7-speed automatic transmission

In 2005, domestic cars with front-wheel drive and automatic transmissions were not represented in the automotive market of the Russian Federation. Nevertheless, the results of market research in this area indicated that the demand for automatic transmission is constantly growing. This prompted the team of like-minded employees at KATE LLC, who were inspired by the idea of creating a new Russian automatic transmission and modern production, to start work on an innovative 7-speed automatic transmission. Our company were faced with challenging tasks, such as as developing and producing automatic transmissions with a sufficiently large number of gears at the price of a 4-speed automatic transmission.

In just a year, the detailed design documentation was developed, and the main suppliers were selected for the parts and assemblies of the first prototypes. Already by 2006, prototypes of the automatic transmission, which received the index KATE FT703, were installed on bench equipment for verifying the mechanical and electrohydraulic systems, as well as in LADA Kalina cars, for which the main work was carried out to adjust the control system. The electronic control unit of the automatic transmission was also designed and manufactured by KATE specialists on the basis of modern electronic components certified for use in the automotive industry. Accelerated tests, which were carried out in accordance with AvtoVAZ requirements, confirmed the operability and basic technical specifications of the new product. Nevertheless, it was required to make the second series of prototypes and conduct a full cycle of bench tests, including related to durability, climate and others. Given the lack of such a large bench base, and to attract world-class suppliers of automatic transmission components to the project, British company RICARDO was chosen as an engineering partner. The second-series prototypes, manufactured and tested during 2007-2008, demonstrated a high technical level and successfully passed the technical expertise of Porsche Engineering, ordered by the alliance Renault-Nissan-AvtoVAZ. In cooperation with the Austrian company AVL, which performs installation and calibration work for leading car manufacturers such as Porsche, Volkswagen, and BMW, we decided to continue the joint work of KATE-AvtoVAZ on developing and integrating the 7-speed automatic transmission system into LADA cars. As a result of the collaborative engineering work, and in close cooperation with the serial manufacturers of the main components of the automatic transmission system, a pre-production batch of automatic transmissions was produced and a set of resource-based tests in the car was carried out. The automatic transmission demonstrated full compliance with the actual technical specifications stated in the terms of reference, and was ready for work to commence on preparing for production.

Alongside the joint work and negotiations with AvtoVAZ PJSC, work on diversifying the portfolio of orders for the 7-speed automatic transmission is also actively carried out, and well-known Chinese automakers have shown interest in the automatic transmissions. These manufacturers initiated a series of tests at the CATARC (China Automotive Technology and Research Center), during which the transmission was tested on a bench that fully simulates the movement of a real car in Chinese driving cycle (which is being prepared for introduction into the PRC as a national standard). The results confirmed the stated functionality, as well as the stable operation of the wet starting clutch when starting from rest multiple times and long "creeping" modes that simulate traffic patterns in traffic jams. In general, the automatic transmission showed high efficiency for all transmissions in a wide range of speeds and is recommended for further field tests. At the moment, preparations to start this work are underway.