Schaeffler to display tomorrow’s tech at CES

German automotive component supplier Schaeffler is to showcase a comprehensive range of products for engine, transmission and chassis applications at the 2016 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit next month.

In addition to its products, Schaeffler’s technology exhibit will include a ‘glass car’ containing around 40 products and technologies to provide visitors a clear insight into the company’s innovations. The model is complemented by movable screens that cover the entire length of the glass vehicle and can be used as a kind of “x-ray scanner” to learn more about the different drivetrain components.

Different regions of the world have vastly different mobility requirements. However, the energy efficiency and environmental compatibility of mobility solutions worldwide is dependent on how the respective vehicle drives are designed. “Schaeffler offers a range of products that are customized to suit the requirements and preferences of individual regions,” said Marc McGrath, president of automotive North America for Schaeffler.“The formula for our success is development work across national borders and sectors.”

The technological path that drive architectures must follow is specified by the trend for increased efficiency and the intensive electrification of the drivetrain. In this context, Schaeffler considers the internal combustion engine, the electrical components and the transmission as a whole, with particular focus being placed on the optimization of the internal combustion engine. The thermal management module (TMM) is a key to reducing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. Following its successful market launches in Europe and Asia, the TMM is now set to go into volume production on the North American market. A product that has already been successfully introduced is the UniAir, a fully-variable electrohydraulic valvetrain system. The system selectively controls the valves for each cylinder according to requirement and more than one million units have been sold in the United States to date.

Schaeffler says its transmission technologies also play a decisive role in North America. Modern transmissions employ increasingly high numbers of speeds – with up to 10 speeds currently available – and allow the engine to be operated in the optimum area of the datamap. Damping concepts, such as the centrifugal pendulum-type absorber, allow vibrations to be reduced and speeds to be decreased as a way of optimizing fuel consumption. A new development is the combination of a torque converter with a centrifugal pendulum-type absorber.

North America is also seeing an increasing demand for drivetrain electrification solutions – an area where Schaeffler has a broad range of products and technologies. For example, Schaeffler has developed a variation on the P2 hybrid module with an integrated torque converter for the American market. This high-voltage solution represents a combination of the mobility supplier’s expertise in the fields of torque converters and hybrid technologies, and is expected to be in use in a North American light truck by 2020. The range of products on display in Detroit is rounded out by products for 48V hybridisation, which provide a cost-effective solution to allow fully-electric driving at low speeds.

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