2-mm Static Ceramic Bearing Mod for Ploopy Rev. D Trackball

These ready to print drop-in inserts will help you convert your Ploopy Rev. D from using the standard roller dowel style bearings to 2-mm ceramic G5-grade bearings. It may work on earlier revisions of the Ploopy, but this is not the STEP file I based my design on and don't own one to test. I also use a Kensington SlimBlade and despite the 11-mm difference in ball diameter, my Ploopy now feels like using the Kensington. This is high praise for my own preferences in mice. I've tried the Ploopy BTU mod but found them to roll too easily and want to continue to roll past where I tried to stop the cursor. I think this static ceramic bearing mod is a happy medium.

I've linked the particular bearings I used below. I would recommend simultaneously upgrading to a more premium trackball from the billiard ball that comes with the Ploopy. The one I chose is also linked below. Both of these cost me around $20 USD after tax; an affordable mod, I'd say.

• Uxcell 2-mm G5-grade ceramic bearings from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07ZKQX6B4
• SANWA 44-mm trackball I also upgraded to: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F1TC4LJG 

There are two STL files I have attached and it is important to distinguish between them. Two of the receptacles built into the Ploopy shell are of one size and the one closest to the ring finger button is actually slightly different. You will need to print two of one file and one of the other. The file names make this clear, just be sure to install the “Print 1” in the slot nearest the ring finger button.

Print settings & recommendations:

• Orient the inserts face down against the print surface.
• Set layer height to 0.1-mm.
• Add an outer brim with 0.1-mm separation. I recommend a 5-mm brim width as that has worked well for me after struggling to get a successful print without any sort of brim.
• Press the bearings in when the inserts come off the printer. I used another scrap print to lightly set the bearings so they didn't fall out when turned upside down, but then really pressed them in against a desk surface. They only take a few minutes each to print, and I cannot say for certain whether the plastic holds heat for long enough to matter after removal from the print surface, but this approach worked well for me. I cannot pick them out with my fingernail and had to use flush cutters to destroy an insert to recover the bearing when refining the tolerances through test prints.