Case Study: Kimura Foundry America achieves rapid, high-quality prototype castings with ExOne binder-jet 3D printers

Global Foundry Group Grows Business with Sand 3D Printing Innovation

Kimura Foundry America, the U.S. arm of the Kimura Foundry Group, needed to deliver high‑quality prototype and low‑volume ferrous castings with very fast turnaround times—even for complex geometries and high‑temperature pours. To address this, the company built a new Shelbyville, IN facility around ExOne binder‑jet sand 3D printing, installing two ExOne S‑Max® machines and one ExOne S‑Print® to produce sand molds and cores in‑house.

By deploying ExOne binder‑jet printers together with a patented artificial ceramic sand and a closed recycling system, Kimura eliminated veining and burn‑in defects, achieved 99% material reuse, and reduced prototype lead times from about 40 days to roughly five days (an eightfold improvement). Integrated ExOne printing plus in‑house simulation, inspection, heat treatment and finishing enabled larger, more complex molds (e.g., 2,012 lb) with tighter accuracy, lower cost and faster iterations—contributing to significant business growth (the parent company saw >500% revenue growth over five years after investing in ExOne).

Kimura Foundry America

Yoya Fukuda