To reduce fuel costs, a leading truck manufacturer carried out a feasibility to create a hybrid gearbox. This would require an electric motor installed in the driveline to start the vehicle moving from rest and re-charge the batteries during normal running and braking.

The decision was taken to have the motor in the gearbox clutch housing. A CAD model of the motor was received from a chosen supplier, and would be a retro-fit into the gearbox. First a model of the gearbox was loaded into a session, then the model of the electric motor was loaded in. The motor would drive and be driven through the input shaft of the gearbox, so the motor was positioned in line with this shaft. Due to the weight of the rotor, a method of mounting the rotor to the bearings, and the stator mounted to the clutch housing was devised. The input shaft was then modified to create a drive to the motor, achieved through a new drive plate component. As this installation lengthened the gearbox, a new clutch housing had to be designed, this would have the mounting points for the new motor and also create the interface between the engine and the gearbox. This complete installation was then presented to design teams for discussion and approval for product development.

 

Ship Rebuilding

A most notable recent project was the complete rebuilding and return to service of a specialist ship that had laid on the sea bottom for five months. To the knowledge of PSlint and other industry concerns this type of project where a ship had been sunk in deep water for so long, had never been undertaken.