Munich, Germany — Car manufacturer BMW has 3D-printed polyu-rethane thumb guards to reduce strain when workers fit a particular component to vehicles. The aid was designed to prevent problems when worker fit a rubber plug into a hole left in the car's chassis for part of the production process. The guard acts like support brackets for the workers' thumbs and they are created as a custom orthotic device using a portable 3D camera. The camera captures the unique size and shape of each line worker's thumb before a version is printed from semi-flexible thermoplastic polyurethane.
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