Cummins continues 2010 engine improvements
May 1, 2010 12:00 PM
Cummins Inc announced that its new on-highway engines for 2010 are in full production and meeting customer expectations of delivering better fuel economy and performance. The Cummins engine lineup for on-highway applications was on display March 25-27 at the Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville, Kentucky.
Cummins began producing the near-zero-emissions EPA 2010 engines in 2009 and continued with full production in January 2010. To date, Cummins has produced over 2,500 EPA-certified 2010 engines at manufacturing facilities in Jamestown, New York and Rocky Mount, North Carolina.
Leading to the full production of the 2010 engines, Cummins followed stringent product-testing protocol through which engines are rigorously tested for performance and reliability. The diesel engine manufacturer utilizes cutting-edge technology for in-house testing through the use of automated data analysis.
More than 200 vehicles, including internal test vehicles and customer field test vehicles, were equipped with a proprietary datalogger that enables the company to log a multitude of variables while the vehicle is in operation. The Engineering Tools Datalogger (ETD) is a data recorder and transmission device that automatically transmits field-use data to Cummins headquarters.
This unit has the capability of sending results for 240 different variables, from engine speed and exhaust temperature to GPS location, vehicle speed, torque, fuel usage, emissions, coolant temperature, and more — including On-Board Diagnostics (OBD). Information is time stamped to provide a graphic picture of engine and aftertreatment performance at any point in the duty cycle and at any location.
Encrypted data
Engine, vehicle, and trip information is encrypted and sent via modem to the on-highway engineering team in Columbus, Indiana, where it is segmented and analyzed by Cummins engineering experts. Having real-world data from so many different vehicles operating in a variety of locations and duty cycles has allowed engineers to test engine software and algorithms, make modifications and validate operating characteristics with greater speed and accuracy than ever before. The ETD has the capability of making calibration changes to the engine, including complete recalibrations of the Electronic Control Module (ECM).
The Engineering Tools Datalogger allows engineers to optimize software and system performance reliability, and enables the continuous improvement of the engines and aftertreatment systems based on actual driving experience with fully loaded vehicles in all environmental conditions. The ETD capability has enabled the engine builder to maximize passive regeneration in the Aftertreatment System as well as optimize Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) consumption for all types of duty cycles. It also provided Cummins with a critical window for early failure detection and resolution, even before the first 2010 production engines were released.
Additionally, the company accumulated more than eight million miles of real-world experience by having the products operated by over 80 customers in normal daily operations. Cummins EPA 2010 engines have been tested, validated and are available in nearly 180 installations for on-highway vehicles.
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