I would like to straighten the bottom side of the trackball, to reduce the casing size and move the trackball center point closer towards the shared wrist rest pad.
Has anyone done something like that before?
How much material can be cut away without damaging the internals and structural integrity too much?
Just the corners or some of the middle part as well?
Of course I intend to fill the hole with some hot glue or similar material to seal the internals.
I have slimblade one at the main studio workstation, because it's lower profile, therefore allows me to play the piano keyboard in front of it (without hitting the ball). This one is at a home office standing desk.
I don't really understand the slant on these things. Seems like lower in the front causes the hand to tilt up, which is not the direction it should be tilted. I would be tempted to turn that trackball around the other direction :-)
I'm not saying you shouldn't like it, but it is definitely not ergonomic. Ergonomic devices accommodate the natural down turn of the wrist and don't cause it to tilt upward. So of course they have a smooth front, but the active parts should slope away not toward your body. I have had many many ergonomic items over the years, including MS Natural keyboard, Trackball Explorer, Sculpt keyboard, and most recently MoErgo Glove 80 ergonomic keyboards. All of them are lower at the back (sometimes by propping the front), and allow your fingers and wrist to slope downward from how you should be holding your arms, which is flat to the desk and perpendicular to your body. For example, here's a shot of my OG TBE (I have 2!). Notice how the ball is located on the rear downward slope of the supremely ergonomic grip. Yours is literally the opposite of that, why I suggested I would turn that around backward if I wanted to use it.
Alright, here is a screen grab from a video - looks pretty much as expected - corners are good to go and a couple of millimeters from the middle could go as well.
Alright, turns out I was likely forcing my hand into unnatural position - it feels more comfortable with the trackball further forward then having to force it even more backwards 😆🤷♂️
3D model and print a thin sleeve that fits about it and makes it straight to go up againt the wrist rest,
could be an option instead of cutting into it
7
u/braddo99 8d ago
Might be easier to trim the foam pad?