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How does an automatic gearbox work?
In a manual, you work the clutch and the lever; an automatic does it for you. Power flows from the engine, through a torque converter and the gearbox, to the wheels. The engine keeps turning at a stop, so the converter links it through oil: one fan spins the oil, the oil turns a second fan, and at a stop the oil just slips.
The wheels still need different speeds, so the gearbox uses planetary gears. A brake band holds the outer ring, and the output turns slower, with more force; release the band and lock the gears together, and they turn as one, faster. A computer picks the moment, and oil pressure does the shifting. Next: what happens 1 year after you quit smoking?
This shows a classic torque-converter automatic, simplified to one planetary set; CVT and dual-clutch gearboxes work differently. Sources: Wikipedia (Automatic transmission, Torque converter, Epicyclic gearing) and How a Car Works (How automatic gearboxes work).
About this film
A 59-second widescreen (16:9) explainer film, made in the Constructivist poster style, published on 1 November 2026.
An automatic does the clutch and the lever for you: oil couples the engine softly, planetary gears change speed by holding or locking parts, and a computer with oil pressure picks the moment.
The style: Constructivist poster. Red wedges, black circles, halftone photos and geometric letters.
Scene by scene
- 0:00Cover: an automatic selector, the manual's pedal and stick struck out
- 0:04Power flows: engine, torque converter, gearbox, wheels
- 0:11The engine keeps turning at a stop: a torque converter links through oil
- 0:17One fan spins the oil, the oil turns the second fan; at a stop it slips
- 0:23Wheels need many speeds: planetary gears
- 0:29Low gear: the band holds the ring, the output turns slower with more force
- 0:36High gear: band off, all locked, it turns as one, faster
- 0:43A computer picks the moment; oil pressure shifts
- 0:47Recap: engine, converter, gearbox, wheels — it shifts by itself
Transcript
In a manual, you work the clutch and the lever. An automatic does it for you. Power flows from the engine, through a torque converter and the gearbox, to the wheels. The engine keeps turning at a stop, so a torque converter links it through oil. One fan spins the oil, the oil turns a second fan; at a stop, it just slips.
The wheels still need different speeds, so the gearbox uses planetary gears. A brake band holds the outer ring: the output turns slower, with more force. Release the band and lock the gears together: they turn as one, faster. A computer picks the moment; oil pressure does the shifting. Engine, converter, gearbox, wheels: it shifts by itself.
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