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Overview
One of the problems gamers and people that do intensive
Photoshop work or 3d work with Maya is the ole sweaty
hand syndrome. It’s a vicious cycle, the users
hand perspires, then the loose there accuracy and
get more tense. Then they sweat some more. Having
to stop mid task and wipe your mouse and pad down
is a nuisance and doesn’t solve the problem.
After some research on the topic it seamed a no
brainier to make a mouse pad that sucked warm moist
air down and away from the users hand while not
being to noisy and yet comfortable enough to use
under all circumstances. Selecting cheep and easily
accessible materials was a challenge and after some
testing we found a great solution so you can still
use your super high end mouse and not the cheep
ones with fans built in them. |
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Steel
Mesh
One of the key components of this project is materials
that allow for easy airflow through them. Finding
a good dense steel mesh for instance is very important
to have a firm and solid surface to game on that
is still breathable. Trying to stick with materials
that are commonly found we will be using a mesh
trashcan we found at the local super mart. This
Rubbermaid trashcan we picked up for about 9.00
uses a mesh with 1/16" holes in it and can
surprisingly be cut and shaped with a good pair
of heavy duty shears. |
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Antec
laptop cooler
A well build system for keeping your laptop cool.
Simple construction combined with the ability to
plug into your USB port for power makes this a great
platform for modding. A 1/8th inch plate of aluminum
covers the top and dual blowers move a good amount
of air. Total height is about 1/2 inch making it
no thicker than other mouse pads out there that
light up for instance. Cost is about 25.00 from
CompUSA. |
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The
Glue
The glue that we chose for this project is a standard
spray type adhesive. We chose this brand because
after some testing we found it did not react or
wick through the material that we chose to cover
the pad with. Strong and fast drying it was worth
the 5.00 we spent on it. |
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Mouse
pad surface
Time for another trip to the dreaded fabric store.
we chose several fabrics to test with for this project.
a 100% cotton, a 50% cotton 50% poly blend. A 100%
poly and a nylon as well. We found the 100% poly
was to our liking more than any other fabric for
a few reasons. It has a very tight weave, allowing
for better accuracy over all. Additionally we found
that it allowed air to travel through it better
than the other fabrics other than the 100% cotton.
But the cotton left fibers to collect on the optical
mouse... 1.50 in fabric from the ole s-mart. |
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The
Misc Junk
Some of the things that used for the build out were:
hot glue and glue gun, a sheet of paper. Some heavy
shears and a bit of tape to make a template of the
top panel. |
Tools
that we used
( I.E. you may want to use as well )
One note on power tools: use them at your own risk.
Be sure to read and understand any and all documentation
on the tools you use. No amount of documentation
can make up for experience, but there are many people
with serious eye injuries at the school of hard
knocks. If you don't know what you are doing, don't
do it and find some one that can help.
Scissors
Heavy Shears
Hot glue gun
Screw Driver
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