New AP gearshift goes automatic
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• AP Borg and Beck has taken its automatic clutch and throttle system (CM 7-13 January 1988), and combined it with an American-developed push-button gear selection system to make a clutchless, push-button gearbox.
The AP automatic clutch and throttle system (ACTS) works in a similar way to those used on the Eaton SAMT gearbox fitted to MAN and ERF vehicles. It controls the engine speed and clutch operation throughout a gearchange, working in conjunction with electronic control of the engine. The gears, however, are still manually selected.
The American system offers hydraulic/electronic button selection of the hold-down facil ity in an automatic gearbox. When combined with ACTS on a manual gearbox, gears can be selected by pressing a button, and clutch actuation is then totally automatic.
AP says the new system could combine the low weight and economy of a manual gearbox with the simplicity of an automatic. The system is running in prototype form but it may be some time before it becomes an original-equipment option because of the sophisticated control over the engine that is needed to provide data for the ACTS. Development work has been continuing on the original ACTS system, and AP says that "virtually every major manufacturer in the world is looking at it".