The variety of transmissions available in the market today is continuing to grow exponentially within the last 15 years, all while increasing in complexity. The effect is definitely that we are actually dealing with a varied quantity of transmitting types including manual, typical automatic, automatic manual, dual clutch, constantly adjustable, split power and natural EV.
Until extremely recently, automotive vehicle producers largely had two types of transmitting to select from: planetary automatic 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 many various kinds of vehicles now being manufactured for the market. And not merely conventional automobiles, but also all electric and hybrid vehicles, with each type needing different driveline architectures.

The traditional development process involved designing a transmission in isolation from the engine and the rest of the powertrain and vehicle. Nevertheless, that is changing, with the limitations and complications of the 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 elements like the primary mover, recovery systems and the gearbox, and also rely on highly sophisticated control systems. That is to guarantee that the very best amount of efficiency and functionality 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 marketplace and do everything on a shorter timescale. Engineering teams are on deadline, and the advancement process needs to be better 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 process involves components and subsystems designed in isolation by silos within the organization that lean toward proven component-level analysis equipment. While they are highly advanced equipment that allow users to extract very dependable and accurate data, they remain presenting data that’s collected without concern of the complete system.

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