The variety of transmissions available for sale today is continuing to grow exponentially in the last 15 years, all while increasing in complexity. The effect is certainly that we are now dealing with a varied amount of transmitting types including manual, standard automatic, automated manual, dual clutch, consistently variable, split power and real EV.
Until extremely 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.

That is also illustrated by the many various kinds of vehicles now being produced for the marketplace. And not simply conventional vehicles, but also all electric and hybrid vehicles, with each type requiring different driveline architectures.

The traditional development process involved designing a transmission in isolation from the engine and the rest of the powertrain and vehicle. However, this is changing, with the limitations and complications of the method becoming more more popular, and the continuous drive among manufacturers and designers to provide optimal efficiency at decreased weight and cost.

New powertrains feature close integration of elements like the primary mover, recovery systems and the gearbox, and in addition rely on highly advanced control systems. That is to guarantee that the best amount of efficiency and functionality is delivered at all times. Manufacturers are under increased pressure to create powertrains that are completely new, different from and much better than the last version-a proposition that’s made more complex by the necessity to integrate brand elements, differentiate within the market and do everything on a shorter timescale. Engineering teams are on deadline, and the advancement process needs to be more efficient and fast-paced than previously.
Until now, the use of computer-aided engineering (CAE) has been the most typical way to build up drivelines. This technique involves elements and subsystems designed in isolation by silos within the organization that lean toward tested component-level analysis tools. While these are highly advanced tools that enable users to extract extremely dependable and accurate data, they are still presenting data that is collected without consideration of the complete system.

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