Many drivetrain and fluid power manufacturers are, more or less quietly, launching more or less (r)evolutionary concepts in transmission and hydraulic power technology. Why?
A partial answer was heard at Bauma by the biggest of the big when Douglas R. Oberhelman, president of Caterpillar said that while the company is not discussing its strategy for Tier 4 final just yet, he did say that “the compliance will also be reached by tuning the drivetrain.”
When someone says “Tier 4,” what first comes to mind is: engines and aftertreatment. Lately though, what we hear more and more is that the whole power and drive management will need to be involved in order to reach this most stringent off-highway emissions standard.
And with it comes an additional bonus: a helping hand towards increased efficiency, and maybe also performance.
I remember in the period of the 1990s when a little (r)evolution took place in the world of transmission technology for mobile machinery: the advent of electronic controls.
My (open) question is then: Is another evolutionary step going to happen, here and now? Will it involve continuous variable transmissions (CVTs, HVTs, whatever the name for the various concepts), hybrid solutions, energy recuperation…? Anything else up the sleeve? We’re open to bets!
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