Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/565622
trucks we sell today have integrated drivelines, and acceptance is still growing," says John Moore, product manager of drivetrains for Volvo Trucks. "The product was launched in 2007 with limited production in the first year, so we reached this level in approximately six years." Trucking fleets report even older drivers – tradi- tionally resistant to AMT – now enjoy driving with them. For the fleets, the significant safety enhance- ment and fuel savings of AMTs are additional pluses. Fleet demand is one reason that Ryan Trzybin- ski, product strategy manager for Eaton, sees a bright future for integrated powertrains. He says his company has been integrating its line of auto- mated products with every major engine supplier in North America for more than a decade. "During that time, market acceptance has grown every year, so we have a very good feeling about where the technology is going," Trzybinski says. "When you take into account the fact that we are already deeply integrated with multiple engine makers, including those made by Cummins, Navi- star and Paccar, the future looks very bright for integration. Soon, vehicle telematics systems are going to help make that acceptance even more obvious to our customers." Under the same roof Moore says integrated drivelines help maximize the AMT's inherent advantages by using propri- etary data communication protocols between the engine and the transmission to enhance a tractor- trailer's drivability and fuel economy. This is the core of the vertically integrated approach es- poused by both Daimler and Volvo. "The Volvo engine and Volvo I-Shift automated manual transmission are designed to speak the same language to achieve common project goals set by Volvo engineers," Moore says. The transmis- sion "knows" the efficiency map for each engine rating, and by continuously monitoring vehicle speed, acceleration, torque demand, weight, grade and both rolling and air resistance, the transmis- sion predicts and selects the engine's most effi- cient utilization, shifting gears to match conditions to the engine's efficiency map. "This level of teamwork between components is a big advantage of the integrated driveline," Moore says. The I-Shift's sensor pinpoints the grade and helps determine which gear to select first, where to put the shift points and if it can skip-shift. "When one company can design, build and sup- September 2015 | EquipmentWorld.com 62 trucks | continued Volvo's XE integrated powertrain packages for its D11, D13 and D16 engines can downspeed cruising rpm for added fuel savings. Eaton's Fuller Advantage Series automated 10-speed transmission is now being offered on select Interna- tional ProStar trucks with the N13 engine. Cummins and Eaton are initiating more profound levels of integration for their joint SmartAdvantage powertrain partnership. Detroit's Integrated Detroit Powertrain features the DD15 engine, DT12 transmission and Detroit axles.