The Statial.B Is a Completely Adjustable DIY Mouse for Hardcore Gamers

We live in a computer keyboard golden age, which is fantastic news for those of us that spend our days typing. But computer mice haven’t exactly kept up with their neighbors on the desk. There are nice gaming mice on the market, but they’re very much “one size fits all” devices. A discerning gamer will just have to cross their fingers and hope that they can find a mouse with all the features they want and that also happens to fit their hand well. Charlie Pyott wasn’t satisfied with that, so he designed a DIY mouse for hardcore gamers that is completely adjustable.

This mouse design, dubbed the “Statial.B,” is a follow-up to a similar concept, the original “Statial,” that Pyott created back in 2013. That first Statial was 3D-printable replacement for a standard Logitech M100 mouse shell that provided buttons and hand supports with some adjustment. But that adjustment was pretty limited and Pyott wanted Statial.B to provide total ergonomic freedom. He also wanted better performance than the M100 is capable of, considering it is a very old model.

Instead of building the Statial.B around an existing mouse, Pyott chose to construct it from scratch. High-end gaming mice with nice sensors tend to be replaced by newer models every year or two, so starting with one of those would have limited the lifespan of the Statial.B design. By starting from scratch, using a Pixart PMW3389DM-T3QU sensor and a Pro Micro dev board, Pyott could ensure that the Statial.B is buildable for many years to come.

But, of course, the vast majority of the work for the Statial.B project went into mechanical design and computer-aided design (CAD). I used to do that for a living and I’m blown away by Pyott’s extremely impressive modeling skills. Working primarily in Rhino3D and Grasshopper, he carefully modeled a ball joint-based articulated adjustment system for all of the surfaces that touch the user’s hand. Unlike the original Statial design, this new design allows for total freedom — not only adjustment on a single plane.

After several iterative rounds of design, printing, and prototype testing, Pyott had a final set of 3D models that he was happy with. Those can be made on a resin 3D printer. The PCB hosting the sensor and Pro Micro controller can be fabricated by any PCB manufacturer. Pyott’s video contains detailed assembly instructions and information on how to configure the Arduino sketch.

Once completed, the Statial.B can be adjusted to fit the user’s hand with a little hex wrench stored in the mouse. With small adjustments over time, it should eventually reach ergonomic perfection.