ML4400 trackball - how smooth it is?

[woody]

Well, got home yesterday with a used Cherry ML4400 in UK layout, black, USB. Thoroughly cleaned it and tested few hours later. The key are as expected - the low-profile ML. Still much better than regular rubber domes.

But the trackball sensation is not okay at all - it squeaks a bit, not smooth, and sometimes I can't roll it easily. The trackball module looks like off-the-shelf, connected by bunch of wires to the keyboard's own MCU board. It has three tiny white balls in vertical grooves to support the rotating ball, and two very low-fi mouse-like rollers. The PCB of the module is not fixed by a screw, held in position only by two stems and wiggles a lot, but the top keyboard frame and the ball restrictor hide that.

The question is, how could I improve the trackball? And how good is it when stock new?

[NewbieOneKenobi]

Is there absolutely no component anywhere that could use cleaning?

[woody]

No, them rollers were cleaned too. Rotate easy enough by finger. They were not even dirty. The PCB and the case had a good amount of dust, but nothing more.

On the other hand, if the dust was industrial and fine enough ... dunno.
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design host

[itlnstln]

I'm not too familiar with this trackball, but might there be some bearings that could be worn?

[woody]

Three white balls in plastic vertical grooves serve as bearings. No visible signs of wearing. I'm puzzled, that's why this thread.
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marijuana seed

[itlnstln]

If that's the case, I bet it was pretty crappy from the onset.  IIRC, the trackballs used in the MX11800s were made by Logitech and were OK (not great).  I wonder if they tried to do something in-house with this one.

[woody]

Looks like off-the-shelf module. When I disassemble it again, I'll take notion of the trackball board.
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volcano digital