Break your arm, print a cast

If you break your arm and need a cast you typically have friends write personal messages on the cast. Now there's an app for that: app #CAST, created by the FATHOM design team.  But instead of a plaster cast covered with ink, the messages form the cast itself.

The messages are gathered from personal wishes collected through social networks. The arm (or leg) is scanned. The characters are fit to form the custom cast. The unique cast is printed in breathable nylon material and delivered to the medical facility to be fitted there. To see this process watch the video.

FATHOM creates denser letter groups around the break, where more support is needed, and creates airier sections where support is less critical. This flexibility to customize the cast density creates a breathable, lighter, and all around more comfortable cast. And it's built out of personal messages.

Rhino was used to experiment with different methods of translating the text to the case surface.

Interview with Ava DeCapri, CAST industrial designer...