. Manufacturers value the ability to mass-produce. Each tire removed from the mold can often damage the thin plates that form the lamellas. Let's see how manufacturers will solve this issue.