MSC.

Software: Success Story - TREMEC SUCCESS STORY

Transmisiones y Equipos
Mecánicos S.A. de C.V.
Customer Profile: Joel Ortiz
Joel Ortiz is a Concept Engineer at Transmisiones y Equipos Mecánicos S.A.
de C.V. (TREMEC) in Querétaro, Mexico. TREMEC is a leading producer of rear
wheel drive light duty manual transmissions. Ortiz and other TREMEC engineers
are responsible for ensuring that the performance of TREMEC transmissions
matches up to demanding customer expectations. In the past, the only method
available to resolve performance issues in prototypes was to go through
the time-consuming and expensive process of making modifications to the
prototype and hoping for the best.

Challenge the driver shifting

In testing an early prototype of a six-speed manual transmission, jumps from first to second.
were seen in the force applied to the shifter lever and felt by the driver of He applied an I was pleasantly surprised
the vehicle. These jumps in shifting effort, called nibble by transmission angular velocity
manufacturers, do not affect the performance or durability of the to the input shaft. at how accurately simulation
transmission, but they are important because the reaction force against He lumped the could predict the performance
forces exerted by
the gear shift helps define the shift quality of the transmission for the of design variants.
driver. the engine and the
oil at -10oC into a
Solution resistance torque.
Adams multibody simulation software.
“I executed the model and evaluated its predictions of the force exerted
Benefit on the shift lever,” Ortiz said. “The simulation results showed the same
Ortiz used a virtual prototype to reduce nibble by 93% from the early jumps in shift effort that were measured on the prototype transmission. A
prototype to the production model, contributing to rave reviews from key advantage of simulation is that I was able to evaluate the displacement
automotive journalists. and forces of each component. I could also easily make changes to the
model to evaluate the impact of design changes. I tried changing the
Case Study stiffness of different parts and the oil properties.”
Nibble is normally attributable to the operation of the synchronizer which
“The solution turned out to be changing the geometry of the teeth on the
is used to drive the two sets of gears at the same speed just before they
synchronizing ring,” Ortiz added. This change reduced the jump in the
are engaged when shifting into a new gear. It is typically caused by a
reaction force by 95.5%, to well under the average for transmissions of
speed differential generated during the period between indexing and
this type. This design change was applied to the physical prototype and
final engagement. In this case, the prototype experienced nibble during
test results verified that the nibble was reduced by 93%. I was pleasantly
up-shifting at a temperature below 20oC.
surprised at how accurately simulation could predict the performance of
When the driver shifts into a different gear, the shift lever moves a fork in design variants.”
the transmission which in turn activates a synchronizer ring that engages
TREMEC’s new
the proper conical clutches to move the two gears that will be engaged
six-speed transmission
at the same speed. TREMEC was determined to maintain as uniform of
has received rave
a reaction force as possible because it wanted to maintain its reputation
reviews. Automobile
among automotive enthusiasts for producing some of the best manual
Magazine said that
transmissions in the world. Engineers tried to peer into the transmission
the 2008 Chevrolet
through a clear panel while it was running to diagnose the problem but
Corvette, which uses
found that their vision was blocked by the transmission fluid.
the new transmission:
Ortiz created a virtual prototype of synchronization mechanism in Adams “Another massage of
with 17 parts including the shift rail, fork, roller detent, gear synchronizer the old faithful Tremec
cone, inner synchronizer ring, blocker ring, strut, sleeve, intermediate ring, (Mexican-made six-
clutches and gears. The geometries of these parts were based on the speed manual shared
measurements of the prototype transmission. The model did not include with the Ford Mustang TREMEC Product TR - 6060; 6-speed
any flexible elements. Ortiz applied a force to the shift lever representing and Dodge Viper) has
achieved shorter throws with lower effort. Thanks to friction reductions
and synchronizer improvements, shifting is now more wrist action and
less elbow crunching.”

Shift effort based on physical measurements (left) and simulation (right)

 SUCCESS STORY MSC.Software: Success Story - TREMEC

MSC Product Used: Company Profile

Adams TREMEC was founded in Querétaro, Mexico in

1964, and has been building light-duty manual
Capabilities Adams Package includes: transmissions for high-performance sports
• Creation or import of component geometry in • Adams/Solver cars and pickup trucks. The TREMEC goal
is to provide the smoothest shifting, longest-
wireframe or 3D solids • Adams/Linear lasting, most reliable transmissions available,
• Extensive library of joints and constraints to • Adams/View furthermore TREMEC builds components for
define part connectivity other markets, such as military applications,
• Adams/Flex tractors and scooters.
• Internal and external forces definition on the
assembly to define your product’s operating • Adams/Durability A Kuo Group company, TREMEC is a Tier 1
environment • Adams/Vibration and Tier2 Original Equipment supplier to top
automotive brands in America, Asian Pacific and
• Model refinement with part flexibility, • Adams/Controls Europe.
automatic control systems, joint friction and • Adams/Exchange On the other hand, TREMEC also produce
slip, hydraulic and pneumatic actuators, and
• Adams/Foundation aftermarket models for auto enthusiasts looking
parametric design relationships to boost performance and fuel economy, and
• Ability to iterate to optimal design through • Adams/Insight participate heavily in motorsports worldwide.
definition of objectives, constraints, and • Postprocessor Aftermarket products are sold primarily in the
variables United States by licensed distributors, but
• Shared Memory Parallel (SMP) TREMEC also has a Network of distributors in
• Automatic generation of linear models • Tire API Australia, Canada and Mexico.
and complex loads for export to structural
analyses
Optional Modules
• Comprehensive linear/nonlinear results for
• Adams/Tire FTire
testing complex, large-motion designs
• Superior contact capabilities supporting 3D
contact between modal flexible bodies and
solid geometry

High Performance Computing (HPC)

• 64-bit support on Windows and
Linux platforms
• Parallel processing support for
Adams/Tire results
• Shared Memory Parallel solver
• Obtain nonlinear results for testing complex,
large-motion designs

Corporate Europe, Middle East, Africa Asia-Pacific Asia-Pacific

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