Open source computer mouse by Ploopy
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pretty stupid that we can print in 3 dimensions well, while 2-dimension remains locked behind capitalism.
wrote last edited by [email protected]I have written a more detailed comment on it before, but 2d printing is much more technically complicated than 3D printing, and the resolution is literally an order of magnitude difference (0.2mm vs <42um) and the printer has to print full color on any surface with microdots in a very very short time. People would throw the printer out if it took 10 minutes for a single paper like a large first layer takes in 3D printing.
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I needed another corded mouse and this time around I thought of @[email protected] and @[email protected] 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:
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.
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I needed another corded mouse and this time around I thought of @[email protected] and @[email protected] 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've been using this mouse for almost a year now. No complaints.
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I needed another corded mouse and this time around I thought of @[email protected] and @[email protected] 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:
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.
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What is your experience with the scroll wheel? Some time ago I was interessted in a Ploopy but the non clicky scrollwheel put me off.
I have the same mouse, and that scroll wheel is unusable. It requires a ton of effort to just scroll tiny amounts because the sensitivity is waaay too low and it cannot be adjusted. The rest of the mouse is really nice because it runs QMK.
I set up drag scrolling as a workaround for the shitty scroll wheel, which allows you to press a button (or a combination of buttons) and then use the mouse's optical sensor as an omnidirectional scrolling device until you release the button.
I set that up on my Ploopy Adept hand trackball mouse as well. It's my favorite mouse I've ever used.
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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.
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The mouse stays in one location with grippy feet and the trackball moves the cursor. There is no sensor for mouse movement. It does take a while to get used to.
The reason I chose it was that I didn't have enough desk space to move a mouse. I barely even had enough space to put the mouse. Now that I've moved house, I just like the novelty. It's not as accurate as a regular mouse.
I would love a mouse that could do both regular movement and trackball movement so I could have 4 axis inputs. Sadly, I haven't found any like that.
It's not as accurate as a regular mouse.
This is not true of all trackballs. Some can be more accurate than a mouse with the push of a button.
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Theoretically, you can mold it to fit your hand but the tolerances and mountings make that a hassle.
As for the print itself? Most people just do a quick print and have the telltale ridges from layers. But you can futz with settings to improve the smoothness or just finish the print itself. At which point it is not going to be as smooth as injection molding but it will be more "different" than "bad".
Stupid question from someone who’s never 3d printed anything - can you just sand these things smoother?
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Ploopy fills my hand really well
“I like resting my hand on my Ploopy”
It almost sounds like a vintage game sound, like “bleep bloop”, but worse, fecally worse.
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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)
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All Ploopy's stuff looks rough. I think they're 3D-printing them. Maybe one day they'll progress to something that gives a nicer result.
I was looking at their trackballs but the ambidextrous ones look awkwardly tiny and have rattly bearings, in addition to the rough finish. I support what they're doing but I wish the products were a bit less prototypey.
The whole point is that it’s open source and they want people to be able to print them themselves.
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I have written a more detailed comment on it before, but 2d printing is much more technically complicated than 3D printing, and the resolution is literally an order of magnitude difference (0.2mm vs <42um) and the printer has to print full color on any surface with microdots in a very very short time. People would throw the printer out if it took 10 minutes for a single paper like a large first layer takes in 3D printing.
We were ok with dot matrix printers. We are and will be ok with black and white prints. Open Source community will be ok with a slow and ugly print. The company just need to allow their monopoly to be broken. I don't think they will.
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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.
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Stupid question from someone who’s never 3d printed anything - can you just sand these things smoother?
It depends how it was printed.
As a SUPER simplified basic: Any 3d print consists of walls/perimeters and infill. The walls are the exterior surfaces of the print. The infill is what is inside. And the vast majority of prints tend to be sparse infills. So rather than solid plastic beneath those walls, you mostly just have air and a mesh structure of some form.
So if the wall is thick enough (generally referred to as "number of walls")? Sure. If it isn't? You'll just see the void inside the shell itself and make things much worse.
What is generally done to reduce "3d printed texture" is a mixture of smaller print layers (so the ridges are much thinner), printing with more walls, and actually lightly melting the exterior surface (either through chemicals or heat).
VKB are probably the kings of the mid-range sicko HOTAS market and I am like 90% certain they 3d print the shell of their sticks for the Gladiator (?). But they do such a good job that I genuinely can't be certain. Whereas the vast majority of ploopy builds... aren't that.
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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."
I'm sorry but that's such a ploopy take. You can't just judge something by it's name
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I needed another corded mouse and this time around I thought of @[email protected] and @[email protected] 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:
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Opensource projects often have terrible names.
Gimp, libreoffice, lemmy, Apache... just the ones that come to mind.
the fuck is wrong with LibreOffice?
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Now do printers.
I often wonder how difficult it would be to create an aftermarket control board for existing printers.
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I needed another corded mouse and this time around I thought of @[email protected] and @[email protected] 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 am also a big fan of the MX518 lineage mice, so I hope someone make a version that has that shape. When Logitech released an updated MX518 several years back I bought a couple of them, so I will be good for years hopefully.
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I needed another corded mouse and this time around I thought of @[email protected] and @[email protected] 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'm waiting for my MX to die to get one! I really like the idea of open hardware and this looks like a good mouse.
