The mass production of "SMARTSHIFT-AMT" transmissions has added a powerful weight to the desire of Sinotruk to play a more important role in the Chinese heavy truck industry's leap.
On December 12th, 2008, at the CNHTC Transmission Production Line in Zhangqiu, Jinan, Shandong Province, Wang Baozhong was directing two workers to carefully remove a SMARTSHIFT-AMT transmission (Intelligently Packed) that had just been packaged off the forklift with a forklift. Shift from manual transmission). As the head of the technical department, Wang must make final preparations for the mass production of China National Heavy Duty Truck AMT transmission one week later.
Wang Baozhong and his co-workers have been preparing for this moment for several months. On December 19th, in this AMT production line with a flexible capacity of 30,000 units, China will produce the first mass production and assembly of the entire market. The AMT transmission of the car. Now, in order to verify the reliability of production, Wang once again examined the equipment from the beginning to the end.
“At present, it is in the most intense stage before mass production, and it fully supports and guarantees the operation of the factory. All processes and work are very important. The production line has been adjusted in accordance with the requirements of AMT. Now the main task is to strengthen the protection of cleaning.†Wang Baozhong Tell Automotive Business Review.
A week later, on December 19th, when more than 1,600 distributors from all over the world gathered in Jinan to participate in the end of the year's business meeting of China National Heavy Duty Truck, one of the most urgently transmitted information of President Cai Dong, namely the automatic control of machinery The gearbox will become an important support point for the heavy truck market in China in the near future. The heavy-duty transmission named “SMARTSHIFT-AMT†is just a preemptive opportunity when the market is still blank.
Cai Dong was pleased that close to the end of the conference, almost all Sinotruck dealers remember this abbreviation: AMT. Moreover, a dealer immediately after the meeting found his request for 50 new high-end products to be listed on the same day, HOWO-A7 tractors equipped with a “SMARTSHIFT-AMT†transmission.
From the second half of 2008 onwards, a global financial crisis engulfed the Chinese heavy truck market from an instant to a declining one. The current market conditions are sufficient to stave off any investment and expansion. However, the performance of China National Heavy Duty Truck is getting even lower and higher. First, the controversial EGR engine captured the market opportunity to minimize the losses caused by the crisis, and then acquired the Datong gear factory in Shanxi, which has a history of more than 50 years. At the end of many companies' unprofessional celebrations, it was surprisingly. Move out a piece of industry "milestone" - to achieve the industrialization of domestic automatic transmission and batch assembly of vehicles.
In fact, Sinotruk is not the first company to start R&D in the AMT field. When matching AMT transmissions to account for an ever-increasing share of the European heavy-duty truck market, the Chinese heavy-duty truck market presents another totally different picture. Although several large transmission manufacturers in China have also tried to seize gains in the field of automatic transmission, they have not been able to enter the stage of industrialization for various reasons, and some companies have to be ambitious after trying, so domestic companies can provide batch production. The supplier of automatic transmissions has been a multinational transmission manufacturer such as ZF.
It now appears that the mass production of the "SMARTSHIFT-AMT" transmission not only puts China's heavy truck in the lead of the industry, but also gives Ma Chung hopes that Sinotruk's desire to play a more important role in the jump of the heavy truck industry in China will increase forcefully. code. On December 20, 2008, the Chairman and Secretary of the Party Committee of Sinosteel China National Heavy Duty Truck Group was calm in his interview with Auto Business Review. He was not worried about the impact of the economic recession in the financial crisis on the industry. "There are opportunities in any situation, depending on whether you can catch it," he said. Intruder
Cai Dong is not the kind of president who likes to sit in the office to review documents and give orders. More often, he likes to visit the markets around the country to discover new opportunities that are constantly emerging.
In 2005, several technicians from the Cai Donghe Technical Center in the European inspection market discovered that between 20% and 30% of the European road tractors matched the AMT transmission, and this proportion is still rising.
In fact, the so-called AMT is based on the original manual mechanical transmission, adding a computer system called the TCU, which converts the components and functions of manual control operations into computer operations, unlike the AT automatic transmissions that are usually matched with cars, AMT. The electronic control system controls the shifting, while the AT relies on the hydraulic transmission to operate the shifting of the transmission. Therefore, the latter will inevitably lose energy due to the torque converter and so on. Therefore, under normal circumstances, loading the AMT is better than loading. AT's fuel consumption is 10% for similar models.
Even more attractive is that since the computer system in AMT is equivalent to curing the experience of masters with various driving skills and the best shift timing in the computer, it evades the arbitrary human operation of the manual transmission. Sex, so it is more fuel-efficient than a manual transmission.
Although AMT has many advantages, but at that time, China's research results in this area have not yet appeared, but Cai Dong apparently has realized that the opportunity exists. The trend presented by the European heavy-duty truck market reinforces the idea of ​​Cai Dong’s launch of the AMT transmission. According to Cai Dong’s assumption, when the market is still in a blank period, the vehicle with mature AMT transmission will be introduced to the market, which will not only benefit China. The more realistic significance of overseas promotion of CNHTC products is that the former competitors will seize the opportunity first and help CNHTC to occupy more space in the future domestic market.
This work fell on Liu Wei, head of CNHTC, but Liu Wei later discovered that the R&D environment of AMT is far less optimistic than imagined. The main reason was that China National Heavy Duty Truck Group did not produce its own transmissions at the time. Therefore, there was a lot of inconvenience in the cooperation work in R&D. Therefore, the formal operation of AMT did not start immediately.
In early 2006, China National Heavy Duty Truck and Weichai formally separated their families and started their own production of a key assembly. In addition to the engine, the transmission base was also built. Having its own transmission and R&D base makes it possible for China National Heavy Duty Trucks to independently develop AMT projects because of controllability, and the successful development of high-pressure common rails and EGR III engines based on electronic control technology also requires the use of electronic control technology. The launch of the AMT project created another important necessary condition.
By the end of this year, all preparation conditions have matured. The heavy-duty AMT transmission project was formally established. R&D began with a 16-speed transmission. At this time, the European heavy-duty truck market was as same as the trend seen by Cai Dong at that time. More than 50% of the tractors are equipped with AMT transmissions.
And how to “outperform†its peers becomes a problem for Cai Dong, Liu Wei, and the technology center's thinking and thinking. In fact, the development trend of AMT is not only seen by China National Heavy Duty Truck, Fast, Big Tooth, fangs, etc. Transmission manufacturers as well as FAW and other vehicle companies have all begun to secretly make efforts. If original innovations may take a long time to accumulate, if this is done, it is very likely that Sinopharm will miss the market opportunity on the day of its successful R&D.
As a result, CNHTC decided to take a joint development path of introduction, digestion, absorption and reinvention. The cooperation partners selected WABCO, a well-known German commercial vehicle transmission control system supplier that has long been collaborating with Mercedes-Benz and Volvo Trucks in the transmission field. WABCO provides TCU platform framework for CNHTC, while heavy gas technicians perform complex calibration according to actual conditions and environment in China, and modify and improve the program.
"This kind of joint development, we have full technological property rights, not a simple introduction of technology," Liu Wei told the "Automotive Business Review", they hope that in this way, the actual conditions of China's roads combined with advanced technology, Accelerate the development of products with their own complete intellectual property rights and mature technologies.
Localization
Although WABCO has provided the most important electronic control platform for the development of AMT transmissions, the following things are still difficult. The most important difficulty is the presetting and calibration of various operating conditions.
In fact, although the principle of AMT is not complicated, many domestic companies that research and develop AMT have been road-tested for years and still cannot be industrialized. Liu Wei told the “Automotive Business Review†that there are two Kaners that are difficult to pass. It is the development of the electronic control system, and the second is the vehicle matching work."
Because AMT control software needs to write all possible road conditions into the program, it is necessary to continuously simulate various road conditions during the R&D process. In order to deal with countless tests, it is necessary to make a large number of test vehicles to match. “Over the entire R&D process, we took out more than 50 test vehicles, and HOWO also had the latest A7. The cumulative mileage of road tests exceeded 600,000 kilometers,†Liu Wei said. In terms of vehicle matching, it also has a complete vehicle and transmission. Heavy truck has an advantage over some independent transmission manufacturers because almost no vehicle company is willing to give 50 vehicles to test it at one time.
In July 2007, following the development of AMT engineering prototypes by CNHTC, the long-term and complex road test and calibration process lasted for more than a year.
As a technology provider, although WABCO sent two or three engineers to stay at the CNHTC technical center, most of the work was done by more than 10 technicians of the Transmission Design Institute. As the director of this institute, Li Fa’s The hair was whiter than it was two years ago. In order to be able to detail the various conditions, overtime has become the normal job for him and his team. China has a vast territory, and the environment and driving conditions are complex. Therefore, the calibration work is complicated and long. Sometimes, WABCO technicians will open their mouths for situations that have never been encountered before.
China’s trucks are heavily overloaded, and some of them may even be more than doubled. Therefore, the entire vehicle calibration cannot be done according to the approved total quality. In addition, the reliability of the domestic heavy trucks is indeed a certain gap with the European heavy trucks, which may cause flameout and brake failure. , Air compression is broken, gears are not in position, and these are not the technical issues in Europe. However, AMT and vehicle matching are the key considerations. WABCO's foreigners have also enriched their electronic control software. Database.
In fact, the tasks required to be independently performed by Li Fa are far more serious than those. Although there is a technical support agreement with WABCO, since both parties are still buying and selling, when it comes to core technologies, the German company will choose to keep its mouth open. . In the Spring Festival of 2007, Li Fa found that the shift speed of the dump truck was slow and the time was long. To solve this problem, it was necessary to match TB (transmission box brake). This technology is a new one for Li Fa. Things, and if you want to help the development of foreign parties will need to pay an additional fee, in order to save costs, the transmission involved in the need to complete independently.
At first, searching for information is a problem. In the technical center, people work overtime, tables are full of various materials, and they need to do their own research. Sometimes they need to call a friend who is familiar with the situation or go online to search for it and spend money to buy it. The channel learned about the relevant information. When one month later they successfully designed TB to solve the problem, some of WABCO's technical staff did not quite believe their eyes. It must be known that TB development in foreign countries would take at least half a year.
In order to be able to collect more real data, the Transmission Design Institute will also select some users to conduct real vehicle testing in addition to experimenting. Due to imperfect initial performance, some cars appeared to be losing money. In order to persuade users to continue to help with testing, Li made a trip to the highway and stopped users. When they said something good, they invited people to eat and promised to compensate for the oil.
Li Fayou was pleased that all efforts were not in vain. Before AMT entered mass production at the end of 2008, its comprehensive operating conditions had already reduced fuel consumption by 5%-10% compared with manual transmissions. “Several users in Beijing and Inner Mongolia participated in the test and said that they have to buy AMT if they want to buy a car.†Li Fayou told Automotive Business Review.
Now, 16-speed transmissions suitable for tractors and dump trucks have been mass-produced. Li Fayou and his colleagues have already started to prepare to match other models in addition to continuing to refine the products that have already been listed according to usage and feedback. Work and development of 12-speed AMT transmissions.
On the afternoon of December 19, 2008, the Jinan Military Airport was set up as a temporary test yard. Dealers and media from the business venue rushed to test drive and tried HOWO and HOWO-A7 equipped with AMT transmissions. Order. Starting, accelerating, turning, and turning round, the reporter Wang Xiang, who specializes in commercial vehicle testing, told the Automotive Business Review that the A7 equipped with AMT has almost the same appearance and sense of driving as imported trucks in Europe.
In fact, “SMARTSHIFT-AMT†has been associated with HOWO-A7, an important product of China National Heavy Duty Truck, from the very beginning, not only because it was involved in the process of vehicle matching as early as the experimental stage A7, but also more practical. The question is also the question of how much market potential the AMT transmission, which is standard on the A7, can excavate, is closely related to the future market performance of the A7. On this morning, HOWO-A7, which aimed at the European heavy truck level and selected a series of world-class standards and electronic information systems, and jointly developed the cab with the Italian Georgian Luo, made its debut under the unveiling of Ma Chunji and Vice President Wang Donghui. Push the industry competition to a new stage.
But Wang Wenyu, a senior engineer at China National Heavy Duty Truck, told the “Automotive Business Review†that Sinotruk did not expect any significant performance from the newly listed A7 in 2009. In his opinion, other series in HOWO are still in an ascending period. At present, the main purpose of the A7 release is to enhance the brand image of Sinotruk and detect market demand. This detection includes the A7 itself and its standard AMT transmission.
Of course, the advantages of AMT are obvious from the perspective of ease of use and fuel savings. In the A7 tractor's cab with AMT as standard, the levers are marked with E (economic mode), P (power mode), and C (crawling mode), respectively, and the driver can press the button for different road conditions to select. The mode is displayed on the dashboard's LCD screen.
Better condition of the road can choose E mode to achieve the best fuel economy; When climbing or on the construction site, C mode to get the maximum torque to help climb; In pursuit of power, such as speeding, just press C Mode button. In addition, AMT has manual function at the same time. If you like manual transmission, you can easily switch to manual mode.
The tests have confirmed that AMT can save 5%-10% fuel consumption compared to manual transmissions. In terms of price, the A7 standard AMT transmission price advertised is 309,800 yuan, while the same grade and matching European heavy trucks are frequently used in millions of dollars.
Despite this, whether Cai Dong, Wang Wenyu, or Liu Wei are cautious about the market prospects of AMT, in Liu Wei’s view, although AMT products have already undergone a lot of experiments before they are introduced to the market, after the mass production, the consistency of product performance is guaranteed. There are also certain differences between the actual operating conditions and the test conditions. Therefore, whether AMT can be quickly promoted, and everything should be tested by the market. Behind the high-profile and cautious approach of AHT and A7 at China National Heavy Duty Truck Group Corporation, it is not difficult to see its goal of breaking the monopoly of domestic multinational transnational corporations - to fill the gaps to seize the domestic market's opportunities, and to strive for an overseas market with a cost-effective advantage. Big expansion.
Although Cai Dong believes that within two years, domestic companies will not have the strength to launch mass-produced AMT vehicle products, but through the cooperation with multinational corporations, digestion and absorption of the re-innovation AMT transmission development model will obviously further activate the AMT market. After all, peeping into the potential of the AMT market is not just China National Heavy Duty Truck. Once this market is activated, it will inevitably be reflected in various subdivided areas of heavy-duty truck products, thereby promoting the upgrading of the traditional heavy-duty truck market.
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