Hi I am Adam and welcomeagain to Studio Allison brought to you by Allison (Transmission), a technology company specialized in fully automatic transmissions and electrified propulsion solutions. Today –in this Extreme Vehicles Episode–we will explore the fascinating world of extreme trucks & busesoperating in off road applications. During the showwewill bring you on a journey to learn more about how these exceptional vehicles can drive in the toughest conditions;driving in hot andsandy deserts & dunes, maneuvering on very slippery glacier ice, plowing through thick layers of snow or climbing on mountains of rocks. During the show we will tune in on why and how Allison can make a difference for your fleet. When downtime is not an option!
[Adam]Today joining us in the studio are Meltem Darakci and Henk Lemmen from Allison.Hi there!As market and technology expertsthey will provide interesting insights and comments about the very special vehicles our guests will be talking abouttoday.I will first talk with Vittorio Craverofrom Astra Industrial Truckand learn why they need a fully automatic to pull up to 300,000kg of weight with a truck.Laterone we will have Gerard de Rooyin the studio. [Option 2 (in case they cannot join in the live/physically Studio) Later on I will talk with Gerard De Rooy. Gerard is atwo-time winner of the Dakar Rally and winner of the Africa Eco Race and owner oftruckrally Team De Rooy. Together with Henk van Leuven, Team Manager of the De Rooy rally team, they will share their driving experiences during Dakar, one of the toughest rally’s in the world in the most extreme conditions. We will discusswhat it takes to become a winner and talk about their ambition to drive Dakar in an electric truck. So an exciting programagain,let's get rolling!
[Adam]Hi Henk, Meltem Welcome to the studio!Henk from what I understand beyond your technology expertise, you have quite some experience from trips visiting Off Road vehicles fleet around the world. Can you maybe share a story with us from one of those trips![Henk]Sure I can. Some years ago I visited undergoundmines in Australia. You know how large Australia is, so this mine was in the middle nowhere. It was a long journey to travel from the Netherlands, but an exciting experience! To work in these underground mines, drivers –what I noticed most of them are women (more dedicated and safe drivers) -theyget in for 2 weeks, working non-stop, stay in a hotel. And then after 2 weeks a new driver crew comes in to take over. So the team and trucks run in shifts 24/7, 365 days a year. Year in year out. So clearly uptime of their fleet is critical.[Adam]Quite a special kind of job at a special place. I can imagine, beyond a dedicated team, this requires specialized technology to meet those conditions. Can you explain how a fully automatic transmission –and the torque converter and contiunuous power –help these teams do their jobs?[Henk]Sure. When you take the example of mining crews I described earlier, they go into the underground mine empty, in a spiral shape (sometimes as deep as 1000 meters), collectthe load and bring/haul it up to the crushers at ground level. This loaded uphill operation can take more than a hour! These underground mines can be very narrow with steep hills and oncoming traffic! So you want to make the ride as easy and smooth as possible for them. This way they can better focus, keep an eye on the road and the steering wheel. Therefore a fully automatic transmission with a torque converter and continuous power technology is critical and has many advantages over a manual or even automated manual transmission where power drops at every shift. The main secret of the fully automatic lies in the torque converter.[Adam]OK sure tell us more about this torque converter.
[Henk]If you look at the 3D model here from our new TerraTran product on the table (place TerraTran model open on table and highlight torque converter) the torque converter which is highlighted has two “fans”. When you take a look at the normal fans as you see in the image, sitting opposite of each other. If one fan is driven and is blowing air towards the other fan, than the other fan starts moving. That is basically how our torque converter works. Instead of air, we use fluid and the pump fan is connected to the engine and the other fan, which we call a turbine, is connected through the transmission to the wheels. In between these fans, you have another small important fan called "stator". The stator turns the fluid around for a second push against the turbine wheel and that ensures for smooth engine torque multiplication (by 2 at standstill). This results to more traction to wheels, increase performance even on steep grades. You can see this torque converter as a compact fully hydraulic transmission and it is continuously variable as well. As
Allison Transmission Confidential: Business Use Onlysaid, the torque converter uses fluid for all motion which means it is wear free and minimizes wear & tear of the transmission and the complete powertrain for these off-road vehicles which operate round the clock. 24/7.And since it is automatically shifting it is very easy to drive without training for the continuously changing crew as I mentioned earlier. Everyone can drive it and drive it smoothly! [Adam]Thanks Henk. That makes perfect sense I understand the technology better know as a layman. Let’snow smoothly shift to Italy and see what this technology means for fleet and trucks operating in some extreme applications and conditions
Adam]Earlier today, I spoke with Vittorio Cravero, Sales Director of Astra Industrial Vehicles. Astra develops specialized vehicles for heavy duty and super heavy duty missions. It has been part of the CNH Industrial Group which also owns well-known truck,bus and powertrainbrandssuch as Iveco, Magirus and FPT Industrial and agriculture and construction brands such as New Holland and CASE. Let’s see what Vittorio had to say!
INTERVIEW:
[Adam]Hi Vittorio, very nice to meet you.[Vittorio]-sample text/thought starterHiAdam, nice to meet you. Thanks for having me at the show.
Adam]Well great to get these insights straight from someone driving and experiencing a truck with a fully automatic on board!Almost seems as easy as driving a passenger car! Meltem do you hear that more often from customers?[Meltem]That’s right. Absolutely. Whether it are these heavy construction trucks, a fully loaded refuse or fire truck or a city or large coach bus, we always receive very positive and similar feedback from drivers. It is just very easy to drive. You don’t really have to think, not use your left footand can focus your eyes on the road and keep both hands to the wheel!In some fleet, drivers even dispute who can drive the truck or bus with an Allison. [Adam]Wow that’s funny. So it’s sounds like small battles are happening “Who gets the Allison” ☺Now we learned earlier about the torque converter and the Continuous Power Technology. Are there any more secrets to learn why these trucks are so easy to operate and drive so smoothly?
[Meltem]Well one additional technology to mention which helps drivers is DynActive shifting. If you look at the 3D model here at the table (highlighting TCM-transmission control module on 3000/TerraTran series), you see the TCM, the transmission control module. This control module is basically the brain of the transmission. In this control unit, DynActive Shifting technology is embedded. This innovative shift scheduling uses an algorithm to choose the most efficient shift point, based on specifications, vehicle and environmental parameters. So in a way the transmission is self-learning and is optimizing the shifting to the circumstances and duty. So the DynActive shifting helps to even further enhance the smoothness of the drive.[Adam]Well thanks Meltem for these insights!
[Adam]And now it’s time for anothervery exciting topic: Dakar rally racing, one of the toughest rally’s in the world!With us in the studio today, Gerard de Rooy, two-time winner of the Dakar Rally and winner of the Africa Eco Race and team owner of Dakar Team De Rooyand Henk van Leuven, Team Manager of the De Rooy rally team.
Hi guys, great you can join us today at Studio Allison!What a pleasure to have you (here)and tell us more about rally racing and about your ambition to develop an electricrally truck!Gerard, I understand Dakar racing is one of the greatpassions of family De Rooy since 1982.After the team wonin 1982 and 1987,you won the truck category race in the Dakar rally in 2012 and 2016. What do you need to win a Dakar rally?
[Gerard]
Allison Transmission Confidential: Business Use OnlyIf you want to win the Dakar you need a great truck, great team, great components and the best and most innovative material you can get. This is also the reason why we selected to equip all our Dakar trucks with fully automatic transmissions
Adam]We can see the automatic transmission here on the table [first closed than openedversion],quite a piece of engineering!How can this technology help you win the race?
[Gerard]When every second counts in race, the biggest advantage is not to lose time by shifting and losing power each shift. In the Dakar we have a big advantage in the sand, in the dunes. With a fully automatic gearbox we have traction until the top of the dunes. You have power untill you release the throttle. And on the gravel it is the same, you have full power to the wheels and you don’t lose anytime by shifting. Sometimes you are pretty exhausted after a full day of driving in these extreme conditions, but now you don’t have to think about the gears and you can focus on steering and the track.
[Adam]And as we recently learned you are now also planning to drive the Dakar with an electric truck next year. Can you tell us a litte bit more about that?
[Gerardor Henk]Sure. We already switched to cleaner diesel engines because I already thought you cannot longer drive withtrucks with black smoke. And now electrification is the future and we want to be the first. So we decided to develop an electrick Dakar truck. Also ASO, the organizer of Dakar, has the ambition to only allow electric vehicles and bikes at the race by 2030. So similar what you see with Formula-E, this will now also be the ambition in truck racing in the future.
[Adam]But I can imagine electrification for trucks –specifically for these heavy duty Dakar trucks -is still in an early stage of development.How will you be able to get an electric truck ready?
[Gerardor Henk]In the first generation we are currently building we will combine an Allison fully automatic transmission with an electric motor. With a normal gearbox this will not be possible. But because you have continuous power during shifting with a fully automatic it is great to combine with an electric motor and relatively easy to integrate with the other existing powertrain components. Allison has experience combining their gearbox with electric motors back to 2003 with our electric hybrid gearbox that has integrated electric motors.The transmission will provide the acceleration and gradability on the dunes you need. So we will first test this combination. Once electric axles or other architectures are more mature and proven, we are open to explore. And we understandAllison is currently validating some of the most powerful e-Axles in the world.So we will closely follow those programs and see when and how we can benefit from them
[Gerardor Henk]And maybe also nice to mention. While we are focusing on the future with e-trucks, we will also bring several Classic Dakar trucks. The Dakar Classic is a new initiative of the organisation ASO for classic rally cars. Partcipants mostly drive forfun and adventure. We are planning to put in two De Rooy-DAF's from the eighties, where my father used to drive in. The "dubbelkop" (double head) from 1984 and the Bull from 1985. Although the trucks will get a few adjustments because of safety regulations they will still be in the original condition. They will be maintained by a seperate team.And all are equipped with a fully automatic
.[Adam]Great to hear about your ambitions to build and drive these electric trucks and also very nice to hear you embrace where it all started by driving those Classic truckswith an Allison inside! Must be quite an undertaken.Thanks for sharing you story guys and I wish you all the best for the upcoming Dakar race!
[Adam]With this last topic we came at the end of this show. Thank you Henk and Meltem for joining us in the studio. Thanks everyone for watching Studio Allison today, where we explored the world of extreme vehicles built for the brave! Also check out our other Episode about Extreme vehicles where you will learn more abouta “Monster” bus driving on the slipery ice of the Langjökullice cap in Icelandand gigantic articulated dump trucks driving through mud, sand and water surrounded by lions in South Africa!I hope to see you again next time. Stay tuned for more!
