Based on its recent analysis of the commercial vehicle drivelines market, Frost & Sullivan recognized Dana Holding Corp. with the 2011 North American Frost & Sullivan Technology Innovation Award for its Spicer Diamond Series driveshaft.


Frost & Sullivan notes that "this innovative driveshaft realizes the weight advantages of aluminum through a unique welding process that can join a tough aluminum tube with steel U-joints." The resulting component is up to 100 pounds lighter than a traditional two-piece steel assembly and offers improvements in noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) characteristics.

"Even a slight reduction in component weight can translate to thousands of dollars of savings in fuel consumption while allowing fleets to increase their payload and consequently their return on investment," says Frost & Sullivan industry analyst Kumar Saha.

Driveline packaging space has become a key consideration for truck manufacturers as more and more components are added to a vehicle to meet efficiency regulations. The one-piece design of the Diamond Series driveshaft addresses this challenge by bringing down the overall part count from three joint connections to two and by eliminating the center bearing. These modifications can also potentially reduce the cost of installing the product.

The new manufacturing process enables Dana to improve upon the recent enhancements introduced to its Spicer Life (SPL) Series Universal Joints. These heavy duty SPL U-joints feature a higher power density design that extends products life and improves serviceability in a lightweight and compact package. Now, with the added advantage of the aluminum tube, the resultant product can further help truck OEMs meet the growing torque requirements of engines as well as pass on the weight savings to fleets, increasing ROI for operators.

Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents this award to the company that has demonstrated uniqueness in developing a technology, which significantly impacts both the functionality and the customer value of new products and applications.