Major event for driveline specialists
VDI Congress in Friedrichshafen
What developments are in store for dual-clutch transmissions and automatic torque converter transmissions? Will hybrid technology gain a firm foothold in passenger and commercial vehicles? How much fuel can be saved in all-wheel-drive vehicles? Answering these questions and more was the aim of this year's VDI Congress, "Vehicle Transmissions 2009."
Theory and practice
Transmission concepts, driveline management, hybrid concepts and many more topics were discussed in four concurrent sections on 30 June and 1 July. Alongside Bernd Ostmann, editor-in-chief of the German magazine Auto Motor und Sport, and Dr. Bruno O. Braun, president of the Association of German Engineers (VDI), visitors were welcomed by Dr. Hans-Jörg Domian, Senior Manager of Advanced Chassis and Driveline Engineering at ZF. Numerous companies used the event to present themselves and their products or services at the accompanying trade show in the Graf-Zeppelin-Haus conference center. Furtermore, all visitors had the chance to meet some 1,000 specialists from the automobile, commercial vehicle, machinery and supply industries, for example, from Audi, BMW, Daimler, Porsche and Bosch.
From theory to practice: in the transmission comparison on the last day, 2 July, the visitors were able to test a number of innovative transmission concepts. Mass-production vehicles as well as prototypes were awaiting them on the trade fair grounds in Friedrichshafen. Last but not least experts from transmission and vehicle manufacturers answered their questions.
Event highlights
- BMW's new 8-speed automatic transmission
- GETRAG Powershift®: extended driving functionalities with a controllable dual clutch
- Test-vehicle demonstration of GETRAG-BOSCH hybrid concepts
- Study of the gearbox implementation of a torque-vectoring system for the Audi quattro
