Developer and supplier of modular drive systems Linde Hydraulics and power management company Eaton Corporation announced in March that they are extending their global strategic alliance.

As a result of this extension, the cooperation agreement – which has been in existence since 2010 – will be systematically expanded and orientated towards achieving further international growth.

In future, the collaboration will also centre on extending the two companies’ product lines and expanding sales channels, as well as focusing on the regional presence of both companies.

The continued cooperation ensures that customers of Linde Hydraulics and Eaton enjoy access to the entire range of products and services offered by both companies, which include the high-pressure axial piston pumps and high-pressure axial piston motors and valves from Linde Hydraulics, as well as the medium-pressure axial piston pumps offered by Eaton.

The two companies are currently combining their strengths in the emerging markets of South America and Asia, including Brazil, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and India.

Linde Hydraulics says, in future, customers in industries including the construction, agriculture, materials handling and mining sectors will have significantly improved access to all types of technology relating to hydraulic systems and to a comprehensive range of services.

This level of access will be made possible in these regions, owing to the independent distribution channels of Eaton and Linde Hydraulics, which are also set to offer both companies’ products and services.

The companies state that “cooperation thus far has proven highly successful and will also continue to expand throughout Europe, North America, the Middle East and Africa”.

“We are looking forward to further developing the successful cooperation between Linde Hydraulics and Eaton in the future by extending and expanding our cooperation, along with the additional regional distribution capabilities of our Asian partner, Chinese State-owned diesel engines manufacturer Weichai Power. All customer groups will benefit from the com- panies’ comprehensive and globally available product and service networks,” says Linde Hydraulics sales, marketing, research and development executive VP Thorsten van der Tuuk.

New Product Launched

Meanwhile, Linde Hydraulics launched its Shift-in-Motion (SIM) system, which combines a stepless hydrostatic drive with an electro- hydraulically actuated and synchronised standstill manual transmission, at the 2013 Agritechnica trade fair, which was held in November, in Hanover, Germany.

Linde Hydraulics says that the SIM traction drive system allows for comfortable gear chan-ges while in motion.

“We provide manufacturers of mobile machines a new degree of cost-effective freedom in terms of how they would like their machines laid out,” states Linde Hydraulics.

The company explains that this mostly applies to the machine’s performance, ergonomics and energy consumption, along with the speed and noise level reduction of the traction drives.

“SIM is ideal for all applications with high power requirements in working mode and high speed demands in transport mode, such as harvesting, municipal and forestry machinery,” states Linde Hydraulics.

The company points out that the high tractive power in the working mode and high maximum velocities in transport or transfer mode are the requirements that manufacturers and operators expect from the drivetrain of modern mobile machines.

“These requirements can be met through several traditional technological concepts, ranging from simple manual transmissions, powershift or highly sophisticated complex-powersplit, continuously variable transmissions,” says Linde Hydraulics.

Moreover, the company states that the SIM technology combines the cost and space advantages of a manual gearbox with the advantages of hydrostatic drives, including electrohydraulic control logic to a multistage drivetrain that can shift gears in motion similar to a traditional powershift trans- mission.

“SIM is a continuous variable hydro- static rotating drive consisting of a pump and a motor, which is mounted on a standard manual transmission. The system is additionally equipped with a hydraulic shift actuator,” Linde Hydraulics explains.

Further, the company highlights that the SIM’s electrohydraulically synchronised gear change is jerk-free.

“The actual switching operation in the standstill manual transmission is initiated through an actuator, which is also controlled electrohydraulically. The SIM’s synchronisa- tion shifting logic is controlled by an elec- tronic driving control and is monitored at all times,” highlights Linde Hydraulics, adding that the company offers an option that allows for the system to be set up with a manual drive mode selection and an automatic or fixed gear preselect mode.

Additionally, the company notes that the SIM systems can shift gears noise- and jerk-free within 500 ms, as a result of Linde Hydraulics high-quality hydraulic and electronic components.

Linde Hydraulics points out that to reduce a vehicle manufacturer’s implementation effort, SIM was designed as a propulsion system that can be installed on customary standstill manual transmissions without design changes.

The company notes that it supplies the essential SIM components and aligns them with application specifics and customer prefer- ences accordingly.

“As a specialist in hydraulic and electric drive systems, we are committed to providing customers with optimal solutions, which include producing higher performing systems that are energy efficient, low-pollution emitters, easy to install and cost effective,” Linde Hydraulics concludes.