3D printable OM-5 thumb rest replacement pad
Creative Commons - Attribution
This is a 3D printable replacement for the OM System OM-5 thumb rest pad, which tends to detach and get lost especially when the camera has been exposed to humidity. The pad was created for the first-gen OM-5, but should also fit the second-generation. Unless I'm mistaken, it will not fit the Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III and predecessors.
This has to be printed in a flexible or elastic filament, the softer the better. I used NinjaFlex ‘Midnight Black’.
The pad is available in multiple variations: a smooth one, one with vertical ribs, and one with blocks for maximum grip (shown in the above photo).
These variants are each available in 2 thicknesses. The thick variants are recommended if the adhesive layer that held the original pad is also gone. Otherwise, the regular thickness variants should be optimal, but in the end you could just print both thicknesses and see what fits best.
If the original adhesive is still on the camera and is still in good condition, you might rely on it to keep the new pad in place. However, given that it did not manage to hold on the original pad, you may want to apply some extra glue anyhow.
The pad needs to be glued in place with a strong glue that bonds well to the filament being used. I used Bison Max Repair, it has yet to be seen how durable this is. Another option is to use a good double-sided adhesive tape, which may require removing the original adhesive layer to maintain a good overall thickness.
If the original adhesive has lost its stickiness, clean it, as well as the print, with isopropanol or another degreasing agent before applying new glue/tape for optimal adhesion.
The way I created this, was by scanning a rough outline of the pad created by rubbing a sheet of paper across the surface, and then iteratively printing and tweaking the shape as an SVG image until the fit was satisfactory.
The SVG outline and Blender source are available, should you want to make your own variant.
You may sell prints of this model, but the CC Attribution license requires to provide a visible reference to this Git repository to be included both on your store page as well as on a piece of paper included with the physical print.
OM-5, om_system, camera, MFT, thumb, pad, replacement