This 3D-Printed SpaceMouse-Like Controller Is Powered by a Pimoroni Tiny 2040
Inspired by one of the most popular CAD and 3D modeling accessories around, this controller is an impressive project from a new coder.
Pseudonymous maker FaultyDaantje has put together a 3D-printed equivalent to the 3Dconnexion SpaceMouse, offering fine-grained 3D control for modeling projects — and powered by a Pimoroni Tiny 2040 development board.
"I have made pan and zoom controls by adding a rotary encoder on top of the joystick, I can control the speed and sensitivity with the red knob on the left (also a rotary encoder), and can see the sensitivity on the screen on the right," FaultyDaantje writes of the device's operation.
The core concept of the controller, which is designed to slot next to a keyboard, is based on 3Dconnexion SpaceMouse, a gadget developed by a company formed from Logitech's LogiCAD3D and Labtec's 3D peripheral arm and designed for handling object control in computer aided design, 3D modeling, and other tasks where two-dimension movement is restrictive.
"I 3D-printed everything and I used rubber spray paint on the big [chassis] part," FaultyDaantje explains of the exterior of the device. Inside, there's a Pimoroni Tiny 2040 development board — built around the Raspberry Pi RP2040 dual-core microcontroller — acting as a USB human interface device, while a small OLED display to the side gives feedback on current settings.
Thus far, FaultyDaantje has not released design files or source code for the project. "The code for this is a bit messy," the maker admits, "because I just started learning how to code and this project was pretty big for me."
Anyone interested in more details can contact the creator via the project's Reddit thread.