Category Archives: Prototype

March 21, 2023

Kirksite is a zinc-based alloy used to create prototype and short run production tooling for automotive and aerospace parts. These tools are easily machined and the surfaces can be polished to a smooth finish. Our in-house kirksite foundry enables us to keep the entire process under our roof, from tooling to finished part. This allows us to produce foundry tooling and incorporate changes very quickly to meet your tight time frames.

Our foundry tooling equipment includes:

• Three Limberg MPH foundry furnaces with a 14,000 lb capacity
• One Limberg MPH feeder pot furnace with a 1,000 lb capacity
• Caster AR-Cel 300 air set sand machine
• 25 Ton overhead gantry crane
• 10 Ton overhead gantry crane

Kirksite has a rich manufacturing heritage and our in-house foundry tool capabilities allow us to create lower cost, quicker, minimal finishing castings on-site. We have a pour capacity of over 750,000 lbs a month with the ability to pour up to a 35,000 lb single casting.

Kirksite Metal Properties

Kirksite is a lower cost liquid metal option that requires minimal finishing while creating a very accurate cast.

• Ultimate tensile strength: 35,000 psi
• Brinell hardness: 100
• Density: 0.25 lb/cu in
• Solidification shrinkage: 0.12”/ft
• Melting range: 717-745^◦F
• Casting temperature: 800-850^◦F

Our Kirksite Process

The kirksite process can take 10-12 hours of continuously adding kirksite and torching it before a die is complete. This requires years of experience to know when the die is ready for the next step.

Our Foundry employs some of the most skilled tradesman in the industry. Using their many years of experience and vast knowledge, they create accurate molds through four main production stages:

• Prepare and set-up Styrofoam pattern
• Create die cavity with bio degradable binder and sand
• Pour molten kirksite metal to create casting
• Prepare casting for machining operation

Learn more about our Kirksite foundry here.

February 7, 2023

With more than 60 years of experience, 33 presses, and the ability to work with a wide range of metals, we can provide the automotive metal stamping servicesyou needs. We stamp everything from small brackets to closure panels, including full size body sides, floor panels, A-frames, hoods, and battery trays, among other parts. We are the only metal stamping company in the United States who has engineered a process that allows us to stamp complex parts in one piece, such as stainless steel lipskins for airplanes.

Our expertise goes beyond stamping a part and shipping it to you. We engineer the complete manufacturing process to ensure it is as efficient as possible. We utilize Autoform, a formability software for the engineering, evolution, and improvement of the sheet metal forming process, including spring back analysis. As a full-service sheet metal solutions provider, we understand the key to being a successful partner is more than just delivering a high-quality product on-time and work to anticipate your program needs.

Our Automotive Metal Stamping Capabilities

We provide automotive metal stamping to manufacture virtually any part you need. Our 33 presses range from 150 to 4,000 tons with bed sizes from 42” x 60” to 240” x 96”. Our equipment allows us to manufacture parts of various material specifications and thicknesses. This includes hand and coil fed transfer and tandem line presses. We feature a 2,500 ton coil fed transfer press allowing for a faster, more automated process for large stampings and assemblies. Our brake press uses v-tool forming, reducing tool costs for straight, less complex bends. We also have 500 and 600 ton presses with roll-out bolsters that use multiple dies and minimize change outs over time. Combined, this gives us the ability to stamp the parts you need to get your product to market faster.

Kirksite Foundry Tools

Each metal has its own set of unique specifications. We work with numerous advanced and exotic materials including:

• Aluminum, including bright or pre-painted
• Stainless steel, including polished or bright grades
• Carbon steels
• Boron steel
• Dual phase steel
• Advanced high strength steels, including martensite and TRIP
• Inconel®
• Waspaloy®
• Hastelloy®
• Titanium
• Magnesium
• All ferrous metals

Our experience with this wide range of metals and their distinctive properties is why we are one of the industry’s leaders in automotive metal stamping services. We go above and beyond simple stamp and ship projects. We are your partner for all your metal stamping and forming needs.

To learn more about our metal stamping capabilities, visit https://www.qmc-emi.com/capabilities/stamping/

#qmcemi #automotivemetalstamping #metalstamping #automotivestampingpress

January 10, 2023

We are a full service sheet metal supplier that specializes in aerospace and automotive welding. Our capabilities and experience span from simple fastener installation to automotive frame welding to full vehicle Body in White (BIW). We build tools, stamp, laser cut, measure, and assemble industry-leading metal frames. Our highly skilled technicians are qualified to AWS standards for GMAW, GTAW, MIG, TIG, and RSW processes. This range of welding technologies means we are ready for your next automotive frame welding program.

We specialize in both manual and robotic automotive welding, allowing us to customize the manufacturing process to give you the repeatability and flexibility you need.

Our welding technologies include:

• AC manual weld guns (RSW)
• DC manual and robotic weld guns with adaptive controls (RSW)
• Press welder for fasteners (RSW)
• Manual and robotic welders (MIG)
• Fronius “cold metal transfer” manual and robotic welders (CMT)
• Manual welding equipment (TIG)
• Laser welding
• Drawn arc stud welding

Laser Welding

Our  laser welder allows us to better assist you with programs requiring exotic welding, providing accurate, superior strength finishes. Laser welding is ideal for welding hard to reach areas, enabling precision and quality in previously inaccessible areas.

Manual Welding

Manual welding, a traditional process, is a lower cost alternative for low volume projects and assembly tooling. It requires less programming and a shorter start-up time, instead relying on the decades of experience and quality assurance of our experienced craftsmen.

Robotic Welding

Robotic welding is the newer, technology based approach for welding programs that require high repeatability, such as a BIW build up. There are many benefits of robotic welding, including:

• Reduced piece price over the life of the project
• Increased quality and repeatability in higher volume programs
• Increased rate and flow

In addition, we are able to test the repetitive dimensional quality of your program through a coordinate measuring machine (CMM) or scanning, ensuring repeatability is met. We also have automated weld tip dressing on all robotic cells, which allows us to reshape weld tips to meet specifications ensuring quality throughout the program.

Each of our three Centers of Excellence utilizes state-of-the-art equipment with capabilities for all of your advanced joining needs, making us a leader in automotive frame welding. From simple fastener installation to full vehicle BIW builds, our customers benefit from our rapid response, manual-driven processes, production intent, and robotically executed precision joining.

#qmcemi #automotivewelding #framewelding #sheetmetal #laserwelding #exoticmetals

August 10, 2022

Manufacturing is a customized process and each program has its own set of requirements. We have over 60 years of experience working with unique sheet metal forming and fabrication programs. We tailor our solutions to your program’s specific needs. From cutting and bending to stamping and assembling, each program is unique. We manage your complete program in-house, vertically integrating all processes and technologies while maintaining a single point of contact.

Our manufacturing experts work with a wide array of metals, forming:

• Aluminum, including bright or pre-painted
• Stainless steel, including polished or bright grades
• Carbon steels
• Boron steel
• Dual phase steel
• Advanced high strength steels, including martensite and TRIP
• Inconel®
• Waspaloy®
• Hastelloy®
• Titanium
• Magnesium
• All ferrous metals

Stamping

We have stamping presses to metal form virtually any part you need. Our 33 presses range from 150 to 4,000 tons with bed sizes from 42” x 60” to 240” x 96”. Our equipment allows us to manufacture parts of various material specifications and thicknesses. This includes hand and coil fed transfer and tandem line presses. We also have 500 and 600 ton presses with roll-out bolsters that use multiple dies and minimize change outs over time. Combined, this series of presses gives us the ability to stamp the parts you need to get your product to market faster.

Hot Stamping

Hot stamping is a different method than the traditional stamping we use for most of our programs. In a hot stamping application, we first heat the sheet metal to help form it. Hot stamping changes the chemical compound of the metal that has been stamped, making it stronger. This allows us to form higher strength materials without adding reinforcements, which add additional weight to the vehicle. It also allows us to use metals with higher yield and tensile properties.

This process is ideal for parts that are integral to the structure of the vehicle, such as B-pillar reinforcements. These parts protect passengers and take most of the vehicle load so it is important that they are very strong in case of an accident. Our hot stamping machines feature fully automatic robotic handling. This increases process repeatability and eliminates the occurrence of human error, increasing quality.

Our Capabilities

Our sheet metal business leverages old world techniques combined with the latest computer-controlled technology to bring your visions to reality. To provide complete services, our manufacturing capabilities include:

• Process engineering
• Kirksite foundry
• Tool machining
• Stamping
• Hot stamping
• Sheet metal fabrication
• Laser cutting
• Assembly

This range of services allow us to provide complete sheet metal forming and fabrication programs in-house, using our experience to provide you with a high quality product. Whether you need sheet metal fabrication for parts to assemble yourself or full BIW, we can design, build, and assemble your parts. 

We also develop custom assembly work cells based on your project’s specific needs to standardize processes and ensure consistent quality through the life of your project. These efficient processes allow for the rapid execution of product and process revisions, including managing master data files, incorporating working data files, and providing updates to all process documentation.

Read more about our full range of capabilities here.