Recap

For a general project recap, I am designing a mouse to replace my personal Logitech G502 shown below. I have had this mouse for a very long time now, and the software has stopped working. Additionally, I want a mouse with similar customizeability but with a cleaner, more professional aesthetic. I do still want the mouse to pop and be fun though, not simply being a dull grey or black.

I am designing a mouse in the aesthetic of ‘neumorphic’, a popular tech aesthetic which has become prevalent in recent years. It features soft drop shadows and indent appearances, with either white or black as the primary colors, grey as a secondary, and purple or blue as an accent. Text is typically very thin and elegant in typesetting. Some good examples are shown below.

Update

I have spent significant time iterating and prototyping the mouse in the past weeks. Although the shape may look very similar, there have been specific tweaks to the outer contouring to accomplish the desired fit in my hand. After all, I do want to enjoy the mouse (once it hopefully works). Here are two screenshots comparing different versions:

The teal checkered version has been the one I have been recently iterating on, adding the clicker cuts and special contouring to both fit the aesthetic and my hands.

While it may not seem impressive initially, this project has been made using ‘master modeling’, the practice of inserting part files into other part files, so despite any one given version only having a feature tree of a bit over a page long, there are multiple ancestral parts that are used in generating the next. So, in reality, the fully nested feature tree for this one mouse likely spans at least 3 pages, almost definitely more.

This is the current version as it stands.

While I have definitely improved with my surfacing skills substantially since the project began, I still struggle to build a 100% future-edit-proof robust part (which I am realizing is really not possible with SolidWorks). I am beginn9ng to feel the stress of the semester, and debating what aspects to focus on in order to balance functionality with aesthetics. While I know I could create a really pretty final product if I abandon making it real and functional, I do not want to do that since I legitamately want a new mouse.

Another relevant update is I just ordered the basic electronics from Adafruit. I have very little electronics integration experience, and less circuitPython and ArduinoC experience, so if anyone wants to help me figure out that aspect, please get in contact! Here are the order details (I know I am missing a scroll and optical sensor)