Ball size: 13/4" (45.08mm)
Interface: USB
USB ID: VID_5043&PID_5C47
Product Name: Ploopy Adept Trackball
Year: 2023
The latest Ploopy Corporation's model. The progress they've made since earlier products is clearly visible: the level of engineering and quality of manufacturing is remarkably higher. The Adept looks a bit like scaled-down old Kensington Expert (when they were ball-bearings based, too): rectangular case with buttons surrounding freely-laying ball. After many years of using various versions of Expert/Turbo/SlimBlade, as well as comparable models from other vendors like CH Products DT225 and similar, I was initially unsure if this shape will be still good in "reduced" size - but any doubts disappeared after first minutes of using the Adept.
Smooth movement of ball is a property of any model with quality ball bearings, so no any surprises here - but what's really exciting is a perfect feel of buttons. There's no any free play or bouncing, clicks are easy but have distinct feedback, the force is uniform regardless from particular zone of button you apply pressure to. Internal design of buttons was completely reworked: now all the buttons are integral part of upper case, so it does have quite complicated internal structure because of that. Mechanical design of buttons is visible on this 3D-model picture the authors published:
Controller is a Raspberry RP2040, switches are Omron D2LS-21, sensor is gaming-grade PixArt PMW3360 (widely regarded as one of the best), also there's Winbond 25Q16JVSIQ memory chip and voltage regulators. The sensor is capable of up to 12000 CPI resolution; the firmware have presets for 600, 900, 1200 and 1600. USB polling rate is 1 kHz. The PCB does have places for two more switches, and two RGB LEDs: so, the modding/customization margin is large. Ball bearings are MR63ZZ, mounted on plastic inserts. Connector is USB Type C.
Upper surface is very smooth, practically on par with injection-molded products. Nice detail of Adept case is a wooden Ploopy Corporation logo: according to authors it's made of Canadian red oak (Quercus Rubra). Very unusual for trackball, and resembles wooden inserts in some luxury cars.
As with other Ploopy products, the customer is able to select desired combination of ball and case colors, choose fully-assembled device or DIY kit, and for the first time - order all the parts except the case: an option that was often asked before.
During the development, the project was codenamed "Madromys", and this name is still visible in some source files and PCB. GitHub repository is here, the QMK with all the Ploopy pointing devices supported is here. At the time of starting the production, full support for VIA configuration was not ready at QMK side, but required JSON file is available from Ploopy, so it's easy to apply. After that, VIA recogizes the device, and allows to reconfigure it as desired by either stand-alone executable or web-based utility. In my case, I used it to assign lower-right button RMB function, and change upper-middle-right from Scroll to DPI cycle.
In general, I think this trackball is a state-of-the-art device, very pleasant to operate. First-class components and excellent craftsmanship make it a great pointing device even for most demanding users: model name is fully justified! Traditionally, it was used to prepare this publication.
Minor improvement I've done is described in separate article: viewtopic.php?f=16&t=148