Kimura Foundry America Inc., Shelbyville, IN, has installed a 440-lb. capacity Thermtronix furnace for melting aluminum alloys – adding a new dimension to its metalcasting profile. The company was established in 2018, and expanded in 2021, melting and casting a range of ferrous materials: gray and ductile iron, compacted-graphite iron (CGI), heat-resistant Ni-resist alloys, steel and stainless steel, and other specialty alloys.
According to a statement, adding aluminum castings to this portfolio will place KFA in a “unique position in the North American foundry business.”
Kimura Foundry Group is a Japanese group with three foundries in Japan producing ferrous castings for dies for stamping and diecasting, machine tool beds and frame structures, automotive engine parts, pumps, compressors and energy industry components. It also operates three pattern shops and three specialty-machining operations.
The Indiana plant also is notable for relying entirely on 3D-printed sand patterns and molds to produce rapid prototypes and small-lot castings, for automakers and their suppliers; manufacturers of engines, industrial pumps, and machine tools; suppliers of agricultural, mining, and off-road equipment; and oil-and-gas and renewable energy projects.
The addition of aluminum casting follows a recognition that many of KFA’s customers for iron and steel castings also have a need for aluminum components, with quick turnaround times. It also matches a rising level of demand for aluminum castings from automotive, aerospace, and construction machinery sectors.