ECOMAX - Next Generation Fuel Efficient Transfer Case

摘要

As legislation continues to mandate improved fuel economy, further improvements are needed in the driveline to minimize losses. In the future, more rear wheel drive based 4WD/AWD vehicles will utilize disconnected secondary drivelines. Based on these drivers, a new transfer case design is required to further reduce parasitic drag in this 2WD mode. The Magna Powertrain ECOMAX single speed transfer case was conceived with a new architecture to provide the lowest possible drag in 2WD mode to improve fuel economy and reduce CO2 emissions. The ECOMAX will be Magna Powertrain's next generation transfer case using new, inno-vative features to meet the demands of the customer. This particular ECOMAX design is a pumpless design allowing a stationary chain in 2WD, revised sprocket support, and a dry multiplate clutch. A new fully on-demand pre-emptive actuation system, operating in a dry cavity, was developed specifically for this application. Parasitic drag is significantly reduced across the temperature and speed range, therefore improving fuel economy beyond today's systems. Overall architecture, design details, and development results of the ECOMAX single speed transfer case are discussed in this paper.