ZF Transmission System Celebrates 10 Years
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August 20, 2007 • A leading automatic transmission system for commercial vehicles is celebrating a milestone anniversary. For 10 years, the ZF-AS Tronic has been relieving drivers from clutch and shift work for additional comfort, safety, and economic efficiency in trucks and other commercial vehicle applications.
vehicles together with Iveco in 1997. Now more than 230,000 vehicles worldwide are equipped with AS Tronic.
"Today, it is impossible to imagine freight transport with heavy trucks without automatic transmission systems,“ said Rolf Lutz, senior vice president truck driveline technology of ZF Friedrichshafen AG. “The development of the ZF-AS Tronic was a milestone for the driveline technology of this vehicle class.“
For 10 years now, the AS Tronic has been ensuring economical and comfortable propulsion in freight transport. ZF offers an entire transmission family in volume production: the AS Tronic mid, AS Tronic lite, and TC Tronic.
The company said the product's success is due to the fact that the AS Tronic keeps the engine within the optimal speed range; the power is transmitted to the drive axles in a highly efficient manner, leading to significant fuel savings. Fuel-demanding faulty operation is excluded by the electronics; thus, even less experienced truckers can safely and efficiently drive with the automatically operated vehicle. Gear engagement without clutch engagement jolts and release shocks preserve both freight and driveline. This not only increases comfort but also minimizes wear.
In addition to their application in heavy, mid-size, and light trucks, today approximately 12,000 AS Tronic transmissions are also used in coaches and another 3,000 in mobile cranes. Moreover, ZF-AS Rail, a driveline solution based on the AS Tronic, is available for rail vehicles. This solution is more efficient and cost-effective than hydrodynamic transmissions which are often used in this sector.
The commercial vehicle driveline featuring the ZF-AS Tronic is also -prepared for the future trend of hybridization. One ZF concept combines the AS Tronic lite with a hybrid module, which, in addition to further fuel savings, offers additional benefits to the drivers thanks to a crawling function and sensitive maneuvering, particularly in fuel-consuming stop-and-go traffic.
