All of the transmissions available in the market today has grown exponentially in the last 15 years, all while increasing in complexity. The result is definitely that we are actually coping with a varied quantity of tranny types including manual, regular automatic, automatic manual, dual clutch, continuously variable, split power and 100 % pure EV.
Until very recently, automotive vehicle Driveline gearboxes producers largely had two types of tranny to choose from: planetary automated with torque converter or conventional manual. Today, nevertheless, the volume of choices available demonstrates the adjustments seen over the industry.

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

The traditional advancement process involved designing a transmission in isolation from the engine and all of those other powertrain and vehicle. However, that is changing, with the restrictions and complications of this method becoming more more popular, and the continuous drive among producers and designers to deliver optimal efficiency at decreased weight and cost.

New powertrains feature close integration of components like the primary mover, recovery systems and the gearbox, and also rely on highly advanced control systems. That is to assure that the best degree of efficiency and overall performance is delivered all the time. Manufacturers are under increased pressure to create powertrains that are brand new, different from and better than the last version-a proposition that’s made more technical by the necessity to integrate brand components, differentiate within the market and do it all on a shorter timescale. Engineering groups are on deadline, and the advancement process must be more efficient and fast-paced than previously.
Until now, the use of computer-aided engineering (CAE) has been the most common way to build up drivelines. This technique involves parts and subsystems designed in isolation by silos within the business that lean toward proven component-level analysis tools. While these are highly advanced tools that allow users to extract extremely dependable and accurate data, they are still presenting data that’s collected without account of the whole system.

While this can produce components that all work nicely individually, putting them with each other without prior thought of the entire system can create designs that don’t work, resulting in issues in the driveline that are difficult and expensive to correct.