US-based
Desktop Metal Inc recently announced the sale of a 10th digital sand 3-D printer to the
Kimura Foundry Group (KFG), a global network of foundries that uses ‘cutting-edge equipment’ to deliver high volumes of high-quality castings.
Following the purchase of a new S-Max, Kimura Foundry Group now owns the largest number of ExOne systems globally; ExOne, which was acquired by Desktop Metal in late 2021, is the leading digital sand printing solution provider for foundries.
The Kimura Foundry Group fully embraces ‘additive manufacturing as the cornerstone of the next industrial revolution’. In the first five years after investing in its first ExOne sand binder jetting machines in 2013, the company’s revenue increased more than 500% as a result of the speed and design freedom the new system provided.
To deliver rapid casting solutions for R&D prototypes and aftermarket parts, Kimura successfully launched its Direct Moulding Process with six ExOne binder jetting systems at several facilities in Japan. The company expanded globally, establishing Kimura Foundry America in 2018 and building a new foundry in Shelbyville, Indiana around the ExOne sand binder jetting process.
Traditional casting processes require waiting almost 40 days for tooling. Today, with the ability to offer end-to-end rapid prototyping in-house, Kimura 3-D prints moulds and cores in patented ceramic sand and can produce prototype castings within five days.
A new S-Max system set to be installed this year will be the third S-Max platform printer in the USA and the 10th ExOne sand binder jetting system for the company globally. For production flexibility, Kimura Foundry America also owns an ExOne S-Print with phenolic binder to process speciality castings with high-temperature alloys.
Yoya Fukuda, the president of Kimura Foundry America, said: “When we started with this technology, we researched digital sand casting printers from around the world and chose ExOne for their high-end technology that delivered top-quality prints.”
Ric Fulop, Desktop Metal’s co-founder and CEO, said: “We are honoured that Kimura, a foundry company with such high-quality standards, continues to make us their choice for digital casting solutions. Kimura Foundry Group is truly leading the way in production use of additive manufacturing, and they are an important partner in our mission to demonstrate the benefits of Additive Manufacturing 2.0 across all industries.”