#3Dstartup: CASTOR on unlocking the benefits of industrial 3D printing

Our 3D startup of the month, CASTOR, comes from Israel and has developed a software solution to help manufacturers reduce their lead times and manufacturing costs in 3D printing. Its objective is to take advantage of all the benefits of additive manufacturing and to allow manufacturers to be more competitive. With this solution, users can analyze and determine the printability of a part, choose the right technology and material, and retrieve real-time data on the performance of printed parts. We met with Omer Blaier, CASTOR’s CEO, to learn more about how this platform works and the benefits it can bring to each industry.

3DN: Can you present yourself and tell us about your relationship with 3D printing?

Omer Blaier

My name is Omer Blaier and I am the CEO of CASTOR. I am a Mechanical Engineer and I hold an MBA in Entrepreneurship and Innovation, both from Tel Aviv University. I entered the world of 3D printing about ten years ago when I started working at Objet Geometries (later merged with Stratasys). As R&D Project Manager I used to initiate, plan, execute and deliver new products to the market.

3DN: How did the idea of creating CASTOR come up? Who is it for?

The key to building a successful product is to listen to people’s needs and what I discovered throughout this decade in the field is that manufacturers are either not up to speed with the leaps of 3D printing technology or do not have the in-house expertise to take advantage of this progress. This is how the idea for the CASTOR software was born. The next step was getting together the right people. That was easy, I first met Elad Schiller and David Calderon 18 years ago while serving the Israeli Air Force and we stuck together ever since. Aside from trust, I knew they had the technical and business acumen needed to build CASTOR.