Power management company Eaton has developed a new six-speed lightweight manual transmission system for light and medium-duty trucks and buses. The ESO-6106 and ESO-7106 transmission systems is the most compact system in the market for its class and will provide increased fuel efficiency, enabling users to improve total cost of ownership while ensuring high driver comfort. The product will be available at the beginning of 2016.
The ESO-6106 and ESO-7106 transmission systems are designed to improve the efficiency of vehicles up to 600Nm and 700Nm torques respectively, combining high performance with robustness in a compact design. With a length of 685mm and a centre distance of just 115mm, the transmission has the smallest footprint available for 6 to 13 tonne trucks and buses, which enables commercial vehicle manufacturers to save space in their vehicle designs. The transmission is manufactured with aluminium housings and forks, which help to achieve an overall weight of just 94kg, leading to better fuel economy and increased efficiency.
The transmission systems are designed for high reliability. They feature a leak-free housing design that can withstand high shift density and torsional vibration resulting in high mileage capacity, reduced maintenance and service intervals, and reduced costs for vehicle fleet owners.
The new systems provide exceptionally smooth shifting and low noise, which offers enhanced driver comfort compared to competitive transmissions. Featuring a five-rail control system to deliver high precision and shift quality combined with high capacity synchronizers for a low effort shift, these new transmission systems allow the driver to concentrate on driving safely given the ease of shifting that is required.
Eaton’s transmission systems offer increased flexibility for vehicle manufacturers as they can be customised to suit individual needs and applications. For example, the systems are available with push and pull-type clutches, three control options (direct, rod or cable), and optional synchronized reverse gear depending on the users’ requirements. The architecture was developed to easily integrate an automated gear shifting package. Eaton will continue to invest in expanded offerings for this segment in support to customers’ requests.
“Our new transmissions are best-in-class solutions for light and medium duty vehicles, combining the latest technologies in design and manufacturing to provide a very compact and robust system,” says Luciano Beltrame, senior manager, global product management, Light Duty Transmissions at Eaton. “We offer fully synchronized and non-synchronized manual transmissions as well as automated manual transmissions for a wide range of vehicles, and our transmissions offer an effective solution for fleet owners looking to increase fuel efficiency.”