Dana Incorporated has introduced the Spicer® Electrified™ with TM4® e-Hub Drive at the Bauma China show this week.
This fully integrated electro-mechanical system for heavy-duty mining and construction applications leverages Dana’s portfolio of vehicle electrification technologies, according to the company.
“Designed for underground mining trucks, large wheel loaders, and reach stackers, this e-Hub drive integrates proven heavy-duty Spicer axle expertise, Brevini® planetary drive designs, TM4 electric motor technology, and Dana’s advanced control expertise into a single package that delivers efficiency, reliability, and performance,” Dana said.
Currently in pre-production field testing with vehicle manufacturers, the e-Hub drive is scheduled to be ready for production by the end of next year.
Christophe Dominiak, Chief Technology Officer for Dana, said: “The ultimate measure of hybrid and electric technologies is their ability to meet the rigorous performance expectations of off-highway vehicles at the work site.
“This e-Hub drive illustrates how rapidly and effectively Dana has capitalised on our strategy to produce hybrid and electric propulsion solutions that perform in the harshest work environments anywhere in the world.”
Dana’s global centre of excellence for designing axles used in mining and other heavy-duty applications, the Dana China Technical Center in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, is ideally suited to lead the development of the e-Hub drive, the company said.
“The facility also leads the development of heavy-duty Spicer planetary steering axles for rough-terrain cranes with lift capacities ranging from 30 t to 110 t.
Dana’s engineering resources in the US, Italy, and Canada participated in the co-development of the Spicer Electrified e-Hub Drive, the company said.
Aziz Aghili, Executive Vice President of Dana and President of Off-Highway Drive and Motion Technologies, said: “With 23 worldwide technology centres strategically located near our customers, Dana has a distinct advantage in the development of propulsion systems for heavy-duty vehicles.”
“By combining our unmatched range of technologies with our regional expertise, Dana can precisely channel our engineering efforts toward highly tailored solutions on a market-by-market basis.”
Dana has emphasised engineering and development for hybridisation and electrification as part of the company’s enterprise strategy, which focuses on leveraging its decades of electric engineering expertise and product knowledge to offer an extensive portfolio of advanced hybrid and electric technologies that have been engineered for multiple vehicle markets.
“Ranging from complete systems and modular solutions to individual sub-system components, Dana is able to support its customers in developing series and parallel hybrid configurations up to full battery-electric vehicles.
“Dana’s electrified product offerings are able to meet the diverse architecture and platform requirements of its broad customer base by delivering enhanced performance, packaging optimisation, and reduced system weight,” the company said.
Dana has made a series of strategic moves to support electrification and hybridisation, including the acquisition of the power-transmission and fluid power businesses of Brevini; a majority ownership of TM4 Inc, a motor and inverter manufacturer; and an agreement to purchase the Drive Systems segment of the Oerlikon Group.
“Combined with the company’s core expertise in driveline technologies, sealing systems, and thermal management, these initiatives position Dana as the leading supplier of electrification solutions for the off-highway segment,” Dana said.
With the recent acquisition of TM4, Dana’s electrification capabilities now include in-house design and manufacturing for electric motors, power inverters, and control systems. Dana also offers a wide selection of Brevini® motion products to support the power distribution requirements of hybrid and electric off-highway vehicles. These products include gear pumps, hydraulic power units, valves and controls, hydraulic axial piston motors and pumps, orbital motors, control hardware and software, advanced sensor technologies, and operator-information displays.
Beyond the e-Hub drive, Dana is currently leveraging a wide portfolio of technologies for off-highway customers to offer dozens of successful electrified driveline applications now in production and pre-production testing.
Dana’s growing portfolio of electric and hybrid technologies is ideally positioned to support the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology’s ‘Made in China 2025’ initiative, and the company’s expertise has been honoured by leading organisations, it said.
For four consecutive years, Dana has been recognised by the China Decision Makers Consultancy for its electric and hybrid vehicle solutions. In 2017 and 2018, Dana was named the ‘Outstanding Power Electronics Solution Provider of the Year’, while Dana earned the ‘Best Battery Solution Provider of the Year’ award in 2015 and 2016. Additionally, Dana’s two-sided chip cooling technology was a 2016 Automotive News PACE Award finalist.
Dana serves numerous off-highway manufacturers in China, including AGCO, CRCHI, Epiroc, John Deere, and SANY. The company currently operates 17 facilities in China with approximately 6,750 employees through both wholly owned and joint venture operations.