"For almost two decades, commercial vehicle manufacturers around the globe have been relying on ZF's AS Tronic range," comments Fredrik Staedtler, head of ZF's Commercial Vehicle Technology division.
Original development partner Iveco remains a big user of AS Tronic, buy today numerous other truck manufacturers also use the automated gearbox – and it is also widely implemented on coaches and construction equipment, too.
It has also moved n since its original launch: whereas drivers had to preselect gears manually on the early semiautomatic AS Tronic, the second generation, launched in 2000, made gear selection electronic.
Claims at the time: electronically automated gear changes reduce the strain on the driveline, so increasing service life of the driveline components; and driver fatigue reduced, particularly in urban environments.
By networking transmission electronics and engine management via the CAN bus, the gearshift strategy used by the ZF AS Tronic also ensures that the engine operates in the optimum speed range.
The current AS Tronic transmission 12-speed range covers 500—3,100 Nm torque, with the AS Tronic lite covering 500—1,100Nm and the AS Tronic mid 800—1,600 Nm mainly used in light delivery trucks, buses, and medium-duty commercial vehicles.
The AS Tronic family can also be combined with an Intarder, ZF's transmission brake, which can be integrated directly into the transmission – not only boosting engine braking power, but also reducing the workload on the service brake by up to 90%, according to ZF.
As for the future, ZF makes the point that its successor, dubbed TraXon, is already waiting in the wings.
This modular automatic transmission system – which features an anticipatory, terrain sensing shifting strategy, courtesy of PreVision GPS – will be produced at ZF Friedrichshafen and the firm expects it to replace the Tronic "over the next few years".