Course Description
Format: In-person Course
Where: Rosemont, IL
Date: August 19-21, 2025
- Tuesday, August 19 – 8:00am-5:00pm ET
- Wednesday, August 20 – 8:00am-5:00pm ET
- Thursday, August 21 – 8:00am-5:00pm ET
Reg. Deadline: August 11, 2025
EV Automotive Transmission System Design
This course was designed in conjunction with and is supported by the American Bearing Manufacturers Association and the AGMA Foundation.
This course will cover all aspects of gearbox concept, development, design, and through the initial stages of analysis as related to product requirements. We will review all the most common EV transaxle architectures, power flow and layout and the ‘whys’ of packaging as such. Independent of the architecture and / or layout, there are many similarities in the functional and operational requirements of an EV transaxle gearbox. We will work through all of those and develop a workable set of requirements that will then be used as the design basis. From a high-level point of view the ‘Big’ difference between transaxles for EVs (Electric Vehicles) and transmissions designed for more traditional Manual Transmissions (MTs) and / or Automatic Transmissions (ATs) is the lack of the ‘noisy’ internal combustion engine or ICE motor. An internal combustion engine driving into a typical gearbox provides a great deal of NVH masking. Thus, we obviously need to design quieter gearboxes to reduce the potential of observed gearbox NVH, now potentially unmasked by the lack of the ICE signature and magnitude. However, and moreover, the signature from an ICE is much different than from the electric motor. The new input signature, frequency, and magnitude, cause a shift to higher frequencies and generally lower magnitudes of vibrational energies. That in turn becomes a more significant consideration in terms of gear design and application. We will discuss this and more throughout the course.
How Many CEUs Will I Earn?
As an IACET-accredited provider, AGMA offers 2.0 CEUs for this class.
Learning Objectives
- A brief and initial overview of common gear design techniques and best practices,
- Understand the design challenges and constraints an electric motor presents to gear development,
- Extend our understanding of beneficial effects and uses of gear microgeometry to the new EV application,
- Incorporate design and application considerations of bearings, shafts, and seals to development and integration of EV transaxles,
- Appreciate the new, more expansive requirements for the lubricant and coolant,
- Discuss added application requirements and their effect on design and development,
- Summarize design and development requirements as a function of the additional constraints presented by the EV driveline.
Registration Rates
Member Rates
First Registrant per Member Company
Early Bird*/Standard
$2,150/
$2,250
Additional Registrant per Member Company
$2,050
NON-MEMBER RATE
First Registrant per Non-Member Company
Early Bird*/Standard
$2,650/$2,750
Additional Registrant per Non-Member Company
*Rate ends 7/8/25
$2,650
Hotel Information
DoubleTree by Hilton O’Hare Rosemont
5460 North River Road
Rosemont, IL 60018
(847) 292-9100
You can book your room at the discounted rate of $159 per night. The hotel cut-off date is July 29, 2025.
Who Should Attend
This course will appeal to all involved in gear design, application, and analysis. Individuals more focused on actual EV gearbox design should gain value from the unique perspective brought to gear design specific to EV transaxles. We will discuss the specific and nuanced design details and development considerations related to the needs of an EV transaxle.
Instructors
William “Mark” McVea, PhD, P.E.
Dr. William Mark McVea, P.E., is currently President and Principal Engineer of KBE+, Inc. where he and his team design and develop complete powertrains for automotive and off-highway vehicles. His experience includes positions within the mechanical drive and powertrain industry. Chief Technology Officer for an industry leader in the design and development of patented powertrain engineering technology used primarily in the automotive industry; Professor of Vehicle Dynamics and Powertrain Sciences in the Mechanical Engineering Department at the Rochester Institute of Technology; adjunct professor at Purdue University in their Automotive Sciences Department; and was manager of the CAE group within a tier-one powertrain supplier to global automotive markets, a consulting engineer in vehicle dynamics, and a project manager of traction systems for off-highway vehicles as well. In addition, he has extensive publication on transmission systems, automated design assistant systems, knowledge systems and knowledge-based engineering in general. He also holds or is listed as co-inventor on numerous patents related to mechanical power transmissions. Mark holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the Rochester Institute of Technology, a PhD in Design Engineering from Purdue University and is a licensed Professional Engineer.
Photo Release
From time to time AGMA uses photographs, survey answers and testimonial of AGMA events in its promotional materials. Unless this permission is revoked in writing to the AGMA, by virtue of your attendance all attendees agree to the use of their likeness in such materials.
Cancellation and Payment Policy
Please view our cancellation policy.
Please view our code of conduct.