“Epson’s use of innovative technology to deliver performance is perfectly aligned to what we strive to achieve in Formula One™.”
Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport
Large format printers
Designing the difference that makes champions
The race-day performance of an F1 car is determined at the design stage. For Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team, this design cycle is constant with development throughout the year and an eye on next season’s car.
Epson’s SureColor printers play a crucial part in this process. They produce high quality, detailed and large scale colour CAD drawings to reference during each stage of the design.
A key requirement is the ability to print, scan and copy in colour. This allows engineers to clearly identify the dimensions, tolerance and sections that can enhance the car’s strengths and eliminate any weaknesses.
The team uses the Epson SureColor T5200, a productive large format printer with versatile media support for CAD, GIS and POS applications.
Discover more about the Epson SC-T Series and our full range of Large format printers
“The bright colours and crisp lines delivered by the Epson SureColor T5200 can make an area pop out, rather than just fade into the background. This has proved vital in our car and design decision making process.”
Matt Harris, head of IT at Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team
Label printers
Communicating with the drivers
For the 2016 season, Formula One introduced stricter regulations regarding radio communications. The engineers needed a new way to help the drivers recall the latest procedures during races. When fractions of a millisecond count, being able to remind the drivers how to act in different scenarios, mattered more than ever.
Epson’s ColorWorks label printers were the solution. The team use them to print clear colour instructions that can be quickly attached to the steering wheel and cockpit of the famous Silver Arrows in-between sessions and on the grid minutes before the race. While no longer a regulator requirement, the team continue to rely on ColorWorks where necessary.
The team transport their race kit to locations all over the globe each season. Once they arrive at a race location, there’s a very short turnaround to be race-ready. Epson’s LabelWorks printers are used to label kit components, enabling a quick and efficient pack-down and set-up each race weekend, where every saved minute is vital in staying ahead.
The team uses the Epson ColorWorks TM-C3500 for high-quality colour label printing and LabelWorks LW-Z900FK for fast label printing in demanding environments.
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“Everything changes so quickly between laps, this means printing labels with clear instructions as quickly as possible is key for the team.”
Marcus Dudley, Performance Engineer at Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team
Printers
Efficiency, reliability and performance matters
Epson’s versatile WorkForce Pro RIPS range of printers are used across the whole team – from the factory where they are relied on for printing documents and component assembly instructions, to the track where they're critical for the engineers and drivers.
Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team transports its race kit to over 20 countries across the globe – meaning it can be in shipping containers for up to three months. On arrival the printers need to be in perfect working order so the team can focus on the race.
There isn't always a reliable source of power trackside, but for the team, other vital equipment can take precedence as Epson WorkForce Pro RIPS printers offer lower power usage. Their efficiency also means there's no need to change the ink cartridges trackside, saving crucial time and manpower.
The team uses Epson's WorkForce Pro RIPS printers, which use up to 96% less energy than competitive colour lasers.
Discover more about Epson's WorkForce Pro RIPS range
“Moving from laser printers to Epson inkjet printers not only means we get a better quality of print, but because the print heads don’t get damaged in transit, they are ready to use as soon as we land. With the Epson printers, we just take them out the box and they’re good to go.”
Matt Harris, head of IT at Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team
Moverio smart eyewear
Seeing into the future of motor racing
The Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team garage offers a unique augmented reality experience at each of the 20 Formula One™ races. Epson Moverio smart glasses bring this exciting world to life, allowing visitors to the garage to go behind the scenes and delve into one of the most technical and precise sports in the world.
Using Epson’s innovative wearable technology, people can take in the garage surroundings, while projected material is overlaid on the smart glasses. This allows them to maintain a physical reality as they discover the anatomy of a pit stop in slow motion – or find out more about the race day roles of engineering staff on the pit wall.
Moverio’s built-in camera, gyroscope, GPS and other sensors allow the software to understand the movements and surroundings of users to drive innovative experiences like never before.
The team use Epson's Moverio BT-300 smart glasses, which feature Epson's cutting edge silicon-based OLED (organic light emitting diode) digital display technology.
“Wearable technology is likely to accelerate and the demand for these experiences will increase. There are no other competitors that measure up to the standards Epson has set with Moverio.”
Victoria Vowles, marketing operations director at Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team
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