O ZF transmission research
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A new research and experimental centre, opened last month by ZF at Friedrichshafen is giving this leading European producer of vehicle transmissions unrivalled facilities for the development of new systems and the evaluation of advanced technology. Devoted solely to work on power transmission — (a separate laboratory exists at Schwibisch Gmiind for steering gear development) — many of the 200 staff at Fri edrichshafen are currently engaged on drive-line development for heavy haulage vehicles and special-purpose carriers such as military types.
With work on the WSK — clutch converter transmission — now entering the pre-production stage, ZF believes that this combination of a conventional proven transmission with a torque converter and lock-up clutch may well become standard equipment on heavy long-distance vehicles.
At Frankfurt next month German makers will in fact reveal their adoption of this transmission while field trials by foreign manufacturers, including Scania and Saurer, are continuing.