Keyboard Builders' Digest / Tips & Tricks
Mineral trackball
Working on the next iteration of his Dactyl, u/spacecadetAlsoWizard used a sodalite sphere as trackball.
Published May 20, 2022
There are many details of spacecadetAlsoWizard's Dactyl project which stand out but one of them is arguably the trackball:
I just googled 45mm spheres until I find one I liked. This one is from https://www.stonesoftransformation.net.
The gloss finish was a problem for the sensor so he hit it with some 220 grit sandpaper and "it has actually been great to use so far".
More photos in the Reddit post.
Although sold out, the listing is still there on the site so we know this is a sodalite sphere.
According to Wikipedia, sodalite is a tectosilicate mineral with royal blue varieties widely used as an ornamental gemstone (although massive sodalite samples are opaque, crystals are usually transparent to translucent).
In case, while reading this, you were playing with the idea of making cool spheres like this one at home, here is the process and most importantly the machines you have to put next to your 3D printer:
Published on Fri 20th May 2022. Featured in KBD #79 (source).
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