drive 1.2015
60Pages

T R AXO N T R A N S M I S S I O N sy st e m Tough testing in the big chill Z F h i l ft A school report from Ghana RESEARCH IN A GLOBAL NETWORK C D C DA M P E R FA M I LY The safe, comfy way to drive

100 YEARS OF zf ON ALL C HANNEL S Wherever you are, whatever device you have to hand: plunge into the online world of One Global ZF – and experience 100 extraordinar y year s for your self. Scan the QR code above using your smartphone or tablet and go directly to ZF’s “100 Years” web page. Photos: Shutterstock.com (2)/Zeynep Demir (1) All around the world, you’ll find the people who have turned ZF into what it is today: a company with a great future – and an extraordinary past. Visit 100years.zf.com and review the milestones that defined ZF’s first 100 years. A timeline links together...

he automotive industry is facing what may well be some of the greatest challenges in its history. We need to design and develop increasingly efficient vehicles. First, as an effective response to climate change, and second, because lightweight, electrically powered cars and commercial vehicles will play an important role in our future by helping us conserve resources. Other global trends are impacting the industry, too. In the future, cars must integrate with the networked realities of modern life. Similarly, driver assistance systems and automated driving will significantly improve road...

TECHNOLOGY 12 NEVER SAY NEVER How do you turn ideas into innovative products? That’s the question ZF is researching across a global network of development centers. We take a look behind the scenes. 20 SAFE, SUREFOOTED CORNERING was the first supplier to bring an adaptive ZF damping system (CDC) to market, and is constantly improving it. Today, it’s standard equipment. 24 THINKING FOR PROFIT Creativity is what fuels a technology company like ZF. Creativity is the only way to build and maintain a sustainable competitive advantage. 28 THE VALUE OF PATENTS an age of digitization and...

MAGAZINE 6 PROLOGUE Art Foundation, new vehicles with ZF techno­ ZF logy, TRW acquisition, joint venture with BAIC, motorsport success, product awards, ZF turns 100! 58 YESTERDAY & TODAY Automatic transmissions in BMW’s 5 Series MOBILITY 40 JUST-IN-SEQUENCE DELIVERY Success story: ZF builds axle systems and delivers them directly to customers’ assembly lines. 42 “TYPICAL” TRUCKERS? The ZF Study on Truck Drivers 2.0 identifies four (personality) types of professional truckers. 54 MORE THAN JUST RED, AMBER, GREEN Standing at intersections around the world for over a century: the biography of...

THE NEED F OR SPEED That yearning for the hurtling thrill of speed and acceleration – for him, that’s what cars are all about. “But acceleration can also end in sudden destruction,” muses artist Stefan Rohrer. The sculptor’s works explore the fine line between desire and destruction – works like “Turbo”, created from car, steel and paint in 2014. The artist is a ZF Art Foundation scholarship holder, and will be living and working in the ZF tower studio in Friedrichshafen until October 2015. One of his works will also appear as the centerpiece of the “ZF Art Foundation – 25 Years” exhibition...

Photo: Shahab Gabriel Behzumi

ON-ROAD, OFF -ROAD From s tate-of-the-ar t tractor to bes t-of-British spor ts coupé – these newl y launched vehicles are all equipped with ZF technology. Aston Martin Vanquish 8-speed automatic transmission Torque converter Photos: Aston Martin, Audi, Jaguar, BMW Group, Solaris, Deutz The Aston Martin Vanquish is the first car to feature the 8HP Transaxle variant. In this configuration, the transmission isn’t installed directly behind the longitudinally mounted engine in the front of the car, but instead is connected to the rear axle by a transaxle shaft, resulting in a more even weight...

Audi Q7 AKC (Active Kinematics Control) 8-speed automatic transmission Front and rear axle drive units CDC adaptive damping system Chassis components Gearshift system Electronic components The AKC system changes the rear axle’s track (toe-in) angle, thereby enhancing the overall steering experience. When driving slowly through narrow streets, the system steers in the opposite direction to the front wheels, increasing the vehicle’s agility and reducing its turning circle. At higher speeds – that is, above 60 km/h (about 40 mph) – AKC turns the rear wheels in the same direction as the front...

Damping systems For optimizing safety and improving ride comfort. Worldwide, ZF produces around 64 million dampers each year, of which some 54 million are destined for cars. The ZF (blue) and TRW (beige) product port­olios are a perfect fit; the combined f electronics expertise will play a key role in the company’s future success. Driver assistance systems Camera and radar systems built into the vehicle monitor surrounding conditions. The data is analyzed and the driver is alerted to potential hazards. Modern axle drives distribute motive force between the wheels for better handling and...

Joint venture Axles for China ZF and the Beijing Automotive Industry Corporation (BAIC Group) have set up a joint venture to develop and assemble car axle systems for the BAIC Group’s passenger car brands. Here, ZF CEO Dr. Stefan Sommer (left) and Xu Heyi, Chairman of the BAIC Group, are signing the relevant agreement. Production is scheduled to start this year in an industrial park located southeast of Beijing. Vehicles equipped with ZF technology enjoyed an extraordinarily successful 2014 motorsports season across all race series, with a total of 210 victories. Especially worthy of...

What will tomorrow's transport systems look like? And how is it possible to rapidly incorporate innovations into many different types of vehicles? Questions to which ZF's global research and development network is finding the answers^