The variety of transmissions available in the market today is continuing to grow exponentially in the last 15 years, all while increasing in complexity. The result is usually that we are now dealing with a varied number of transmitting types including manual, conventional automatic, automatic manual, dual clutch, continually variable, split power and real EV.
Until extremely recently, automotive vehicle manufacturers largely had two types of tranny to select from: planetary automated with torque converter or conventional manual. Today, however, the volume of options avaiable demonstrates the changes seen across the industry.

That is also illustrated by the countless different types of vehicles now being produced for the marketplace. And not merely conventional vehicles, but also all electric and hybrid vehicles, with each type requiring different driveline architectures.

The traditional development process involved designing a transmission in isolation from the engine and the rest of the powertrain and vehicle. However, that is changing, with the restrictions and complications of this method becoming more widely recognized, and the constant drive among manufacturers and designers to deliver optimal efficiency at decreased weight and cost.

New powertrains feature close integration of elements like the prime mover, recovery systems and the gearbox, and also rely on highly advanced control systems. This is to ensure that the best degree of efficiency and overall performance is delivered all the time. Manufacturers are under increased pressure to create powertrains that are completely new, different from and better than the last version-a proposition that’s made more complex by the necessity to integrate brand elements, differentiate within the market and do everything on a shorter timescale. Engineering teams are on deadline, and the development process must be better and fast-paced than ever before.
Until now, the utilization of computer-aided engineering (CAE) has been the most common way to develop drivelines. This technique involves components and subsystems designed in isolation by silos within the business that lean toward verified component-level analysis tools. While they are highly advanced tools that enable users to extract extremely reliable and accurate data, they remain presenting data that is collected without account of the complete system.

That’s all on driveline gearboxes, thinking about more?