Allison Transmission opened a new testing operation in Indianapolis for medium- and heavy-duty trucks' automatic transmissions and propulsion systems, where it will replicate vehicle environments and duty cycles. The Vehicle Environmental Test (VET) center will conduct year-round testing under controlled conditions that ensure the desired operating environments can be isolated, tested, and replicated real time.
The 60,000-sq.ft. operation at Allison Transmission’s global headquarters campus includes hot and cold soak chambers and two chassis dyne-equipped environmental chambers capable of simulating a range of duty cycles, environmental conditions from -54° to 125°F, altitudes up to 18,000 ft, simulated grades, and other on-road conditions.
Allison Transmission is the world's largest manufacturer of automatic transmissions for medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles and also produces hybrid-propulsion systems for city buses.
The VET center will accommodate most commercial on-highway, off-highway, and wheeled defense vehicle applications, and test conventional powertrains as well as propulsion systems for alternative fuel, electric hybrid, fully electric, and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles.
It is equipped to help Allison Transmission engineers, OEM partners, body builders, suppliers and fleet owners innovate their vehicle designs, optimize performance and accelerate time to market, by testing safely and confidently in a single, environment-controlled and seasonally independent location.
“This facility is a direct reflection of our commitment to advancing new-product development technologies and reducing time-to-market,” stated Randy Kirk, SVP for product engineering and program management. “The VET center will facilitate rapid product development for conventional, alternative fuel, and electric vehicles, providing Allison and our customers an efficient and effective tool for next generation innovation and collaboration.”