OVERVIEW

In the leisure manufacturing industry, product appearance plays a critical role in shaping brand value. For four-wheeled vehicles, manufacturers must balance distinctive design with the stability required for high-volume production. To meet these demands, Kawasaki Motors Co., Ltd. introduced robotic automation to the hydrographic (hydraulic transfer) process at its new four-wheeled vehicle plant in Mexico.

Hydrographic coating is a key step in defining a product’s visual appeal. Traditionally, this process relies heavily on manual labor and skilled craftsmanship. However, achieving consistent patterns on complex shapes while maintaining quality and scalability has long been a challenge.

To address this, Kawasaki Motors Co., Ltd. partnered with Kawasaki Heavy Industries’ Robot Division and IEC, a leader in painting systems, to automate the hydrographic process. This collaboration represents a pioneering approach to appearance-quality automation and sets a new standard for efficiency and consistency.

In this case study, we’ll explore how these three organizations worked together to deliver a breakthrough in hydrographic automation—and the results that followed.

CHALLENGES – Starting with Growth Vision and Technical Responsibility

As part of its Vision 2030 growth strategy, Kawasaki Motors Co., Ltd. is accelerating global expansion and advancing manufacturing technologies—highlighted by the launch of a new state-of-the-art plant in Mexico.

While motorcycle production remains the cornerstone in Japan, the facility in Mexico is intended to focus on larger, more sophisticated products, including four-wheeled vehicles and Jet Ski® personal watercraft (PWCs).

For this initiative, Mr. Kitada, a key leader in the Advanced Technology Department, spearheaded coating innovations such as hydrographic transfer and FRP design, ensuring world-class quality and consistency by visiting Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing Corp. (KMM), a factory in the Lincoln, Nebraska (United States), and learning technical know-how on site over a period of two months.

• Precision under pressure: Camouflage patterns popular in Mexico require flawless alignment and consistent color blending.
• Uncharted territory: Neither Kawasaki Heavy Industries robot division nor IEC had automated hydrographic transfer before.
• Technical complexity: Activating and applying film with solvents demanded exact control of pressure, angle, and speed.
• Global coordination: Launching a new plant overseas while meeting aggressive timelines for mass production.

We have a growth vision for 2030, and the launch of the plant in Mexico is an important part of it.

Hydraulic transfer is a technique that involves floating a pattern printed on a film on the surface of the water and transferring it onto the surface of the product.

This process extends beyond simple painting, enabling uniform patterns on three-dimensional shapes and complex curved surfaces, making it ideal for products where design is crucial.

In particular, this project required a “camouflage pattern” exterior finish, which is in high demand in the Mexican market, and required a high-precision transfer that did not allow misalignment or unevenness of the pattern.

Camouflage patterns often feature complex designs with blurred color boundaries, and precise control of application pressure, angle, and speed is crucial to achieve a uniform finish.

However, at the Akashi Plant, a production base in Japan, there have been few examples of automating the hydraulic transfer process so far. This project presented a technical challenge for the IEC, which was responsible for integrating the Kawasaki Heavy Industries Robot Division and the robot system. Manual hydraulic transfer is highly dependent on the operator’s skill and prone to problems such as misalignment of the pattern and uneven film thickness.

Therefore, to ensure stable quality at the mass production level, it is essential to coordinate high-precision motion control by robots with the coating system.

SOLUTION

Kawasaki Robotics deployed a flexible, heavy-duty robot ZX165U robot integrated with IEC’s custom coating system. This combination delivered:

• High-precision motion control for consistent pattern transfer.
• Advanced coordination between robots and coating systems for uniform finishes.
• Scalable automation to meet Kawasaki Motors Mexico’s production goals.

RESULTS

This hydraulic transfer process automation project was a collaboration among IEC, Kawasaki Heavy Industries’ Robot Division, and Kawasaki Motors Co., Ltd. to tackle an unprecedented technical challenge.

By combining their expertise and on-site capabilities, we have achieved a high-quality and stable production system at the new manufacturing plant in Mexico. IEC discusses the future evolution of the manufacturing industry:

“In the era of AI, it is said that there will be no more people, and everything is being automated, and IEC needs to improve its technical and sales capabilities accordingly.”

We are also focusing on developing products that meet the needs of our customers, working closely with our development team to ensure they meet these needs.

On the other hand, Kawasaki Motors Co., Ltd. has established a policy to further increase the production volume of its main products, such as Jet Ski® (PWC), primarily at its plant in Mexico.

To achieve this, it is essential to improve the productivity of each manufacturing process, including the FRP process. The success of this hydraulic transfer was the first step towards this goal.

This project is not just about introducing equipment, but the result of a collaboration between technology and trust. The results will be a solid foundation for future global expansion and the future of manufacturing.

The future beyond success – delivery is not the end

This automation project for the hydraulic transfer process was not just about introducing equipment. Although this was IEC’s first hydraulic transfer project, it demonstrated its on-site responsiveness and technical capabilities, and led to the successful launch of the new plant in Mexico in collaboration with Kawasaki Heavy Industries’ Robot Division. In response to this achievement, the IEC has clearly stated its stance that “delivery is not the end”.

We opened a new office in Monterrey, Mexico this year, and we are also focusing on local after-sales support.