I needed another corded mouse and this time around I thought of @PKL@mastodon.social and @pronk@mastodon.social instead of Logitech’s shareholders. These guys make open source mice among other open source hardware under the brand Ploopy. You can order one from them, assembled or as a kit, or you could print and build it entirely by yourself.
The mouse itself is pretty great. Coming from a long line of Logitech (MX518/G5/G500/G502), it’s a bit larger than what I’m used to but I think I’m getting accustomed to it.
Here’s another shot of it:
I bought a Ploopy Thumb a few years ago. I assembled it myself, and was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was (when actually following the instructions).
The small button on the right has broken twice, which wasn’t a problem because I just downloaded the stl file and reprinted the button assembly.
I wanted horizontal scrolling, so I used QMK to make the trackball a scroll wheel when the right side button is pressed (that may explain the faster button wear). It was surprisingly easy, and there was even a comment in the source code pointing out which line I should modify for horizontal scrolling support. I guess they expected people to want this feature.
The price is high, but I don’t expect to buy another mouse unless my needs change. The open source hardware and software is excellent, making repairability 10/10. The edges of the buttons are slightly rough, but I have the 3d printing files, so I get to choose what material it’s made of and what post processing / smoothing is used. It hasn’t bothered me enough to do anything about it.
While I can’t recommend a trackball mouse to anyone, I can recommend Ploopy. It’s one of the few products that I feel like I actually own.
Those layer lines look like a perfect place for all sorts of shit to gather and stick to.
If one has sweaty hands - stay away from 3D-printed / soft plastic shell mice.
I couldn’t agree more. I also hate when mice or keyboards can not be easily disassembled to be properly cleaned. In this case I guess it’s a matter of printing precision and/or material (don’t have my own printing experience, so maybe somebody else can comment on it)
Many people will say “just sand it down”. But the extruder-printed plastic is still going to be porous as heck. A perfect place for germs.
Personally, I’d use the 3D model to create a negative mold of sorts, and then cast it out of something more human-friendly. But I haven’t looked at the complexity of this model, this would have to be designed accordingly.
How do you usually do that?
Do you create a negative of the model digitally or take a mold of the printed parts?
What kinds of human-friendly materials do you use? And do you need any special equipment for it?
The adult toys community would have some guides. You print the object, cast the mold around it and then fill the void with silicone afaik.
I’ve got to say “Ploopy” is one of the absolute worst names I’ve ever seen. Before I even saw the picture, I thought “I bet it looks like shit.”
Opensource projects often have terrible names.
Gimp, libreoffice, lemmy, Apache… just the ones that come to mind.
Gimp is a funny acronym that explains exactly what the software does. Libreoffice also tells you exactly what the product is. Lemmy is quick, catchy, easy to remember, and has a story behind it. Apache is… pretty bad.
Ploopy is literally “poopy” with an extra letter.
Gimp refers to sexual exploitation. Often the “exploited” is a willing participant but often not. Regardless it’s “funny” the way a 12 year old finds drawing dicks on things funny.
Libreoffice only tells geeks exactly what the product is. My team, who uses Libreoffice, couldn’t explain what Libre means, and no one can pronounce it.
Being quick and catchy is a pretty low bar. No one knows or cares about the story behind Lemmy. It sounds silly in conversation.
Gimp refers to sexual exploitation.
Like CBT and dozens of other terms, those damn psychologists and their Cock and Ball Torture.
Libreoffice only tells geeks exactly what the product is. My team, who uses Libreoffice, couldn’t explain what Libre means, and no one can pronounce it.
Not sure if this is serious or not ?
If they’re illiterate perhaps wider reading beyond Manga would help?
Gimp refers to sexual exploitation.
No, it doesn’t.
Libreoffice only tells geeks exactly what the product is.
The target market is primarily geeks.
no one can pronounce it.
Sounds like your coworkers should expand their horizons. Libre is a common word in (at least) 2 widely spoken languages.
Being quick and catchy is a pretty low bar.
Not when you’re naming a product. You think its hard to get people to use Lemmy, imagine trying to sell them on “Federated Link Aggregater Website.”
It sounds silly in conversation.
As does Google, Instagram, and Tiktok but they at least managed to pick silly sounding names that don’t sound like a child trying to describe a loose bowel movement.
Isn’t there severe issues with micro plastics doing this? Serious question. I’ve just heard in general on 3d prints that they’re more prone to shedding.
need to take it real old, print it in abs and do a vapor smoothing in acetone.
You could also print this in a goo printer and not have the issue.
Interesting. I always wondered if the same rule applied to the ‘goo’ type as my friend has one.
Super cool and I totally see the appeal, but at nearly 3x the price of my Logitech g502 for a 3d printed mouse with a technically inferior sensor, it’s a big ask.
