# Dr. Emil Somekh

> Dr. Emil Somekh is the founder and CEO of SolidCAM, established in 1984. His career connects structural engineering, computer graphics, aircraft software and university teaching with integrated computer-aided manufacturing. His first-person memoirs describe how customer encounters, family advice and technical partnerships shaped CADTOOL, SolidCAM and iMachining; his recent work focuses on connected shop floors and manufacturing AI.

- **Role:** Founder and CEO at SolidCAM
- **Organizations:** SolidCAM, Israel Aircraft Industries, Bar-Ilan University
- **Education:** B.Sc.; graduated first in his class, summa cum laude, according to his memoir, Al-Hikma University, Baghdad, Master of Engineering; thesis on computer graphics applications in structural CAD, University of Toronto, Doctor of Science; interactive structural optimization, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology
- **Known for:** Founded SolidCAM in 1984 and led its expansion into international CAM markets., Developed CADTOOL for vocational education; his memoir reports approximately 6,000 installations in Israel over subsequent years., Led SolidCAM’s strategy of integrating CAM with existing CAD platforms, including SOLIDWORKS and Autodesk Inventor.

## Career timeline

- **1968** — Completed his B.Sc. at Al-Hikma University in Baghdad.
- **1970** — Escaped Iraq through Iran and reached Toronto to begin graduate engineering studies.
- **1971** — Completed graduate studies in Toronto; later moved to Israel and worked at Israel Aircraft Industries.
- **1979** — Completed doctoral studies at Technion; also taught microprocessors and CAD part-time at Bar-Ilan University.
- **1984** — Founded the business that became SolidCAM; developed CADTOOL for vocational education from his apartment.
- **1996** — Launched the SolidCAM product with its own ACIS-based CAD modeler.
- **1997** — Launched SolidCAM integration with Bentley MicroStation.
- **2002** — Launched SOLIDWORKS integration at its worldwide reseller conference in Las Vegas.
- **2003** — SolidCAM received SOLIDWORKS Gold certification.
- **2005** — Launched integration with Autodesk Inventor.
- **2006** — A restaurant meeting with Mickey Berman helped initiate the iMachining development project.
- **2011** — Released iMachining 2D.
- **2013** — Released iMachining 3D.
- **2024** — SolidShop officially launched, according to Somekh’s July 2025 account.
- **2026** — Continued promoting integrated CAM, SolidShop and manufacturing AI through customer visits and international events.

## Achievements

- Founded SolidCAM in 1984 and led its expansion into international CAM markets.
- Developed CADTOOL for vocational education; his memoir reports approximately 6,000 installations in Israel over subsequent years.
- Led SolidCAM’s strategy of integrating CAM with existing CAD platforms, including SOLIDWORKS and Autodesk Inventor.
- Led the company during the development and commercial launch of iMachining in 2011.
- Encouraged the formation of ModuleWorks and committed SolidCAM as its first customer, according to his account of the partnership.
- Extended the company’s work into connected shop-floor software through SolidShop.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — Published an October 7 account of Tech 7’s SolidShop implementation, Priority One ERP integration and planned next step with WizChat.
- **2026-10** — Published an October 3 account of a visit to Werkma AG in Switzerland with C-Works reseller Markus Roth and Werkma owner Philippe Karrer.
- **2026-10** — Described the mbDESIGN collaboration at AMB 2026, including a McLaren 720S display and live wheel machining.
- **2026-09** — Published a September 23 recap of SolidCAM at IMTS 2026 in Chicago, covering CAM, SolidShop and manufacturing AI.

## Links

- Website: https://emilsomekh.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilsomekh/
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/solidcamimachining
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emil.somekh

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/emil-somekh
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-25