Driveline and Transmissions

Every commercial vehicle needs a transmission and driveline that is durable, reliable, cost effective, efficient and matched to the needs of the vehicle and its intended application. Ricardo is one of the world’s leading independent providers of engineering services for commercial vehicle transmissions and drivelines, with an exceptionally strong track record of thoroughly understanding the requirements of the commercial vehicle sector.

Ricardo provides a world-leading capability in commercial vehicle transmission and driveline engineering:

• Design and development of transmissions from concept studies, clean sheet designs, demonstrator programmes and torque, noise and shift quality upgrades through to fully developed and validated new products
• Full capability range including manual, planetary automatic, automated manual, and dual clutch transmissions, as well as systems for hybrid and electric vehicle powertrains
• Engineering and development of angle drives, axle and transfer cases, hydraulic and pneumatic systems, electrics and electronic control unit hardware
• Advanced control engineering to provide actuation objectives, control software algorithms and calibration for efficient and smooth operation
• Extensive capability in gear shift quality development – Ricardo is also able to supply a commercial vehicle version of its GSQA system, the worlds most widely used objective shift quality measurement system
• Strong focus on strategic use of CAE to optimize designs and minimize time to market – Ricardo can also supply its SABR shaft, gear and bearing, concept development and design software, an advanced transmission CAE package that integrates the design process and reduces product development time
• Access to extensive development testing facilities and the Ricardo high performance transmission product manufacturing organization to provide high quality development parts in extremely competitive timescales
• Manufacturing localization and adaptation for new markets, including technical support for supplier selection and management
• A flexible approach providing tailored solutions to customers specific requirements from concept and target setting projects, to full turnkey product development programmes including training, technology transfer and collaborative working