Charged EVs | Learn more about Eaton’s HD 4-speed EV transmission

Sponsored by Eaton.

Electrical automobiles are reworking the transportation trade, providing a cleaner, extra environment friendly, and extra sustainable approach to transfer folks and items. Nonetheless, not all EVs are created equal, and totally different purposes require totally different powertrain options. For industrial automobiles, comparable to buses and HD vehicles, efficiency, reliability, and value are crucial components that decide the success of electrification. That’s why Eaton, a world chief in energy administration applied sciences, has developed a variety of revolutionary EV transmissions which can be designed to fulfill the particular wants of electrical industrial automobiles. Eaton’s new HD 4-speed EV transmission is a purpose-built answer that delivers superior efficiency, effectivity, and integration flexibility for heavy-duty purposes.

A typical false impression is that EVs don’t want transmissions, since electrical motors can present immediate torque and function over a large velocity vary. Nonetheless, this isn’t the case for a lot of electrical industrial automobiles, which should cope with heavy masses, steep hills, and freeway speeds. A single-speed or direct-drive system both requires a really massive and costly motor to supply sufficient energy and torque to the wheels  or limits the efficiency and vary of the automobile with a fairly sized motor. A multi-speed transmission, then again, can broaden the working vary of the motor, scale back its dimension and value, and enhance the effectivity and efficiency of the automobile. A multi-speed transmission  additionally permits improved regenerative braking efficiency, recovering extra power from the automobile’s movement and decreasing  put on and tear on the inspiration brakes.

Whereas transmissions are useful for EVs, they don’t want as many gear ratios as typical automobiles with inner combustion engines (ICEs). It is because electrical motors have a a lot sooner and smoother torque response than ICEs and may present steady peak torque over a a lot wider velocity vary. Which means fewer gears are required to cowl the identical working vary, and that the automobile can spend extra time within the optimum gear for effectivity and efficiency. For instance, a typical diesel truck would possibly want a 10-speed transmission to deal with totally different street circumstances, whereas an electrical truck can obtain the identical efficiency with a 4-speed transmission. Eaton has leveraged its experience in gear design and shifting know-how to develop EV transmissions that provide the optimum variety of gears for various purposes, starting from 2-speed to 6-speed.

There are three important varieties of EV powertrain architectures that can be utilized for industrial automobiles: central drive, e-axle, and direct drive. Every of those architectures has its personal professionals and cons, relying on the appliance, efficiency necessities, packaging constraints and value components. Eaton’s EV transmissions are presently targeted on  central drive architectures, which encompass a chassis-mounted motor and transmission related to the axle by a driveshaft. This structure provides a number of benefits, comparable to low complexity, confirmed reliability, ease of integration, flexibility of motor choice, and wonderful battery packaging house. Eaton’s EV transmissions can be tailored to the e-axle structure, which integrates the motor and gearbox into the inflexible axle, providing one of the best battery packaging house availability. The direct drive structure, which eliminates the transmission and connects the motor on to the wheels, just isn’t beneficial for heavy-duty purposes, because it requires a big and costly motor and limits the efficiency and vary of the automobile.

Eaton’s HD 4-speed EV transmission is a state-of-the-art product that’s designed for heavy-duty purposes, comparable to beverage, vacationer bus, yard tractor, drayage, metropolis dump truck, municipal and logistics vehicles. It has a most torque capability of 2600 Nm and a most enter velocity of 5000 rpm, making it appropriate for automobiles with a gross mixture weight of as much as 43 tons. It additionally options an all-aluminum enclosure, helical gearing, a transmission-mounted management module and an built-in electrical actuation system, leading to a light-weight, high-efficiency and low-noise transmission. Eaton’s proprietary shift management logic ensures easy and seamless gear modifications, whereas the rear PTO choice permits auxiliary energy for equipment. The HD 4-speed EV transmission additionally provides simple integration with a number of motor choices, because of the SAE #2 motor adapter. The HD 4-speed EV transmission is presently within the B-sample stage, with the beginning of manufacturing deliberate inside  2024.