A friend of mine recently brought up his custom mechanical keyboard while we were hanging out in voice chat, and at first, nobody understood why anyone would buy one. At that time, I had no clue that…
A friend of mine recently brought up his custom mechanical keyboard while we were hanging out in voice chat, and at first, nobody understood why anyone would buy one. At that time, I had no clue that there are entire communities about building custom keyboards. With every sentence that was said, we got deeper into this community. We explored different YouTube channels, watched comparisons, and listened to sound tests.
Only a few hours later, all of us were hooked and wanted to build our own keyboards as well. This post will go over all the parts that are needed, what they are for, and what you need to watch out for.
Parts
There aren't that many parts. It's just the:
- Keyboard base (bottom)
- Keycaps (top left)
- Switches (top right)
Alright, let's get started!
Keyboard Base - Gamakay LK67
The most important part of your setup is the keyboard base. It'll define what your keyboard will look like. Depending on what you need and like, you can choose different sizes, materials, and features.
As you can see, it's a 65% keyboard (size reference) with a physical volume slider. The reason I wanted this keyboard, was not the volume slider but the Bluetooth support. I already have a wireless mouse (G502 Lightspeed) and I didn't want to make my cable management even worse than it already is. I also want to easily be able to take the keyboard with me (e.g. to the university campus). And, most importantly, it makes literally every setup look very clean and minimalistic. More on that later on.
When building a mechanical keyboard, you have two options for the keyboard base:
- Buy the parts individually and solder them yourself
- Buy an already assembled keyboard base
Obviously, when buying all the parts individually, you have a lot more control over your build, but it also requires more tools and work. However, since I don't have a soldering iron, I was fine with buying an already assembled keyboard base.
Things to watch out for:
- ANSI vs ISO keyboard layout: The differences between these layouts are very subtle and only affect very few keys. This is a good image, that shows how the Return and Shift keys differ. Why this is important will be explained in the keycaps section.
- Bluetooth support: Bluetooth on a mechanical keyboard isn't that popular, so you'll have fewer options to choose from. However, if you don't find a base that suits you, you can always buy the parts individually and assemble the base yourself.
- Keyboard size: Make sure to pick the correct size. Even when you don't have certain keys (e.g. F1-F12 or ~), you can still press them with a shortcut. On my keyboard, I can press F1 with
Fn+1or ~ withFn+Shift+Esc. Most keyboards have separate software where you can remap these keys or add additional macros.
Switches - Akko Rose Red
The keyboard switches will define what your keyboard sounds and feels like, so it's essential that you pick them carefully.
There are three switch categories:
- Linear: Smooth and consistent actuation.
- Tactile: Great feedback.
- Clicky: Like tactile, but with an additional click sound.
You should know the operating force metric. It defines how much force you need to fully press the key. In my case, the switches have $43gf \pm 5gf$ operating force. So they are much lighter compared to the $60gf$ operating force of my previous keyboard. There are also force travel graphs, which you can use to better understand how much the switch travels when it's pressed. For a much deeper explanation, I suggest reading this awesome article.
So how do you choose the switches? If you have the option, try them out in person. Either go to a store or find someone who has a mechanical keyboard. Otherwise, look for reviews on YouTube (or Invidious). You can compare the operating force and force travel with your current keyboard. Also, don't forget to listen to sound tests (both lubed and unlubed) because you don't want a keyboard that sounds terrible.
Things to watch out for:
- Tactile vs Linear: Choosing the correct switch type is important for the sound, feeling, and performance.
- Lubed vs Unlubed: Lubing the switches will result in a smoother and much more satisfying sound. It's purely subjective but, in my opinion, totally worth it.
- Amount of switches in one set: Switches are often sold in smaller amounts. For example, one Akko Rose Red set contains 45 switches, but the keyboard has more keys. So to fill an entire keyboard, you need to buy another set.
Keycaps - Akko
Now we come to the fun part. Just like the keyboard base defines the raw layout, the keycaps are the polish. You can go wild when choosing them. Do you want a keyboard with only pink/white/blue/red/green keycaps? Or blank keycaps without letters? Or keycaps that sound and look like you can eat them? Or maybe keycaps that are built for RGB lighting? You could even mix all the aforementioned keycaps if that's what you want (please don't actually do that).
Things to watch out for:
- ANSI vs ISO keyboard layout: As previously explained, you want to make sure that your keycaps have the correct sizes (e.g. for the enter or shift key). In my case, they included both layouts but it might be different in other sets.
- Profiles: The profile is the overall shape of the keycap. They can change the style and feel of your keyboard.
- Material: Make sure to buy keycaps that use PBT instead of ABS plastic. PBT keycaps are usually higher quality, more durable, and wear down less over time. This is a good article about the differences.
Lube - Krytox 205g0
When I first heard about lubing, I thought that it was a joke. It just sounded so surreal that anyone would lube switches just to make them sound better. And then I heard the difference. So if you are already building a mechanical keyboard, spending a few bucks more on lube doesn't hurt.
You might now think, can you even hear a difference? Well, let's try it out. One of these two recordings contains an unlubed key and one contains a lubed key.
Could you hear the difference? Which one do you think is the lubed one and which is the unlubed one?
Answer
If you said left is lubed and right is unlubed, then you are correct. :)
So how exactly does lubing work? First, you need to disassemble the switch (not the code this time :P). In my case, I had to put the switch into the gray thing. It was quite difficult to take apart the first switch, but you'll quickly get a feeling for it.
On the right, you can see the upper housing, stem, spring, and bottom housing. Each of these need to be lubed individually. Here's a good article that has an in-depth explanation of everything you need to do. You can also just look up a video that explains how you can lube your switch type.
Things to watch out for:
- Less is more: When applying the lube, don't overdo it! You can always come back later on and apply more, but it's much harder the other way around.
- Accessories: Splitting the switches into separate parts can be quite tricky. I can recommend spending a few more bucks on lube that comes with the required tools.
- Clicky, Linear, and Tactile switches: It's not recommended to lube clicky switches because you can accidentally convert them to tactile switches and destroy their unique sound. You can lube tactile switches, but it's generally recommended to use thin lube so you don't remove a lot of the tactile bump. Whereas, when lubing linear switches, you can do nothing wrong. They are already smooth and consistent, lube will only make them smoother and remove most of the rattling sound.
- Time: I completely underestimated the amount of time it takes to lube all the switches. You can roughly calculate the required time by multiplying the time it takes you to lube one switch, with the total switch amount. For example, I started around 8 PM and finished lubing all the switches around 2 AM. So it took me about 4-5 minutes to lube one switch. While this might sound like a lot, just hop on a call with your friends or watch a movie and the time will fly by.
Assembling everything
Now that we know what each part is for, we can put it all together. It's not that complicated, the pseudocode for it looks something like this:
let package = order_parts();
let (keyboard_base, switches: Vec<_>, keycaps) = package.unpack();
// Lube the switch and insert it into the keyboard base
for key in keyboard_base.keys() {
let lubed_switch = lube(switches.next());
key.insert(lubed_switch);
}
// Find the matching keycaps and place it down
for key in keyboard_base.keys() {
let keycap = keycaps.find_matching_keycap(key);
key.place(keycap);
}
Sound Comparison
My old keyboard was the Razer Ornata Chroma which I bought in July 2018. I didn't have any complaints about this keyboard up until I learned about custom mechanical keyboards. Here's what it sounds like:
And here's a sound test on my new custom mechanical keyboard:
Can you hear the difference? I still can't believe that I've been using the Razer keyboard for the last four years. Now that I can compare it against something, it sounds absolutely terrible. It also feels very inconsistent and has a much higher operating force.
Price
Alright, let's talk about money. In total, I spent around 160€ on the keyboard:
- Keyboard base: 55€
- Switches: 40€
- Keycaps: 50€
- Lube: 15€
And it was worth it in my opinion. As a programmer, I spend a lot of time on the computer, so why not make it more enjoyable?
Also, don't get scared if you don't want to spend this much money, because there are cheaper alternatives. You could get keycaps for 25€, switches for 40€ (these are the same switches I have) and a keyboard base for 45€. In total, that's 110€. And that keyboard is arguably even better than what you get for the same or higher price when buying "gaming keyboards".
Conclusion
Should you build a custom mechanical keyboard?
- Feeling and sound: I've been using mine for a few weeks now and I don't want to go back. I love the feeling and sound of my keyboard. I even regularly go on MonkeyType, not to improve or test my writing speed, but because I enjoy typing on it.
- Customizability: You can easily swap the switches, keycaps, or even the keyboard base. There are even people that add extra foam to further dampen the sound.
- Durability: If you are a heavy typer, switches of mechanical keyboards will usually last longer than the average membrane keyboard. And even if something breaks, you can easily replace it.
- Fun: Building and customizing a mechanical keyboard is a fun project.
If you spend lots of time in front of a computer, you should definitely build a mechanical keyboard. Trust me, you won't regret it. Feel free to reach out if you have any further questions or comments.
Thanks for reading!
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Comments
By colordrops 2022-05-218:4212 reply Great intro. One thing I don't understand about the mechanical keyboard community is how the vast majority (like well over 95%) are not split keyboards. You'd think keyboard enthusiasts that sweat the details would also be obsessed with ergonomics. But no, I suspect that they are more concerned with aesthetics, which are arguably worse with a split keyboard.
I'm mostly-maintaining a mechanical split keyboard gallery [1] to help with this. There are a lot of options, from keyboards you can buy from a major retailer (or easily get your IT department to buy), to hand-soldered kits where you need to 3D print the case.-
I've always been interested in buying one, but since I'm curre tly budgeting for other major investments I'm not willing to spend like 350€+ for an ergodox. Are there decent sub 100€ non diy (i have never soldered anything in my life) split keyboards around afayk?
By rgoulter 2022-05-2110:00 If your main concern about DIY keyboards is experience, most DIY split keyboards only require through-hole soldering, which is easily doable even with a cheap soldering iron.
The Sofle keyboard is a popular split keyboard. https://github.com/josefadamcik/SofleKeyboard I haven't checked, but I'd believe it's possible close to that budget. e.g. Keyhive have a DIY kit https://keyhive.xyz/shop/sofle
By KolenCh 2022-05-229:00 Microsoft Sculpt is quite good. It is not mechanical, not truly split. But one that my hand can agree with. It is also the one I travel with because the mechanical split I have is too heavy.
I don't think you'll find anything non-DIY for under €350. The cheapest options are probably the Chinese/AliExpress ortholinear ones[1], but even those still cost more.
[1] http://www.koolertron.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=keyboard
By jjmiv 2022-05-2213:58 novelkeys has a LOT of great quality keyboards for under lower prices. I have the milkshake nk65 and it is awesome.
By noir_lord 2022-05-2114:16 Ergo 4000 are good if you don’t require mechanical keys, I’ve used them for years and years.
By CTDOCodebases 2022-05-2314:32 I recommend getting into keyboard groups on discord and facebook. In Australia I've seen people selling second hand assembled split boards for less than cost of the parts.
By girzel 2022-05-2116:54 This is incredibly helpful, thank you! It's going to save me hours of research.
I have a Das Keyboard that I am very fond of, but over the years have definitely started to wonder why a) the rows are staggered, and b) it isn't split. There's just so little reason to stick to this form-factor.
Thanks again!
By DoingIsLearning 2022-05-2113:12 Thank you for putting this collection together.
This is exactly the kind of 'old web' site that I wish I would find in modern search results.
By aeturnum 2022-05-2117:20 Oh wow - this is a much more extensive collection than the one I used to buy my last split mechanical (a perfectly functional but unimpressive Kinesis Freestyle2 Blue). Thank you!
By Closi 2022-05-2110:25 > I suspect that they are more concerned with aesthetics, which are arguably worse with a split keyboard.
Undoubtedly many must be - although I personally really like the ability to take my keyboard easily with me in a bag, like working on a smaller keyboard to reduce finger travel, like how my mouse can be close to my keyboard and I can work in a small space, and I'm lucky enough to not really experience strain, so a 60% keyboard is perfect for me.
Also, although this is aesthetic related, I don't really want to be the person with a keyboard that looks too crazy in the office. I don't need it to look awesome, but I also don't want it to look outwardly-weird (this also means no crazy flashing RGB!).
Took a bit of time to get used to a 60%, but now I have finished the learning curve it would be really difficult to go back (muscle memory is both a blessing and a curse!).
By creakingstairs 2022-05-218:574 reply I bought a split keyboard last year and I honestly don’t think I could go back. My shoulder/chest pain went away. The layers let me almost never leave the home row and I miss it every time I use my laptop keyboard.
> I suspect that they are more concerned with aesthetics, which are arguably worse with a split keyboard.
Yeah, mine has lots of wires and I miss the minimalistic aesthetic of wireless mini keyboards.
If one isn’t afraid to tinker a little more while building keyboards one could work in a nice!nano or similar replacement for pro micros/elite-Cs, I had a fine time building a kyria (a 40% split) with it too:
https://nicekeyboards.com/nice-nano/
If you’re into low profile switches (that’s a big if!) there are projects the corneish zen https://lowprokb.ca/products/corne-ish-zen
By addy13 2022-05-2213:27 Can you replace any existing usb c ports with this? I have a planck that I would really like to make wireless but a quick search around google doesn't show anyone building one with it.
By creakingstairs 2022-05-2223:17 Thanks for the links! I do wanna try out low profile switches. I wish there were something like corneish zen with a bit more keys :p
By hackernewds 2022-05-2110:042 reply Does it feel intuitive? I'm worried about learning a typing paradigm that isn't accessible everywhere (for eg can't hit both G and H with index if they're in diff sides)
By creakingstairs 2022-05-2111:331 reply I’m guessing you mean that you tend to hit g and h with hands (eg hit g with right hand and hit h with left hand) and you can’t do that with split keyboard. It doesn’t take that long to get used to it. I still can type pretty well with my laptop keyboard so I wouldn’t worry about it too much.
By iamevn 2022-05-2120:50 Usually it's the number row that gets me. I'm working on a keyboard that duplicates the inner columns for this reason.
By konfusinomicon 2022-05-2116:10 just got a moonlander and I too could never go back. worth the hype and the price..the learning curve was steep but after a month and several iterations of customization I cant believe that customizable split layout is not the norm.
By creakingstairs 2022-05-2111:35 I’m aware but I haven’t find my dream one yet. I think I’ll try to build my own split wireless keyboard one day.
By NotOscarWilde 2022-05-2113:11 When I started being into mechanical keyboards (19 years old, late 2000s), I learned about the "classics" first -- IBM Model M, Cherry G80 3000 -- and "hacker" successors later ("Das Keyboard" is a good example, although I never owned it). I was also quite into Vim, terminal and proper typing back then.
It took me several more years to learn about ergonomic mechanical keyboards, and I ended up sticking with Ergodox both at work and at my gaming PC for 7-ish years now.
The point of my anecdote is that I would just expect that most of the "visible" people in the mechanical keyboard community are younger, and might grow into the ergonomic keyboards later, just like me.
By CTDOCodebases 2022-05-2114:43 People don't like change and not everyone has noticeable issues typing on standard keyboards. Once you do make the switch though the benefits become obvious.
Many definitely are obsessed only with aesthetics, and it's especially sickening when you look at the subgroup of rare-overpriced keyboards.
But split is not the single most important ergonomics aspect IMO. A planck-like ortholinear keeb is more ergonomic than those "alice" splits that have staggered-row-layout, for me at least.
Sickening is an odd word to choose. People have aesthetic preferences about all sorts of things, and they're often prepared to pay more to satisfy their tastes. What's bad about that?
By the_gipsy 2022-05-2120:19 Yeah sorry wrong wording, my bad. I only find the overpriced keyboard competition sickening.
Obsession about aesthetics is completely healthy.
By lfkdev 2022-05-2111:00 There is nothing sickening about people liking aesthetic keyboards.
By CTDOCodebases 2022-05-2314:47 >But split is not the single most important ergonomics aspect IMO. A planck-like ortholinear keeb is more ergonomic than those "alice" splits that have staggered-row-layout, for me at least.
It think it all depends on your typing style and body.
The issue with standard boards and the planck is people typically type with their hands parallel or near parallel and their wrist are bent. This can cause wrist pain over time.
On "alice" type boards the wrists are straight so typing is quite comfortable.
By christophilus 2022-05-2114:32 I used to use a split keyboard, but now use a tenkeyless Vermillo[0]. Best keyboard I’ve ever used. I find that form factor, paired with VIM gives my wrists less pain than any larger keyboard I’ve used. The distance I have to travel to use a mouse is also reduced, which I find helpful.
[0] https://mechanicalkeyboards.com/shop/index.php?l=product_det...
By eyelidlessness 2022-05-2117:25 I don’t begrudge anyone their preferred ergonomics, but I’m glad that I can find non-split mechanical keyboards as I prefer their ergonomics. But I agree, it’s surprising there aren’t many more split offerings available.
As far as aesthetics, as the mechanical keyboard market has become almost totally focused on gaming, I find it difficult to find any which aren’t gaudy. I’m just glad my current one allows turning off the blinding backlight.
By bobcostas55 2022-05-219:282 reply The price difference is pretty wild, hard to make an investment like that without being able to try it first.
By badlucklottery 2022-05-219:461 reply Whenever the Kinesis Advantage 360 starts shipping, that might be a good option for trying out a split keyboard.
They have 60 day returns and don't fight you on RMA at all: https://kinesis-ergo.com/support/returns/
I am a big fan of the Kinesis Advantage 2's dished layout. I think that's a bigger deal for me than being split. The 2 unfortunately is not split, while the 360 is both split and dished.
The thumb keys are also extremely important, but they're more common among ergo keyboards. I don't think I'd ever buy a keyboard without thumb keys. Thumb keys go great with emac's standard keybindings.
I've spent too much money on keyboards already, but will very likely buy the 360.
There are some DIY keyboards like the dactyl-manuform that also look great. Could be a fun project, but I'm not really looking for more side projects at the moment.
By chevill 2022-05-2115:25 Having access to multiple keys per thumb really is a huge improvement over standard keyboards.
They are pretty expensive, but you can get a custom Dactyl Manuform made for about $400-500. I think there are some cheaper ways to get one. I made my own and its the best keyboard I've ever used. Before that I was using a different split keyboard (the ergodox-ex) and it was pretty good but the Dactyl is near perfect. I just wish they were popular enough for a large manufacturer to start making some non-3d printed cases for them.
By CTDOCodebases 2022-05-2314:59 Keyboard meetups are common and give you the opportunity to try a whole range of boards.
By michaelbrave 2022-05-2116:083 reply I'm also curious why there arne't more expiramental key layouts, for example having programming related keys like "()~!" on the number keys is kind of annoying, would love a redesign where they are on the left instead of say caps lock or a longer shift key.
By ProZsolt 2022-05-2117:57 I went with a 36 key Corne keyboard[0] with a modified Miryoku[1] layout. In this way every symbol is near the home row
By CTDOCodebases 2022-05-2314:57 Using the open source firmware (QMK) that comes with most custom keyboard PCBs you can set keys to act as modifier keys when held or tapped. I set my capslock up like this so that when I hold it down h,j,k,l become my arrow keys and y and o become my home and end keys respectively.
Some PCBs support a split space bar too so if you tend to hit space with one hand the other can be used for a modifier and the home row can house all your commonly typed symbols which are normally out of reach.
By kixiQu 2022-05-2117:35 There are tons of people who tweak their layouts a bunch -- but because it's free to switch that up and do your own experimentation, writing about your layout isn't as useful to other people as reviewing things they are considering paying for.
By iyc_ 2022-05-2114:11 That, and the missing meta/hyper key either on the left hand side of the spacebar, or close to the thumbs.
By nextlevelwizard 2022-05-219:572 reply >they are more concerned with aesthetics,
Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!
Mechanical keyboard communities are 110% all about aesthetics. For most it is far more important how the keyboard looks than anything else, the comes how it feels and sounds and somewhere very far comes actual functionality and even further ergonomics.
Obviously there is nothing wrong with this, but it makes sourcing split mechanical keyboards hard and expensive.
Here's my objection to putting it this way, especially the hyperbolic 110% thing.
With one exception, every split key you can buy or make right now is a product of the mechanical keyboard community's enthusiasm. I'm referring to the Kinesis Advantage of course, which is a wonderful device but not my choice.
So yeah, there's a whole subsection in the hobby which makes like 30 key hello-kitty-themed clickbait (look maybe someone actually uses the really minimalist layouts but I roll to doubt), and I don't begrudge them at all, because it's the same hobby that develops things like the Dactyl Manuform, which is going to be my next keyboard some time after I get my filament printer set up in my new home.
In other words, if you think sourcing split mechanical keyboards is hard now, you should have tried to do it before the mechanical keyboard hobby invented them.
By nextlevelwizard 2022-05-2216:26 >With one exception, every split key you can buy or make right now is a product of the mechanical keyboard community's enthusiasm.
Are you high? There are plenty of split keyboards that have nothing to do with mechanical keyboard community unless your think mechanical keyboard community has been active since the 1920s
> Obviously there is nothing wrong with this, but it makes sourcing split mechanical keyboards hard and expensive.
Wouldn't increased demand (regardless of purchase motive) increase supply and decrease the price?
By chevill 2022-05-2115:31 In some ways it does but my fellow keyboard hobbyists seem to have an infinite appetite for artificial scarcity. 99% of aluminum keyboard cases are barely distinguishable from one another but some of them cost a few thousand dollars while others cost $80. There are some with a better fit and finish but the higher in price you go the more rapidly the diminishing returns set in.
Occasionally there's some innovation and slowly we're seeing some of these innovations from individual designers get copied by companies more capable (and more importantly, willing) to mass produce things.
By nextlevelwizard 2022-05-2216:27 Split keyboards have different cases and boards. Only switches and keycaps are shared.
Careful, like all good hobbies it's incredibly addictive. I'm building my 8th keyboard this calendar year alone.
I don't build em but I have 6 mech keyboard so far. Just been trying different switches over time per model.
65% gang
I'm addicted to Orthos, have 3 Plancks, a Preonic, and an XD75. Need to build another for my Steam Deck.
You could also get a hot-swappable board to easily try new switches without getting new keyboards all the time.
By ge96 2022-05-2119:47 That's a good idea. So far cherry MX reds are my daily driver with the curving square key caps (don't know the name yet) as opposed to the round ones.
I tried gatteron yellow but too hard and gatteron red too soft ha.
By samatman 2022-05-2111:07 The traditional remapping for esc is pressing alt, because the alt key sends the escape key in terminals.
Being able to fiddle with your keyboard layout is part of the fun of mechanicals, I happen to have this remapped at the OS level, because even on a laptop keyboard (yes I have a physical escape key) it's more convenient 90% of the time to press left Alt than the reach my pinky all the way up into Esc land.
By martijn9612 2022-05-219:06 Why not map escape to caps lock with QMK or VIA? If you cannot miss your caps lock, place that behind a layer. There are quite some options to tackle this as long as you can flash a custom keymap.
By moondev 2022-05-219:05 With gmk you can set the esc key to tlde, and then a "short long press" to esc on the same key
It's a trap for sure. I built two 45%s and one 120% in the past year or two. Already planning the next one...
By vladvasiliu 2022-05-218:324 reply Do you do your own designs?
While I'm not exactly sure what a 120% is (macro keys?) I've been looking for something like a gaming model with macro buttons on the left and / or on top, but otherwise 75%. Ideally split but single piece. Think MS Sculpt with extra buttons on the left. Haven't found one.
So I was contemplating building one, but I'd have no idea where to start. I've quickly browsed the reddit page, but in those parts they seem much more interested in very compact models.
By ThatPlayer 2022-05-2110:411 reply I would start with http://www.keyboard-layout-editor.com/ to generate a layout that you want. Then there are a few tools [0] to take that layout and generate a plate based off that layout. You can then either 3d print, or laser cut it yourself, or send it off a shop to do it for you.
I don't know PCB design, so I think handwiring is the best bet for a first build. QMK has a handwire [1] guide, and I also use them for the microcontroller software.
Though for the build I'm working on now, I wanted a few extra features that would be hard to do purely handwiring (per-key RGB LED and hotswap), so I use a PCB designed to hold a single key [2]. It allows me to do custom layouts without learning PCB design, but it is a lot more work than handwiring. You would still have to build the matrix yourself like a handwire.
[1] https://docs.qmk.fm/#/hand_wire?id=hand-wiring-guide
[2] https://deskthority.net/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=11420&start=
By fatheart 2022-05-2114:13 If you want to get into PCB design, https://github.com/ergogen/ergogen is a fantastic tool to get you started. I designed my first custom keyboard with it, going in with no knowledge of PCB design.
By rgoulter 2022-05-218:41 You could look at hand-wiring a keyboard. e.g. QMK have a handwiring guide https://docs.qmk.fm/#/hand_wire
Or, for a circuit board, it's probably easiest to find an open source design of a PCB, and figure out how you'd change it from there.
One thing you'd have to worry about is how to create a case for it. 3D print? Layer acrylic together? Re-use a standard size?
By smrq 2022-05-2122:43 Yep, I do all my own designs. When I got into the hobby in 2014, there weren't nearly as many ergo designs floating around (at least that I was aware of!), so I learned OpenSCAD to design a keyplate and 3d printed it, with a big awkward block of foam for support. I used that janky keyboard as my daily driver at work for at least 4 years. If your keyboard is perfect for you, it doesn't have to look perfect!
I mostly built the 120% because it was quite a challenge to play Final Fantasy XIV on a compact split ergo. (And because my girlfriend gifted me a set of Evangelion keycaps and it felt like a huge shame not to use all 127 of them.) It was pretty much an excuse to fit all of the keycaps that I had into a mostly normal keyboard layout. The extra keys are things like F13-F24 (poor OS support on those but I remap them to useful shortcuts for FFXIV with AutoHotkey), media controls, a language switcher, stuff like that.
If you want to try your hand at creating your own designs, it's actually not that hard to get started in my opinion, at least from a hardware perspective. I went from never having soldered or 3d printed before to typing on a working keyboard in the space of a weekend hackathon. All you need is the electronics hardware (microcontroller, keyswitches, keycaps, diodes, wire) and some form of keyplate and support. I would recommend lasercut acrylic since it's not very hard to get started with the 2d design with a variety of software options. If you have 3D printing experience and access to a printer then that might be quicker and more convenient.
I have a few designs on GitHub if you want to take a look:
The Sandiego [1] was my first design and so the firmware is pretty simple, so it might be an okay starting point there. I used OpenSCAD for the keyplate design and didn't make a case ever. There were wires hanging everywhere and it was a guaranteed conversation starter at work. Entirely handwired, so no PCB design either.
The Sigmar [2] has a keyplate and case designed in SolveSpace, which worked ok but it was a bit tedious. For this sort of 2D design, I think it was overkill. I used QMK for the firmware, which was kind of a pain in the ass to be honest. I probably wouldn't use it again. You get a lot of features built in for free though, which is definitely a selling point. I did a PCB design in KiCAD and I would absolutely recommend doing the same for your second keyboard. (Wire one by hand first!)
The Type K [3] is the 120%. Did the keyplate and case design in straight Python, generating DXF files for lasercutting. (I made a few mistakes in the design which I had to bodge with a bit of drilling...) The firmware is a beast because it has no dependencies on any USB libraries or anything. Wouldn't recommend that route unless you were seriously interested in USB, but it was definitely educational. PCB design again in KiCAD.
[1] https://github.com/smrq/sandiego/tree/v1
By prmoustache 2022-05-2111:043 reply Why are people using "building" while all they do is merely assembling?
There's a whole hobby called model building, building a mechanical keyboard is more like building a model than you appear to think. That's why.
Why do you go on the internet and ask aggressive questions predicated on a wrong premise? Just out of curiousity.
By prmoustache 2022-05-2116:503 reply There is no aggeessivity in my question.
I assembled many model kits and it never occurred to call myself a builder. Model kit builder concieve the kits and or create parts out of raw material, epoxy putty and/or 3d printing.
Similarly a bicycle builder will solder/bond individual tubes to build custom frame and fork, possibly custom stem and/or racks. A brand that source frame builts in Asia will but mount the ready made part will say "assembled in <insert the country>.
Maybe I am picky with semantics but it strikes me as arrangant to call ourself builders when we just pick up and assemble parts.
By samatman 2022-05-2118:53 Serious question: is English your first language?
There's no ambiguity here, the hobby is called model building.
By ProZsolt 2022-05-2117:33 But they selecting the individual components, buying them from different vendors, then assembling them to the final thing.
You can "build" a PC or a bicycle without creating any custom part, but the end result will be unique. A keyboard has less parts(board, switches, keycaps and maybe a controller) but I think it still count as built.
If you order everything as part of one kit, like the furniture from Ikea, then yes, you just assembling it together.
By voussoir 2022-05-2122:46 For what it's worth, I feel the same way you do and very carefully chose the word "assembling" instead of "building" when I blogged about putting my keyboard together.
By rpmisms 2022-05-2119:33 You can "Build" a car from a kit, and nobody would take issue. I do plenty of soldering, I've cut case plates by hand, and spent far too many hours on this. Building anything is merely assembling it, the only difference is component count. I guess nobody "builds" PCs, either.
By kixiQu 2022-05-2117:37 A lot of the time, the "build" involves soldering. I don't talk about having "built" my keyboards because I got boards with pre-soldered hotswap sockets -- but even in defense of that, "building a PC" is just assembling 99% of the time, too.
By jwr 2022-05-2110:39 Two notes from someone who has been using many keyboards for many years now:
* ABS vs PBT keycaps: I disagree with the author. PBT is not obviously better. I prefer ABS keycaps, because most PBT keycaps have an aggressive texture, which is unpleasant to my fingers. Mind you, it's something I notice after days/weeks of constant use, not after a minute or two.
* Switches: as I discovered, even the "same" type of switch might have a different feel to it. As an example, Kailh brown switches come in opaque and clear varieties and have a different feel. I really prefer the opaque ones.
