Personalising Apple's Magic Mouse

Details

The Apple Magic mouse is my favourite mouse I've ever used. That doesn't mean it's perfect however - the lack of a middle mouse button makes 3D modelling camera movements annoying, and the lack of a hardware right click button makes gaming difficult.

I also always get caught out with an empty battery when I don't have any AA's around, or when I need to work and not leave it on charge (I have both rechargeable and AA versions - I have three Magic Mice actually...)

So my plan for this project is to fix these problems, or at least have some fun trying.

The brief is that I'll be adding a USB cable and making the mouse corded for power, and the USB cable will also connect an Arduino Leonardo to the host, this will take care of sending left, right and middle click button commands. The Magic Mouse will take care of movement and scrolling, the Arduino will take care of clicking and macros.

I'll try and squeeze in a few extra buttons for Macros too - like entering my password at a button press, or sending a key combination if a need comes up.

I found this awesome free Magic Mouse Model online and the iFixit Teardown has some great internal pics. As you can see there isnt much space in it, but fortunately the unused battery compartment will give me all the space I need to stuff an Arduino and a voltage step down inside.

Files

mpm_f19__Apple_Magic_Mouse.obj

3d Model of the Apple Magic Mouse

obj - 1.88 MB - 05/14/2020 at 03:00

Download

Components

1 × Beetle Arduino smallest Arduino Leonardo on the market

1 × 5v to 3.3v regualtor to replace 2x AA batteries with USB power ebay special

Project Logs

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Log 5: Buttons
Taylor Hay • 05/15/2020 at 05:30 • 0 comments

I recycled a board I had with some tactile switches already on it - just to keep things as easy as possible. These will work as pulldown switches on the Arduino digital inputs, and tell it to send left, middle and right click buttons
I drew the board in Fusion 360, and will place it on the mouse model, to draw the buttons that will trigger the tactile switches.
Log 4: It fits! (video)
Taylor Hay • 05/14/2020 at 09:47 • 0 comments

So the cap I designed in the last log fits perfect - doesnt get in the way of normal operation (yet!) And holds onto the mouse nice and tight. Now to add some wings that will trigger tactile buttons
Log 3: Sculpting the tip
Taylor Hay • 05/14/2020 at 08:49 • 0 comments

A bit more work in Fusion, and that ugly block stuck onto the front of the mouse now looks alot more Apple. I'll post pics when it's printed - I'll fit this, and then try and work out how I want the buttons positioned on it to ensure the capacitive trackpad is still accessible.
Log 2: Test the 3D Model
Taylor Hay • 05/14/2020 at 05:40 • 0 comments

So I'm happy to report that the OBJ model I've attached to this project is pretty bloody accurate - after subtracting the mouse from this block in Fusion and printing - the block fits onto the mouse as expected.

The internal ridge lined up perfectly and prevents the mouse from clicking - couldn't ask for a better fit. It's surprisingly firm enough that I dont think glue or tape will be needed at all!
Log 1: Beginnings
Taylor Hay • 05/14/2020 at 02:59 • 0 comments

So my plan for this project is to start by 3d printing a addon that attaches to the front of the magic mouse, and adds a platform for attaching buttons.

I found this awesome free Magic Mouse Model online, and I'm going to use it in Fusion 360 to make my shelf for mounting to, we will see the accuracy of this model when my 3D print finishes.

I've also found that a 0.8mm spacer under the top of the mouse is perfect to stop the "click" from clicking. Magic Mouse has only one button for both clicks, and only sends a "right" click when the capacitive sensor senses a finger on the right side. This makes playing Fallout 4 very difficult.

I will disable the clicking by shimming this gap, and then the new tactile buttons + Arduino Leonardo will take over the left, right and middle click functions (and maybe a hotkey or two for future binding...)