Castem & Casting News for November and December
Merry Christmas! This is Castem Co., Ltd.
There is only one week left in the year🎄
The Castem entrance and cafeteria are fully decorated for Christmas✨
The illuminations near the entrance and the main office entrance were beautifully decorated by our new employees🎄✨ Thank you very much!🙌
Well, let's look back on this year while it's still this year!
This time, we are sending you the Castem & Casting News for November and December combined🙌
[November & December Castem News]
First, some new product information!
Launch of the Finger Assister to assist with endoscopic procedure tool operation
We have released the "Finger Assister®," an auxiliary tool that makes operating endoscopic procedure tools easier. It was developed under the supervision of Professor Seiichi Nakajima of the Department of Next-Generation Endoscopic Intervention at Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, and Mr. Ippei Matsuzaki and Ms. Mafu Tsunemi of Yamashita Hospital (Ichinomiya City, Aichi Prefecture), utilizing the development platform of the university's Next-Generation Endoscopic Intervention (Project ENGINE).
Now on sale on our EC site!
At Castem, the Wellness Development Office of the Co-Creation Development Department, which was established this year, is actively working on the development of medical device-related products, as well as nursing care, health, and beauty-related products in collaboration with medical institutions and universities🏥🩺
Please look forward to seeing what kind of products will appear in the future🌟
[Childhood Dreams Come True] You too can become a pilot of Mazinger Z!
The gift shop "meta mate Eslite Spectrum Nihonbashi Store" (operated by Castem) (https://www.metamate.co.jp/) has launched a service called "You too can be a Mazinger Z pilot (from 33,000 yen including tax)" where you can create an original figure of yourself as a Mazinger Z pilot. This is a store-exclusive product, and reservations for figure creation are also accepted via LINE (https://page.line.me/187kvmtm)!
It is a dream-like product where you can become a pilot by being turned into a figure using the state-of-the-art full-color high-spec 3D printer "Stratasys J850"😯✨
By the way, Castem is the only company in Japan that has three of this series of 3D printers✨
The original author, Go Nagai, also experienced it!
Pilder On your heart of justice! (I wanted to say that once)
Jewelry brand KOHKOH wins the Audience Award for the second consecutive year at one of Japan's largest designer jewelry events
The jewelry brand KOHKOH operated by Castem has won the "Audience Award" at the "BEST JEWELRY PRIZE 2025" held during "New Jewelry TOKYO 2025," one of Japan's largest designer jewelry events, at SPIRAL in Aoyama, Tokyo!! \( ‘ω’)／\( ‘ω’)／
The Audience Award is chosen by votes from visitors. This marks our second consecutive win following last year!
KOHKOH continues to create a new era of jewelry by reusing mother-of-pearl shells that are typically discarded. We exhibited many sustainable jewelry pieces this time as well!
Here is a quick look at some of the exhibits💎
The brown spheres used in this necklace are actually made of shell! They are created by pulverizing and sintering mother-of-pearl shells that are usually discarded during the pearl cultivation process.
At first glance, they look like wood or resin, don't they...!
This "Powder Pearl" series is the realization of a concept we have held since the brand's inception: "We want to make the most of the mother-of-pearl itself as jewelry until the very end." It is a series unique to KOHKOH, born from respect for materials and a spirit of challenge💎
At the event, we also participated in a project themed around the flora and fauna of Borneo, a treasure trove of biodiversity. We created and exhibited a piece shaped like the endangered Bornean elephant using white mother-of-pearl.
Through our jewelry, we aim to create opportunities for people to learn about the current state of rapidly disappearing primeval forests and the animals that live there.
The Bornean elephant jewelry is so cute~~🐘
Fukuyama City Zoo in Fukuyama City, Hiroshima Prefecture, where Castem's headquarters is located, is home to "Fuku," the only Bornean elephant in Japan. We hope this jewelry serves as a way to learn about the current situation of the primeval forests and animals in Borneo, Fuku's home.🙏
https://www.fukuyamazoo.jp/index.php
Next up, two consecutive pieces of new product information from Iron Factory!
[Verification] If we turn a hammerhead shark into metal, can it drive a nail?
🦈Launching the Hammerhead Shark Hammer and Shark Head Hammer!🦈
(Try saying that fast)
The "hammerhead shark" gets its name from its distinctive hammer-like head shape.
In other words, this hammer was born from the idea: "If we turn a hammerhead shark into metal, couldn't we actually drive a nail with a hammerhead?"
A hammer that prioritizes appearance and ignores ease of use. It might be hard to hold at first, but once you get used to it, you'll definitely find a place where your fingers fit...
And, as the name suggests, since the head is shaped like a hammer, it can drive nails firmly.
On the other hand, the "Shark Head Hammer" is a product where the head of a "Great White Shark" has become a hammer. The great white shark is one of the most famous sharks in the world... Its terrifying fangs are also faithfully reproduced in metal. A hammer with overwhelming weight and presence. Since it also comes with a wooden handle, it is easy to hold, andit is simply very easy to drive nails with.
Which hammer will you choose: "fun-focused" or "ease-of-use-focused?"
Recommended for DIY and outdoor enthusiasts, as well as true shark lovers! 🦈
【Domestic Sales Site】
・Rakuten Ichiba (Japan)
https://item.rakuten.co.jp/ironfactory-castem/189/
・Amazon (Japan)
https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B0G6KBDQ74
【Yomiuri Giants】 Wear proof of your fandom, the Giants Belt is here
A must-see for Giants fans! We have commercialized the "Giants Belt," featuring the YG logo of the professional baseball team "Yomiuri Giants" as a stainless steel buckle! 🐰 Using our lost-wax precision casting technology, we have reproduced an elegant luster through barrel polishing... ✨
Because it combines texture, design, and durability, it is also attractive for long-term use regardless of the season.“Add the Giants to your usual style”. An item that is useful in various situations and adds your own personal cheering style to your daily life. It is on sale at various EC sites!
【Sales Site】
・Rakuten Ichiba
https://item.rakuten.co.jp/ironfactory-castem/089/
・Amazon
https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B0G34FN1YY
・Castem EC Site
https://www.ironfactory-castem.com/SHOP/CI10070.html
Complete record of Hanshin player Umeno's Japanese record-breaking plane! "Origami Airplane: Distance Type Special" published
Takuo Toda, Chairman of the Origami Airplane Association and President of Castem, has released a book that completely records the "Japanese distance record-breaking paper airplane""Origami Airplane: Distance Type Special"from Ikada-sha!
"Ume-chan Bazooka"It completely records the aircraft that achieved the new Japanese record of 64.652m, with Hanshin Tigers player Ryutaro Umeno, known for his, serving as the thrower ✈
As for why the Origami Airplane Association and Hanshin's Umeno player connected... ☞
Nobuaki Fujiwara, a Castem office manager who has served as the association's secretary-general for many years, set the Japanese origami airplane distance record of 61.82m in 2016. While continuing to challenge the world record after that, he felt the limits of his physical strength, and thena story about a world record challenge in partnership with Hanshin Tigers player Ryutaro Umenocame in.
Acting Office Manager Fujiwara was in charge of supervision, such as the production of the origami airplane, and on December 16, 2024, they challenged the Guinness World Record of 88.318m with Umeno's throw. Although the result narrowly missed the world record,they updated the Japanese record to 64.652m.
In this book, in addition to this record-breaking aircraft fully supervised by the Origami Airplane Association, we will introduce the aircraft used when Acting Office Manager Fujiwara updated the Japanese record!
How about it as a gift for that child who loves paper airplanes? ✈
Origami Airplane Distance Type Special - Ikada-sha Co., Ltd. Publisher of play books
[Extra Edition]
The movie "Glory's Back Home," filmed in Fukuyama City, has been released!
Actually, Castem provided cooperation for the filming! ＼( ‘ω’)／
Please enjoy it at the theater! 🎵
[Casting News]
NBK (Nabeya Bi-tech) makes incense holders and weights out of castings
Nabeya Bi-tech (Seki City, Gifu Prefecture), which handles cast parts, announced on the 22nd that it has begun developing consumer products using casting technology. As a first step, it has started online sales of incense holders and paperweights on its own website. These products were commercialized based on the free ideas and concepts of employees as a new application for castings that goes beyond industrial products.
☞ The mountain shapes and naming are lovely... ✨ It seems they were born from training where new employees freely plan the castings they want to make. 🙌 At Castem, new employees also create rose-themed goods unique to Fukuyama, the "City of Roses," every year during training for our new business division, "Iron Factory," and sell them at the Fukuyama Rose Festival in May. 🌹
The 2nd DX Conference from the Manufacturing Floor: Date Announced!
On February 20, 2026, the "2nd DX Conference from the Manufacturing Floor" will be held at Portmesse Nagoya. While DX initiatives are considered important in manufacturing, realities and challenges such as "return on investment is not balanced" and "the introduced system does not match actual on-site work or is not being used effectively by the staff" are frequently seen. On the other hand, it is said that an increasing number of companies are taking effective approaches to these issues. 💡
The conference will feature lectures from AISIN CORPORATION, Daikin Industries, Ltd., and Toyota Motor Corporation, as well as case study presentations from Aisin Takaoka Co., Ltd. and SUBARU CORPORATION.
☞ Amidst labor shortages and a declining birthrate, the perspective of DX is important not only for manufacturing companies but for all companies! ✨
At Castem, our ICT department and various production sites are also steadily advancing DX. 💪
The conference seems like a valuable opportunity to learn about effective DX from the front lines! 👀!
"Tominaga is here too!?" The surprisingly familiar world of casting!
An introductory article about "Tominaga" found on the Kochi Bank blog, which shines with a spirit of inquiry and playfulness in manufacturing. You can see their spirit of inquiry into manufacturing, never forgetting a sense of playfulness, such as holding an employee cooking contest using Tominaga frying pans made secretly in-house, thinking up and actually shaping designs for design manholes, or even grilling meat on prototype yakiniku plates during lunch.
☞ I'm very curious about the "Tominaga frying pan made secretly in-house"! 👀
The "Tomineko" cat, which was cast as a wheel stop, is also cute... 🐈🐈
By the way, here is the page for our own playfulness-filled "Iron Factory"
➡Mail-order site where you can enjoy manufacturing to the fullest | IRON FACTORY
Nippon Chuzo establishes one of Japan's largest metal 3D printers. Utilizing it for "cast-in materials" and expanding sales for semiconductor-related applications
Nippon Chuzo K.K. announced that it will invest 300 million yen to install one of Japan's largest metal3D printersat its Kawasaki Plant (Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture). It will be used mainly as a component (cast-in material) to be embedded in advance in areas where defects are likely to occur during in-house casting, leading toquality improvementin casting manufacturing. They will also sell them externally as components for semiconductor manufacturing equipment, aiming for annual external sales of 100 million yen by fiscal year 2028. Construction will be completed next March, and operations will begin in April.
☞ It's said to be one of the largest powder-bed 3D printers in Japan! 👀! I'd love to see it once. ✨
The introduction and expansion of AM technology on the manufacturing floor seems likely to accelerate even further in 2026!
Click here for an article about Castem's metal AM
➡Mold-less casting technology and AM (metal 3D printing) technology | Castem Co., Ltd.
That concludes the final Castem & Casting News of the year! 🌟
What kind of year was 2025 for you?
55th anniversary of our founding, many new product launches, World Rose Convention Fukuyama, publication of the president's book, strong performance of Digital Cast®, and winning the KOHKOH award for two consecutive years...and so on, it was a year with countless events for Castem as well. ✨
We, the employees, will continue to do our best to deliver happy casting news in 2026! 💪
Wishing you all a happy New Year! 🎍
See you in next year's article! ~✨