Cummins and Eaton collaborate on new best-in-class powertrain features for Australian transport operators
The release of the Cummins X15 engine in Australia and New Zealand in 2017 highlights the close collaboration between Cummins and Eaton in developing a more fuel efficient powertrain package.
The two companies claim to have best-in-class engine-transmission integration in the heavy-duty truck market – a claim that emphasises just how important integration has become to providing a more fuel efficient, reliable and robust powertrain package.
Importantly, the Cummins and Eaton teams in Australia have collaborated extensively to ensure powertrain optimisation to suit the unique operating environments in Australia and New Zealand.
The X15 features ADEPT, a suite of electronic engine features capable of improving fuel economy by up to 6 per cent, says Cummins. ADEPT is designed to work specifically with Eaton’s UltraShift Plus 18-speed automated manual transmission to make powertrain control decisions in real time.
“The integration of Cummins engine and Eaton transmission is now at a level that is delivering customers significant life cycle cost improvements,” says Andrew Penca, managing director of Cummins South Pacific.
“The latest chapter in our partnership combines some of the best technologies from both companies and makes them smarter, delivering the level of fuel economy improvements that our customers have come to expect.”
ADEPT – Advanced Dynamic Efficient Powertrain Technology – utilises load, speed and grade-sensing software, making minor adjustments to speed, power and transmission gear selection to take advantage of vehicle momentum for better fuel economy.
The ADEPT package includes ‘SmartTorque2’ and ‘SmartCoast’ with additional features such as predictive cruise control being developed for further efficiency gains.
SmartTorque2 is the next generation of torque management technology from Cummins. SmartTorque2 senses both the selected gear and overall engine load as a result of the gross vehicle weight, aerodynamic drag and road grade.
As these conditions vary, SmartTorque2 determines the exact amount of torque needed to maintain road speed and eliminate unnecessary downshifts.
This ensures steadier engine operation with more time spent in the ‘sweet spot’ – the rpm range that achieves the best fuel economy.
SmartCoast operates when cruise control is enabled and the vehicle is coasting on moderate downhill grades. The engine returns to idle, leveraging the kinetic energy of the vehicle to maintain road speed. This reduces engine fueling to improve fuel economy. Vehicles operating on undulating terrain will see the greatest benefit of ADEPT technology.
“We continue to develop new technologies to enhance the benefits of the Cummins-Eaton powertrain,” Penca says.
In the future, technologies such as predictive cruise control will be added to ADEPT. Predictive cruise control utilises the vehicle’s GPS position along with an onboard map database to dynamically adjust speed and torque in anticipation of changes in road grade. This enables further fuel savings. When predictive cruise control is paired with SmartCoast the decision making capabilities are enhanced to provide further fuel economy improvements.
To find out more about the optimised engine and transmission partnership between Cummins and Eaton, as well as the latest technology offerings from both organisations, visit Cummins and Eaton on stands 75 and 74 respectively at the 2017 Brisbane Truck Show.