Tire recycling has always been a low-tech industry. If you walk through most tire recycling operations, you’ll find shredders, pelletizers, and manual labor – all are functional, but far from cutting-edge. The industry has long relied on mechanical processes that haven’t changed much, and the infrastructure built around them reflects that.
That is beginning to change. Digital twin technology has been used in advanced manufacturing, aerospace, and energy sectors for years, helping operators monitor systems in real time, diagnose problems remotely, and reduce downtime. Tire recycling is now catching up. At Gilead Dynamics, we’re building a digital twin capability into the Carbon Black Extractor (CBX), making it the first tire recycling system to do so.
What Is a Digital Twin?
A digital twin is a virtual replica of a physical system that updates in real time based on data from the actual machine. Think of it like remote desktop support for industrial equipment. When something goes wrong with your computer, a technician can connect remotely, see exactly what you’re seeing, and fix it directly or tell you how to do so. A digital twin works on the same principle, applied to industrial machinery.
For the CBX, this means that every component of the system will be monitored, diagnosed, and in many cases, resolved remotely. If a unit deployed in the field encounters an issue, an engineer doesn’t need to arrive on site to fix it. They can connect in real time, identify the problem, and can either guide an operator through the solution or address it directly.
Why It Matters for Tire Recycling
Downtime is one of the biggest threats to ROI in any recycling operation. As we’ve written previously, consistent uptime is essential to maintaining throughput, output quality, and financial performance. A system that sits idle while waiting for parts, a technician, or a diagnosis isn’t generating revenue.
In a traditional fixed facility, maintenance is already a challenge. But in a mobile system deployed across multiple locations, it becomes significantly more complex. That’s why we are creating a digital twin that solves that problem directly. By enabling real-time visual troubleshooting, it will ensure that technical expertise is never more than minutes away, regardless of where a unit is deployed.
What This Means in Practice
If an issue arises with the CBX, a technician will be able to connect remotely and walk through the system in real time, observing the same data and diagnostics as if they were standing next to the CBX. Problems that might otherwise ground a unit for days can be identified and resolved quickly.
This also changes the economics of operating at scale. Rather than requiring on-site technical staff at every deployment location, a single experienced engineer can monitor multiple units remotely. That reduces labor costs, simplifies operations, and makes it far more practical to run units across a wide geographic footprint.
Built In From the Start
The digital twin capability in the CBX isn’t a feature that was added after the fact. We are designing it into the system through our partnership with ATS Industrial Automation, whose expertise in advanced manufacturing and remote diagnostics enables us to build a system that is both operationally and remotely sound.
The CBX is also built with approximately 90% off-the-shelf components, which simplifies parts sourcing and further reduces maintenance complexity. Combined with remote diagnostics, this streamlines the path from identifying a problem to resolving it as soon as possible.
A New Standard for the Industry
The tire recycling industry has long struggled with the gap between promising technology and consistent operational performance. Digital twin capability is one of the tools that can close that gap by giving operators the visibility and support they need to keep systems running, wherever they’re deployed.
At Gilead Dynamics, we believe that the future of tire recycling depends on systems designed for the real world – not just in how they process tires, but in how they are supported, maintained, and scaled. The CBX is the first tire recycling system to use digital twin technology, and is yet another example of how we’re solving for the real, practical challenges of tire recycling.