Winning partnership for Mark One and Kawasaki Racing Team

A winning partnership for Mark One and Kawasaki racing team, ready for an addictive future

An Unbeatable Technical Partnership

The renewal of Mark One and the Kawasaki Racing Team’s technical partnership for the 2022 racing season is a great opportunity for the premier team to further explore the benefits of additive technology, which is projected to have a market value of $17.8B by 2025.

The yearly addition of a new Mark One 3D printer to the KRT’s workshop or racing box since 2018, has encouraged the team to consistently work towards transforming its production process, as it moves away from traditional methods and in the direction of additive manufacturing.

As such, Mark One’s innovative 3D printing technology has allowed the KRT to drastically shorten lead times and carry out component customization. These two benefits are of great importance in the racing field, where riders are under constant pressure to perform and must quickly adjust to different circumstances.

A member of the KRT’s technical crew is pictured using the new MK ONE 3D printer.

Short Lead Times

The harmony between Mark One’s 3D printing technology and Kawasaki Racing Team’s ultimate goals does not stop with the simple renewal of the partnership. Mark One’s printers have allowed the KRT to revolutionize its internal supply chain, by drastically reducing production times and costs with real-time on-site production. Therefore, the KRT can be seen as a transversal model for companies with dislocated branches that need to optimize their supply chain. For example, when premier rider Jonathan Rea and the KRT devise a new component, “they are able to produce the part overnight with the Mark One machine”, creating short lead times. This means that the component can be tested by the Rea the following day and adjusted accordingly prior to the start of a race. This kind of rapid, real-time production is unheard of in the racing world.

Watch the KRT carry out real-time production with the new MK ONE 3D printer 

KRT rider Jonathan Rea (center) leads the pack at the 2022 Pirelli Aragon Round in Teruel, Spain.

Customization

In 2018, the KRT installed one of Mark One’s 3D printers in its racing pit. This move permitted the technical crew to better address the needs of its riders, because it could instantly design and queue customized components that were intended to address particular issues. When the KRT’s expert rider Alex Lowes faced a debilitating shoulder injury during the 2021 racing season, the team’s crew was able to produce two customized components to improve his situation. They devised a small tank cover and two side pods that allowed Lowes to increase the use of his legs on corners and subsequently take weight off his shoulders and arms. As a result, Lowes was able to alleviate his shoulder pain and race better throughout the 2021 season.

Watch the KRT create customized components for Alex Lowes with the innovative MK ONE 3D printer

KRT rider Alex Lowes hugs a corner during the March 2022 test round at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

A long-term Partnership

As technical partners, Mark One and the Kawasaki Racing Team have the ability to transform the world of motorcycle racing. Whether it be with the use of customized components that improve rider comfort or performance, a continual reduction in lead times that allows teams to instantly address their needs, or the simplicity of use that guarantees that users can design and print even the most complex components.

The KRT’s Team Manager is pictured here with Mark One’s Founder and CEO Marco Zani

Find out more about KRT riders Jonathan Rea and Alex Lowes

Mark One & Kawasaki Racing Team – Industrial and Professional 3D Printers in the SuperBike Pits

Mark One’s 3D printers are incredible: Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team)

Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team): “Mark One’s 3D printers helped me ride better”

Partnership renewed between Mark One and Kawasaki

Partnership renewed between Mark One and Kawasaki for season 2022

Partnership renewed Mark One Kawasaki

The KRT’s six-time World Superbike champion Jonathan Rea stands on the first-place podium at the 2022 Pirelli Aragon Round in Teruel, Spain.

Mark One and Kawasaki Racing Team renew their technical partnership for the 2022 racing season

Mark One and the Provec Kawasaki Racing Team (KRT), have renewed their technical partnership for the 2022 racing season. The KRT leads the field with more than five hundred podium finishes, thanks to six-time World Superbike champion Jonathan Rea (’87), who has claimed more than one hundred World Superbike victories since joining the team in 2015. The KRT’s international excellence can be attributed to its dedication to being at the forefront of innovative racing technologies, which benefits both its riders and technical crew.

The fast-paced and ever-changing nature of the motorcycle world requires teams to regularly design, test, and update their methods and applications. In order to keep up with these demands, the KRT has incorporated Mark One’s innovative 3D printing technology into its production process.

Partnership renewed Mark One Kawasaki

KRT rider Jonathan Rea leans into a turn at the 2022 Pirelli Aragon Round in Teruel, Spain.

Mark One’s Collaboration with the Kawasaki Racing Team

Mark One’s collaboration with the KRT began in 2018, after the team expressed interest in adopting additive technology in order to revolutionize its production cycle and create new high-performance components. This move has already led the KRT to save 85% in production times and costs.

Therefore, Mark One’s 3D printing technology has allowed the KRT to consistently perform at the highest level, without compromising on quality. Its cutting-edge 3D printers provide the team with the possibility to create customized components, reduce production times, and guarantee users the simplicity of use.

As the graphic below demonstrates, the KRT’s supply chain has been greatly simplified. They can currently test as many components as they would like within just a few days.

Partnership renewed Mark One Kawasaki

Following these incredible results, the KRT renewed its collaboration with Mark One in 2022. The company supplied the team with a third printer, the new MK One model, which was placed in its workshop in Barcelona. The KRT currently keeps the other two ONE models in its racing box.

Partnership renewed Mark One Kawasaki

The MK ONE 3D printer produces components for Jonathan Rea’s motorcycle with real-time production.

Simplicity of Use

Mark One’s 3D printers ensure better control of the entire production process, thanks to their simplicity of use and this means that the KRT is able actively manage each stage of the printing process and to guarantee the production of complex and high-performance components, without having to rely upon external suppliers. In this way, the KRT has managed to cut a phase of the traditional supply chain that led to long lead times. This change was essential for the KRT’s technical crew, who is required to carry out rapid component prototyping for the team’s riders throughout the racing season. Once these prototypes are ready, they are printed and immediately tested by the KRT’s riders. The testing phase allows both the riders and the crew to fine-tune the components, so that they appropriately address the issues at hand. In the case that adjustments need to be made, the KRT can simply use Mark One’s 3D printers to reprint the component.

Watch theKawasaki Racing Team create component prototypes with the innovative MK ONE 3D printer at their headquarters in Granollers, Spain 

If you want to find out more about KRT riders Jonathan Rea and Alex Lowes, check out the links below:

Mark One & Kawasaki Racing Team – Industrial and Professional 3D Printers in the SuperBike Pits

Mark One’s 3D printers are incredible: Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team)

Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team): “Mark One’s 3D printers helped me ride better”

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