I 3D-Printed an Ultralight Fingertip Gaming Mouse

Has your mouse been weighing down your lens lately? Mine did, which is why I decided to try to cut its weight in half. Using a 3D printed frame, I was able to turn my lightweight mouse into something that truly feels like a feather in my hand. Here’s how it went.

What is the point of 3D printing a mouse?

If you’ve been following the ultralight gaming mouse scene over the past couple of years, you’ve probably come across skeleton-style gaming mice. For fingertip users, these designs promise all the ergonomics you need while keeping the weight to an absolute minimum, essentially just the weight of the mouse’s internal components.

The best-known example is the Zeromouse Blade, designed by YouTuber Optimum. This 3D printed mouse weighs just 22g while packing a list of high-end specs you’ll find in high-end gaming mice.

This mouse made me wonder: what if I could 3D print my own mouse frame and place the internals of my Ajazz AJ179 Pro into it, creating something like the Zeromouse without spending a lot of money? My mouse already has a solid sensor and 8K polling rate, which is something you really need in a competitive mouse. I even replaced the microswitches with TTC Gold 80M, so that’s about as good as it gets.

Of course, it’s worth pointing out that 3D printing mice or parts isn’t just about getting the lightest design possible. The new HyperX Pulsefire Saga/Saga Pro and Orbital Pathfinder, which I wrote about last year, follow a more traditional mouse design language but include the ability to use 3D printed parts to significantly adjust the ergonomics to suit your preferences.

Building the mouse wasn’t exactly easy

I didn’t need to do more than a simple search online to discover that I wasn’t the first to try modifying the Ajazz AJ179 Pro to make it even lighter. User Jarie had already uploaded his design for an Ajazz AJ179 ultralight frame to Maker World, which was perfect since I don’t own a 3D printer and have no experience designing for one. Of course, I’m only half-joking: I probably wouldn’t have tackled this project at all without finding Jarie’s design online (thanks, Jarie!).

As for the 3D printing part, I have a friend who prints stuff for me cheaply, so I asked him to print a few of these images so I could build the mouse. This is where the problem arose. Since the frame was very flimsy, it was almost impossible to remove the supports without slamming the left and right mouse buttons, and my friend gave up after the eighth attempt.

Credit: Ismar Hrnjicevic / How-To Geek

I decided to move forward with a quirky DIY approach. I took one of the frames that had the left mouse button still intact and used the super glue and baking soda trick to attach the right mouse button to the frame. Surprisingly, it worked and after a quick clean with a rotary tool, the right mouse button was as good as new.

Credit: Ismar Hrnjicevic / How-To Geek

I’m not going to bore you too much with the steps to take apart the Ajazz AJ179 Pro, as it’s a fairly simple process like many other mice. I just had to carefully peel off the PTFE mouse pads, remove the four screws, open the mouse, detach the ribbon cable, and unscrew the PCB. That’s about it.

Credit: Ismar Hrnjicevic / How-To Geek

After drilling holes for the screws on my 3D printed frame, I used the same screws that hold the PCB to assemble the mouse.

That’s when I noticed that my right mouse button had excess pre-travel because I had removed too much material from the plastic piston that pressed the switch. Fortunately, a few layers of aluminum tape largely solved the problem. I also cut out some old PTFE pads from my G502 Lightspeed and glued them under the frame.

Credit: Ismar Hrnjicevic / How-To Geek

So how much did I lose after building my new fingertip mouse?

Almost exactly half the original weight! I forgot to weigh my mouse before the project, but the manufacturer’s specs say it weighs around 58-61g. From memory, when I first bought it, my mouse weighed around 61g, so it was a surprise to see the same scale now showing 32.4g for this new design. This is a great result, considering my mouse has a massive 400 mAh battery that could easily be replaced with a 200 mAh one to gain an extra 3 or 4 grams.

Credit: Ismar Hrnjicevic / How-To Geek

Here is the performance of my 3D printed mouse

Even though my new mod looked incredibly cool, I was admittedly somewhat skeptical about its performance. After all, this is something of a mouse prototype made using a cost-effective 3D printer and filament. It’s a far cry from Optimum’s Zeromouse Blade that inspired me to build this mouse in the first place.

So after trying my fingertip mouse Battlefield V (yes, the old one), I was shocked by its lightness, it was as if I had nothing in my hand. I thought going from the 99g of my G502 to the 61g of the 179 Pro would be a game changer, but that’s now only a third of the weight of my daily mouse pilot.

I was pleasantly surprised by the natural feeling of holding the mouse in my hand, despite the complete absence of a shell. I wish I had tape to put on the surfaces I touch, but alas. It was still comfortable enough to hold for the duration of a match.

Unfortunately, I immediately noticed quality control issues with my wobbly mouse. The most basic problem was that my cut-out PTFE mouse skates didn’t slide easily enough, probably because they were too thin. Thick, universal point-shaped PTFE pads could have solved this problem, but I didn’t have any on hand. I tried trimming the edges of the mouse with my rotary tool, but to no avail.

Credit: Ismar Hrnjicevic / How-To Geek

Another issue I noticed was that the mouse buttons seemed inconsistent to use. They are completely flat and are not tilted forward, making them somewhat unnatural. Although they registered no matter where I pressed, they felt squishy and inconsistent unless I pressed on the exact spot where the plunger was.

Credit: Ismar Hrnjicevic / How-To Geek

Granted, both of these issues were relatively minor and could easily be fixed with the right skates and a few design tweaks.

After Battlefieldit was time to up the ante by launching Marvel Rivals. I take competitive mode very seriously, but I was willing to put a match on the line as part of this experience. Even though we ended up losing the match, I didn’t feel like my mouse was holding me back, at least not more than I expected.

I had some difficulty aiming vertically, but it’s something I struggle with in general, and could probably improve once I get used to the mouse. What I missed the most were my side buttons. As someone who uses all five buttons on the left side of the G502, none really hurt my muscle memory. I use the side buttons for voice chat and ping, so losing them was a significant sacrifice.

Credit: Ismar Hrnjicevic / How-To Geek

Fingertip mice aren’t for everyone

Overall it was a fun project. Although I’m glad I tried it, I think I’ll go back to my original Ajazz AJ179 Pro shell. I can definitely see the benefits of a lighter mouse, as the complete lack of inertia can allow a gamer to aim exactly where they want.

However, at the same time, I don’t think we should obsess about weight so much. While an ultralight 20g mouse is undoubtedly beneficial for high-ranking esports professionals, many of us are nowhere near that level of skill. It takes a lot of sacrifice to achieve this type of weight, and yet the benefits are minimal.

I think your goal should be to find a mouse whose ergonomics you like, not the lightest mouse in the world. Hell, most esports pros still use mice like the Razer Viper V3 Pro and the Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2, which weigh 54g and 60g respectively.

It’s not even that light compared to magnesium alloy and carbon fiber mice. And don’t even get me started on the G-Wolves Fenrir and other smartly designed high-end mice that clock in at under 25g while still having a full shell and side buttons.

Credit: Razer

9/10

Weight

54g (black), 55g (white)

Brand

Razer

Razer’s flagship ultralight wireless gaming mouse (54 grams) with a simple yet comfortable layout, exceptionally responsive optical sensor and low-latency optical switches.