Ergonomic Buttons for Space Navigator

thingiverse

The stock buttons on the space navigator bug me. They take too much force to press for their size (they're uncomfortable) and you have to squeeze the whole device to use them - you have to press them horizontally. This is an attempt to fix these issues. I want the buttons to have a much larger surface area - to make them less pointy and thus more comfortable to press. I want the buttons to actuate vertically, so that the actuation force is toward the desk rather than trying to slide the device around. This has an added benefit of making the buttons usable without repositioning your hand on the device. 4/23: I'm nearly finished, but have been dragging a bit lately, so I thought I'd toss what I have so far online and see if anyone has input. 4/30: It's functional, at least in sketchup. I printed out a set, though I suppose the limitations of 3D printing got me, at least in part. The flappy button levers don't reach the tactile buttons on the PCB properly... The large external buttons don't have enough travel to reach the levers. I'm thinking I'll add adjustment screws (M3 grub screws) to clean up any free play. The buttons also need slides of some sort - the outside edge of the button tilts down and the legs kick inward when the end of travel is reached... Should be fairly easy to fix.