Asahi Kasei will be investing in Castor Technologies Ltd. (CASTOR), an Israeli startup that specialises in the development of 3D printing software. The investment will allow also Asahi Kasei utilise CASTOR’s software and services. The Group will also be able to pursue synergies between its CAE (Computer Aided Engineering) technical service for plastic products and CASTOR’s software.
An engineer has to usually select the parts where 3D printing can be used while sometimes modifying the shape to enhance 3D printability whereas CASTOR’s software uses a proprietary algorithm. This helps in selecting parts that are suitable for 3D printing from CAD drawings of thousands of parts in a bill of materials (BOM) and proposing shape modifications.
The manufacturing process is further optimised by features that help estimate manufacturing lead times, costs, and CO2 emissions of the analyzed parts.
The CAE technical services provided by Asahi Kasei focuses on engineering plastics and provides comprehensive, high-precision support to the customer’s product design and development. CASTOR’s service for simple judgment of part formability and simulation of manufacturing costs is expected to enable an even swifter response to customer inquiries. Application of CASTOR’s software and service prior to Asahi Kasei’s plastic CAE technical service will contribute to automating more advanced simulations.
Yukihiro Bann, Senior General Manager for Business Strategy and Marketing, Mobility & Industrial SBU at Asahi Kasei Corp stated that the company aims to provide its customers with more advanced and automated real-time simulations and an expanded range of technical services. Hence, the investment will investigate the synergies between CASTOR’s software and Asahi Kasei’s CAE expertise.