All of the transmissions available in the market today has grown exponentially in the last 15 years, all while increasing in complexity. The result can be that we are now coping with a varied quantity of tranny types including manual, regular automatic, automatic manual, dual clutch, constantly adjustable, split power and genuine EV.
Until extremely Driveline gearboxes recently, automotive vehicle manufacturers largely had two types of transmitting to select from: planetary automated with torque converter or conventional manual. Today, however, the volume of options avaiable demonstrates the adjustments seen over the industry.

This is also illustrated by the countless various kinds of vehicles now being produced for the market. And not just conventional vehicles, but also all electric and hybrid vehicles, with each type requiring 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, this is changing, with the restrictions and complications of this method becoming more widely recognized, and the continuous drive among producers and designers to provide 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 sophisticated control systems. That is to make sure that the very best amount of efficiency and overall performance is delivered at all times. Manufacturers are under improved 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 elements, differentiate within the market and do it all on a shorter timescale. Engineering groups are on deadline, and the development process must be more efficient and fast-paced than ever before.
Until now, the use of computer-aided engineering (CAE) has been the most common way to develop drivelines. This process involves parts and subsystems designed in isolation by silos within the organization that lean toward confirmed component-level analysis tools. While they are highly advanced equipment that allow users to extract very dependable and accurate data, they remain presenting data that’s collected without consideration of the whole system.

While this can produce components that all work nicely individually, putting them together without prior consideration of the entire system can create designs that don’t work, leading to issues in the driveline that are difficult and expensive to improve.