Every release of Ali Sayed’s Zerømouse Blade ultralight gaming mouse has sold out in seconds — the biggest complaint is that they’re always out of stock. But Sayed is determined to change this in 2026 by streamlining and scaling production of a newer, even tougher Zerømouse Blade. The new version is 3D printed in Formlabs Tough 2000 Resin V2 on Form 4L stereolithography (SLA) 3D printers, for enhanced durability and an even lighter, stiffer shell.
“This new version can be dropped directly onto concrete and can also be squeezed at the grip points with max effort.”
Ali Sayed
Sayed has been working on the mouse for over three years, starting with outsourced HP multijet fusion (MJF) 3D printing before bringing production in-house with Form 4L – learn more about prototyping and his first production run here. While earlier versions of the Zeromouse changed dramatically between iterations, the current focus is on refinement and production.
The evolution of the Zerømouse.
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Delivering a Mouse That’s Light, Stiff, and Impact-Resistant With Tough 2000 Resin
Most gaming mice consist of five pieces: a top shell, bottom shell, two triggers, and one or two internal pieces. By contrast, the Zerømouse is one continuous 3D printed structure. One of Sayed’s biggest challenges with this design has been durability and toughness — without sacrificing weight.
“This new shell can withstand some serious impact and it’s because of this stuff right here: Tough 2000 Resin, V2. This is a new resin from Formlabs which they just launched and it is super impressive stuff.”
Ali Sayed
Previously, Sayed was printing the Zerømouse in Black Resin, which he says, “looks amazing, prints amazing, and, actually, the passive stiffness was really quite impressive.” However, impact resistance was a concern.
With the release of the new Tough 2000 Resin V2, a rugged material with strength and stiffness comparable to ABS, Sayed saw the potential for a mouse that could withstand dropping and impact.
Sayed performed drop tests with the Zerømouse printed in Tough 2000 Resin.
To test the material, Sayed dropped the 3D printed mouse onto concrete, filming the impact with a high-speed camera. He also tested the stiffness of the shell with a number of prototypes. Ultimately, Tough 2000 Resin can, in Sayed’s words, “withstand a different level of abuse.”
| Black Resin* | Tough 2000 Resin | |
|---|---|---|
| Ultimate Tensile Strength | 61 MPa | 40.4 MPa |
| Tensile Modulus | 2700 MPa | 1800 MPa |
| Elongation at Break | 10% | 79% |
| Gardner Impact at 1/16” | <0.2 J | 1.1 J |
| Work of Fracture | 29.1 J/m2 | 305 J/m2 |
*Post-cured at 60 °C for 15 minutes
Sayed optimized the design of the Tough 2000 Resin Zerømouse shell structure for the more flexible material, enabling users to grip the mouse tightly without worrying about breakage. Overall, the resulting mouse is lighter and stiffer feeling — and can withstand drops on concrete.
Request a Free Tough 2000 Resin Sample Part
Tough 2000 Resin V2 is a rugged material with strength and stiffness comparable to acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), combining toughness with high temperature and creep resistance.
Scaling Throughput
“Tough 2000 Resin V2 gives us some enhanced durability and material confidence, which is extremely important for us as we evolve into producing higher quantities of the Zerømouse. The dark grey prints incredibly well, we are still blown away by how high resolution we’ve been able to make the Zerømouse via SLA.”
Ali Sayed
For the last release, which sold out in seconds, Sayed produced 1,000 mice on Form 4L 3D printers, 3D printing about 250 complete mice a week.
| Quantity per Form 4L Build Platform | Time to print | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zerømouse shells | 15 | 4 h | ||
| Scroll wheels | 110 | <2 h |
With three Form 4L 3D printers, this means with just two print cycles a day, Sayed’s team can print 500+ shells a week, or roughly 1,000 a week with the addition of one extra print overnight. With 110 scroll wheels per Build Platform L, it’s possible to achieve a throughput of 1,000 scroll wheels a day.
“The printers are so fast that we don’t need to run extra print cycles overnight or worry about when prints are finishing. At the moment we aren’t even stretching what we can do with our current three Form 4Ls.”
Ali Sayed
Three Form 4Ls are housed in a dedicated production space, achieving the throughput Sayed currently requires with only two print cycles a day — leaving room to continue to scale production.
The biggest change to Sayed’s production has been a dedicated workspace for production and expansion of the team, which is working to refine their processes for peak efficiency. The one thing that hasn’t changed? “The exact workflow from print to finished part hasn’t changed much as no corners can really be cut,” says Sayed. By prototyping and manufacturing with Form 4L, the print to part workflow has been a part of the process since the beginning.
Custom Jigs With Rigid 10K Resin
“The main reason we decided to produce the Zerømouse in-house was to have control over every step and process: like custom engineering our own supports, and using custom jigs during temperature curing.”
Ali Sayed
In addition to the time savings of 3D printing Zerømouse shells in-house, Sayed uses Form 4L to produce custom jigs for post-curing the shells. He originally tried printing the jigs in ABS on a fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printer, but found that the jigs weren’t up to the demands of the job.
Instead, Sayed printed the jigs in Rigid 10K Resin on Form 4L, selecting the material for its stiffness. Rigid 10K Resin is a highly glass-filled and extremely stiff material for parts requiring dimensional accuracy and stability under high temperatures and pressures, like jigs, molds, and other tooling.
The alternative to SLA 3D printing these jigs is CNC machining, a process which would take more time and produce more material waste. 3D printing jigs makes it easy to iterate or quickly produce additional jigs.
Unconstrained by Manufacturing Molds
In-house 3D printing means Sayed is not constrained by the geometries of manufacturing molds or the timelines of outsourcing. Instead, in-house production gives Sayed complete control over every step of the production process, a process that is scaling up.
With the addition of a dedicated production space, Sayed is scaling production to better meet demands.
The build volume and speed of Form 4L makes it easy for Sayed and his team to increase throughput to meet demand. Sayed says, “Our three 4Ls definitely keep us on our toes for now, but once we are at the point of having to come back to the studio after hours to fit in more print cycles then that’s the point we’ll likely add another printer.”
Meanwhile, Sayed is preparing for his biggest drop yet — and he’s not worried if a couple of mice hit the floor in the process.
Explore Form 4L or contact sales to start printing. Request a free sample part to evaluate Tough 2000 Resin for yourself.
