Mouse Pad Idea...

[_Buchwald_]

Hi, I'm new to the forums and to modding in general. I was wondering if a laser or LED mouse would work on an a glossy black surface.

My idea is to take a piece of sheet metal, I have an old case I can cannibalize, sanding it down and painting it glossy black, using one of the numerous guides on this forum, and then mounting that onto maybe a piece of 1/4" - 1/2" acrylic. In the bottom of the acrylic I would mount a light, possibly a round cold cathode from one of those cold cathode fans, and affix the painted sheet metal in such a way to add feet to it, so that it can sit above the surface it is placed on. I haven't really thought too much into how I will power it or if it is totally feasible.

Some things I'm trying to take into consideration are:

a) whether or not a clear coat would be sufficient protection from the
wear and tear of being a mousing surface.

b) if affixing the metal to acrylic would be possible while still
maintaining flatness and stability.

c) if this is a good idea at all.

I just wanted to pick a project that would help me get introduced to modding, and working with the various mediums and tools.

Thanks for any input you guys can offer.

[crenn]

Very interesting......

The clear coat must be able to be protect not only the wear and tear of the mouse but also from sweat, some heat etc. If you have enough clear coat on (2-3 coats) then you should be right as long as your mouse has teflon pads on the bottom of the mouse (like my logitech one does) as this glides over most surfaces. Just make sure you use very fine sandpaper and you should be right as the smoother the surface the less effort needs to glide the mouse.
Using something like a rubber cement or a contact cement will enable you to put the metal to acrylic, it should be flat and stable if done correctly.
As for being a good idea, every mod is a good idea, it just depends on how it was made and how practical it is. As for mounting lights, you might consider using a few LEDS in parallel with a resistor to drop the voltage and current down to effective levels, this should provide enough light if you get superbright LEDs. And if you haven't guessed the source of the power, then I'll give you a hint, it's 5V and has a max current of 500mA...... did you guess it? It's USB!!! If you look at other mouse pads with lights in them then you'll notice that most of them run off USB.

Good luck with your first mod and Merry Christmas.

[Myrdhyn]

" whether or not a clear coat would be sufficient protection from the
wear and tear of being a mousing surface."

This is something I always wondered about...anyone know if maybe there is a way to find a "harder" (for lack of a better word) or "more protective" clear coat?

Also which is the hardest clear coat? laquers? enamels?

[Malatory]

Hi, I'm new to the forums and to modding in general. I was wondering if a laser or LED mouse would work on an a glossy black surface.

My idea is to take a piece of sheet metal, I have an old case I can cannibalize, sanding it down and painting it glossy black, using one of the numerous guides on this forum, and then mounting that onto maybe a piece of 1/4" - 1/2" acrylic. In the bottom of the acrylic I would mount a light, possibly a round cold cathode from one of those cold cathode fans, and affix the painted sheet metal in such a way to add feet to it, so that it can sit above the surface it is placed on. I haven't really thought too much into how I will power it or if it is totally feasible.

Some things I'm trying to take into consideration are:

a) whether or not a clear coat would be sufficient protection from the
wear and tear of being a mousing surface.

b) if affixing the metal to acrylic would be possible while still
maintaining flatness and stability.

c) if this is a good idea at all.

I just wanted to pick a project that would help me get introduced to modding, and working with the various mediums and tools.

Thanks for any input you guys can offer.

using a CCFL as feet is the only Idea I can see that is not a good idea. As the CCFL are not very strong. LED would be lower power and easyer to add in.

Polyacrylic as an hardner should be strong enough to handle the wear and tear (I have it on my desk at home and work table). Mousing in it works fine.

thing to think about ergonomics. If you rest your wrist on it .. will the edges be rounded or sharpe enough to make it look like you cut on your wrist.

[Rankenphile]

...and low enough that you don't have to bend your wrist too much to use it. If it's going to be fairly tall (as in 2cm or more tall), consider adding a wrist rest to the design.