Abstract
Truck and bus manufacturers have been constantly facing an issue to disassemble the rear axle shaft from the hub when transporting the truck from the factory to the dealership. In addition to that, the dealerships have the very same problem every time they have to replace the brake pads in some truck models, which leads to excessive service time, extra costs and aftermarket complaints. The current problematic fastening system is composed by a lock nut, a flat washer and a coned slotted bushing. The concept of this 30 year old design involves the coned slotted bushing being pressed against a tapered hole on the shaft’s flange.Continue reading

The targets of future regulations for automotive CO2 emissions require increased engineering efforts and innovative solutions from the OEMs and their suppliers. Automotive powertrains will have to be optimised to highest possible efficiency to play their part in the future. That includes a consequent reduction or power losses and weight of automotive gearboxes. However, the emission targets can hardly be achieved by efficiency improvements of the conventional powertrain only. The preferred technology to fulfil the requirements are electric vehicles especially hybrid electric vehicles in parallel, serial or torque split configuration. Hybrid powertrains in parallel configuration require special transmissions to combine the power of the combustion engine and the electrical motor. This could be conventional dual clutch or even automated manual transmission upgraded with an electrical motor or dedicated transmissions for hybrid powertrains. Synchronizer systems will still have their place inside the future transmission to provide fast gear changes for an economical operation of the combustion engine.Continue reading