Corghi AM50 Artiglio 50 Leverless Tire Changer

Most beads are not torn by brute force. They are torn in the first second of rotation, when a machine set to fast speed starts fast, the tire has not yet dropped into the well of the rim, and something has to give. The AM50 addresses that directly: when fast speed is engaged, the first revolution deliberately starts slow, letting the tire slip into the drop-centre before the machine gets on with the job. It is a small piece of control logic and it removes one of the most common ways an expensive tire is ruined by a competent technician.

Corghi positions the Artiglio 50 as the current expression of over 50 years of tire changer development - a claim about the product line rather than about this individual machine, and we would rather say which it is. What the machine itself offers is a leverless bead lifter that removes the need for a tire bar, cone clamping that keeps metal off the rim face, and a swing arm that lets the whole thing live against a wall.

The swing arm is a floor-plan decision

The AM50 uses a pneumatic locking swing-arm design, and its practical significance is where the machine can go. A swing arm folds out of the working envelope when it is not in use, so the machine can sit close to a wall rather than needing clearance on all sides. In a bay where the tire changer competes with a balancer, a compressor and a walkway, that is often the difference between a machine you can install and one you cannot.

Overall the machine stands 79 inches high, 63 inches wide and 62 inches deep at maximum, and weighs 684 lbs - the lightest of the machines in this family, which also makes it the easiest to place once it is off the truck.

Will It Fit?

Power is listed as 110 V, single phase, 50 Hz, and the machine needs compressed air at 130 psi. Two things to resolve before ordering. First, whether your compressor sustains 130 psi under load - a compressor that touches that pressure and then falls away will make the machine feel weak in a way that looks like a fault. Second, the supply frequency: our record carries the European figure, so ask us to confirm the correct specification for your location in writing before you order rather than after the electrician has been.

Height is the dimension that catches people out on delivery: 79 inches on a pallet is taller than 79 inches on the floor. Measure the route in. Confirming your doorway, your slab and your electrical supply is the customer's responsibility, and each is far cheaper to check now.

Nothing metal touches the face of the rim

Clamping is centre-cone with a plastic protector, and the claim attached to it is specific: no metal contacts the face of the rim at any time. Combined with the bead lifter, which eliminates the tire bar from the operation entirely, the two most common sources of rim damage are designed out rather than trained around. On painted and machined-face wheels that is the whole argument, because contact damage is discovered by the customer rather than the technician, usually a week later and in better light.

The bead breaker uses a precision disc that loosens both beads rather than attacking one, which is the gentler approach on a stiff sidewall and the one less likely to mark the rim edge.

Two speeds and 811 ft-lb

The turntable produces 811 ft-lb and runs at 7 rpm and 18 rpm. Two speeds on a transmission this strong is a genuine working advantage rather than a specification: the fast setting handles the routine portion of the rotation while the slow setting gives the operator time to read what a difficult bead is doing before it becomes a problem. It is also the setting that pairs with the slow-start behaviour described above, which is where the transmission and the control logic work together rather than separately.

What it handles

The AM50 takes wheels from 12 inches to 30 inches (762 mm), tires up to 47 inches (1,194 mm) in diameter and 15 inches (381 mm) wide, and covers ultra-high-performance, run-flat and low-profile construction. Our record notes it is PAX capable with optional adaptors - optional being the operative word, so treat those as a separate line rather than part of the machine.

Perfect For

• Bays where floor space is tight - the swing arm is the reason this machine fits where others will not.
• Independent tire shops moving off lever machines because rim damage has become a recurring cost.
• Performance and alloy specialists, where cone clamping with a plastic protector is a selling point to the customer as well as a technical one.
• Shops with rotating crews, since the slow-start logic protects the tire regardless of who pressed the pedal.

What's in the Box

Our data records the Standard Bead Pressing Tool, part number 8-11100097, as supplied with the machine; its arm is intended for low-profile and run-flat, high-performance and off-road wheel and tire assemblies. Listed as part of the machine rather than as options: the pneumatic locking swing arm, the two-speed transmission, the precision bead-breaker disc, the bead lifter, and the centre-cone clamping with its plastic protector. The machine is available in electric only, and the PAX adaptors are optional. Confirm anything else with us in writing before you order.

Specifications

Certification, stated honestly

Our product record for the AM50 contains no third-party safety listing. That describes our data, not the machine - the manufacturer may hold approvals that were never passed to us. We will not imply a certification we cannot produce on request. If your insurer, your landlord or a local inspector requires a specific document, tell us which one before you order and we will get the manufacturer's written answer rather than leave you to find out at an inspection.

Shipping and delivery

Freight to the lower 48 states, quoted live at checkout so the figure is current rather than an estimate. You need to be able to receive it: a dock, a forklift, or a terminal pickup arranged with the carrier. Residential delivery carries an additional fee, shown at checkout before payment. Inspect the crate before you sign and note any damage on the bill of lading there and then. A 684 lb crate changes hands several times between here and your bay, and a clean signature is what any later claim will be judged against.

Warranty

Our data does not state a warranty term for the AM50, and we would rather leave the gap visible than fill it with a guess. The warranty claims page sets out how a claim is opened with us, and we will confirm the manufacturer's current terms in writing if you ask before ordering. Whatever the term: do not disassemble the machine before a claim is filed. Opening a unit for self-diagnosis is the most common reason a genuine fault stops being covered. Photograph it, contact us, and let the claim be opened before the tools come out.