Allison to Display Off-Highway Series™ Transmission at Bauma CHINA 2020

Allison Transmission will exhibit its Off-Highway Series™ (ORS) of fully automatic transmissions at Bauma CHINA 2020, the world’s leading trade fair for construction machinery (November 24-27; Hall 5, booth 548, SNIEC). The Allison 8610 ORS model from this range has recently been specified by North Hauler Joint Stock Co. Ltd (NHL) of Inner Mongolia on its NTR100A autonomous rigid dump truck.

Twenty of these trucks have been delivered to Conch Cement, the largest cement maker in China, where they will be operated every day in demanding and hazardous conditions, while helping to address the shortage of drivers and eliminate human operational errors.

The NTR100A truck is a response to increased demand for autonomous mining vehicles due to poor road conditions and tough working environments. It features two control modes: driver mode and autonomous mode. In autonomous or driverless mode, the truck allows the Central Body Control Unit (CBCU) in the vehicle to receive instructions remotely from the Autonomous Drive Controller (ADC). In turn, the ADC sends instructions to the Allison Transmission Control Module (TCM), vehicle brake and other control systems. The ADC replaces the human driver by monitoring road maps, barriers, loading and unloading positions. Allison’s 5th Generation electronic controls optimise the integration of the CBCU to the virtual shift selector function of the NTR100A in autonomous mode.

Rated at GVW 160 ton, the new NTR100A model is matched to the Cummins QST30 engine, which has a maximum power of 783 kW or 1050 hp and a maximum torque of 4629 Nm. It can achieve a maximum speed of 47 km/h. In addition to providing dedicated autonomous mode calibration for virtual shift selection, Allison has also developed I/O (input/output) packages for control of the autonomous mode, such as inhibiting reverse when the bed dump is hoisted.

“Allison transmissions are highly regarded in the mining industry for their excellent performance, quality, reliability and increased uptime. Allison ORS transmissions only require their first maintenance after 18,000 hours,” said Zhao Xinchun, Manager of the NHL Customer Service Center. “Autonomous mining trucks will be the future trend and the application of Allison transmissions in this area is progressing very well. We look forward to further cooperation and a satisfactory outcome in the field of self-driving vehicles.”

“Designed to match the most severe conditions, Allison 8610 ORS delivers consistent torque and provides more power to the wheels. It offers dump trucks better control and maneuverability on loose soil, while enhancing traction on uphill and downhill grades,” said Chen Jing, Deputy Managing Director for Allison China Sales. “Armed with shift energy management, this not only improves transmission durability and overall performance, but also contributes to the entire vehicle’s fuel economy. With its prognostic functions, the end-user will be informed on the maintenance schedule well in advance thus preventing major transmissions failures.”

As the world’s largest manufacturer of fully automatic transmissions for medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles, Allison offers unrivalled reliability and power for the toughest applications of wide body mining dumps (WBMD), autonomous driving rigid dumps, all terrain mobile cranes, concrete mixers and construction specialty trucks. Allison fully automatic transmissions, with Continuous Power Technology™, are built to perform in the toughest conditions. They accelerate faster, providing 14% higher average speed than a manual or automated manual transmission. They also offer vehicles better control, traction and maneuverability on loose soil. Allison’s proprietary FuelSense® 2.0 software has tailored shift-points, enabling fleets to balance and improve fuel economy and performance, according to the specific needs of the duty cycle. Allison Automatics’ innovative Power Take Off (PTO) features integrated one-touch power for accessories.