Procision transmission rollout event

Eaton spent 2 years conducting extensive customer research on transmission needs before engaging in another 3 years of design work to bring the Procision to market.

John Beering, senior VP and GM of Eaton's commercial vehicle technology group, said the Procision dual clutch design offers an 8% to 10% improvement in fuel economy over torque converter-style transmissions.

Eaton's Joe Semaan said reliability and fuel economy are now even more critical factors in the medium-duty segment.

Jeff Carpenter, Eaton's engineering manager for the Procision, said the new dual clutch gearbox weighs in at 364 lbs, is 30.1 inches long, features oil capacity of 12.7 quarts, is based on an expected "B10" life of 400,000 miles, and is currently rated to handle up to 660 ft-lbs of torque.

The hydraulic controls managing the operation of the Procision's dual clutch design represent a new engineering discipline developed within Eaton's transmission group.

Alison Thomas, global product strategy manager for MD transmission for Eaton, said a "customer council" made up of 10 fleets and two dealers established in 2009 helped the company develop the Procision platform.

The Procision will be introduced in mid-2015 within four medium-duty segments: pickup & delivery, towing & recovery, straight beverage truck operations, and school bus fleets.

The transmission needs of expeditor operators in the medium-duty space are included within Procision's P&D segment offering, noted Carpenter.

Slower speeds, more starts and stops, plus greater maneuverability, fuel economy, and lower total cost of operation are all factors that went into the new Procision transmission design.

Alas, the beer truck brought to Eaton's Marshall Proving Grounds turned out to be empty.