Some Additional Ideas for WASD Keyboards

[TheProfosist]

Potential Ideas for WASD Keyboards (in order of date):


disable left windows for Fn for media keys <-- not going to happen

switch dampeners <-- currently available

wrist rests with varying width and length <-- got put on back burner but getting snap on plastic ones in the meantime

keyboard cases with varying size

keyboard roofs with varying size <-- looking for local company to do this reasonably

wire key pullers <-- on their way but got delayed due to manufacturing concerns

etched keys <-- currently available

mechanical number pad

backlight keys <-- not happening because doing the clear sealing layer is too expensive

wireless keyboard

PBT keys <-- cant fine a manufacturer with reasonable prices and will be looking back into it in a year

dual key labeling (engraved and etched) <-- currently available

front of key labeling <-- not able to happen as there is no way to make a jig

more font <-- currently available by way of a full custom design

alternative TKL and HHKB style keyboards <-- TKL confirmed and there probably wont be word on others until it is out

longer cable <-- will come eventually for now free extension cables

dimmer lock leds

universal spacebars

short right shift (R1 1x1.75) <-- on their way

custom layouts for the DOX and other small keyboards <-- on their way

mac modifier set


Original First Post

since you are also targeting gamers a bit i think the option of disbling left widows might be a good idea. or possibly do something like SteelSeries did with their 7G and make it a Fn key for media keys or some other functions. would defiantly be nice when you come out with a TKL u could emulate a number pad.

[Chobopants]

since you are also targeting gamers a bit i think the option of disbling left widows might be a good idea. or possibly do something like SteelSeries did with their 7G and make it a Fn key for media keys or some other functions. would defiantly be nice when you come out with a TKL u could emulate a number pad.

Disabling left windows with a simple registry write is so simple I don't think it's really necessary to add to a keyboard.

[wasdkeyboards]

I think a lot of games are starting to come with the feature built in also. I don't play a huge variety of games myself, but I do play Starcraft 2 and I know that has an option to disable the Windows key.

TBH, I didn't like the media function mainly because I personally don't like it and I use the left Windows key quite often :smile: Also, I don't want to "overcrowd" the keyboard. I'm a fan of simple and clean. Keyboards, for example, with a whole row of extra shortcut buttons just aren't my style. I'll keep playing around with different ideas and I'll check back with everyone before I put anything in production.

When the time comes for the next keyboard, I'll consider all the different requests from everyone carefully. Thanks for the feedback.

[TheProfosist]

Disabling left windows with a simple registry write is so simple I don't think it's really necessary to add to a keyboard.

then i suggest providing a script for it somewhere as there are many people who wont know how to do that or just afraid to edit their registry themselves. not everyone who is going to buy keyboard is as tech savvy as the users here.

[TheProfosist]

I think a lot of games are starting to come with the feature built in also. I don't play a huge variety of games myself, but I do play Starcraft 2 and I know that has an option to disable the Windows key.

TBH, I didn't like the media function mainly because I personally don't like it and I use the left Windows key quite often :smile: Also, I don't want to "overcrowd" the keyboard. I'm a fan of simple and clean. Keyboards, for example, with a whole row of extra shortcut buttons just aren't my style. I'll keep playing around with different ideas and I'll check back with everyone before I put anything in production.

When the time comes for the next keyboard, I'll consider all the different requests from everyone carefully. Thanks for the feedback.

well you  wouldnt have a "whole extra row" it would be using keys that already exist (on my steelseries its F1-F6). i only suggested the left windows key because that is the function key on  2 of my keyboards (SteelSeries 7G and HHKB Pro 2)and it would do the dual purpose of disabling it for games. though on the HHKB there is a small Fn key that is to the right of right shift. once you start making TKL and smaller keyboards if would probably be wise to add secondary functions to keys to emulate a full keyboard

[wasdkeyboards]

I didn't mean you had to have an extra row, but you know what I mean with those cheap "multimedia keyboards". I'll keep all these things in mind, but honestly, new models and whatnot are just too far out at the moment. Before anything new goes into production, I will be sure to let it get thoroughly discussed beforehand.

[hoggy]

If you are able to get hold of keycaps in different colours - this was quite a popular colour scheme but wasn't possible at the time...

[TheProfosist]

idk if you have seen these but it may be a good option to offer them that way they could get put on before sent out so the user doesnt have to do it them selves

[wasdkeyboards]

idk if you have seen these but it may be a good option to offer them that way they could get put on before sent out so the user doesnt have to do it them selves

Actually I have seen those. I've ordered various rubbers and foams to experiment and plan to make it an option for the keyboard. Another thing I was thinking about were hand made wrist rests. It wont be leather like EK has, but I just so happened to have a piece of memory foam that I glued to a piece of acrylic for a jig I was making. One day I thought, why not use it for a wrist rest? I turned out to be pretty comfortable. The extra width lets more weight from your wrist get evenly distributed. The one I have is a tad too wide. I'm thinking something along the lines of 3" would be good. The one in the pic is 5.5".

I can get it covered with some kind of black cloth, use wood back so the cloth can be stapled down, and then add a rubber backing so it doesn't slip. It wouldn't be cheap though, maybe $30-40 if it's gonna be hand made. If anyone might be interest we might make a few and see what happens.

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[sordna]

I experimented with lots of stuff to find the best-feeling dampening solution (which is medium-soft o-rings) and very cheap too. Click my sig for the particular part number at McMaster Carr.

Hey is that board one of the WASD keyboards ?  Nice!  Looks like my Kinesis:

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[wasdkeyboards]

The one with just a tiny corner showing? That's my Filco Tenkeyless. The keyboard on my computer is a WASD.

[wasdkeyboards]

Nevermind, I just realized that by staggered you meant the key color scheme. Yea, its one of the first ones I made. It actually has red print on the keys. I painted them on:

[ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ] 22638[/ATTACH]

Painting wasn't consistent enough, too long, and wasn't all the durable. My keys are still fine, but if I scratch at, it it'll come off.

[TheProfosist]

Actually I have seen those. I've ordered various rubbers and foams to experiment and plan to make it an option for the keyboard. Another thing I was thinking about were hand made wrist rests. It wont be leather like EK has, but I just so happened to have a piece of memory foam that I glued to a piece of acrylic for a jig I was making. One day I thought, why not use it for a wrist rest? I turned out to be pretty comfortable. The extra width lets more weight from your wrist get evenly distributed. The one I have is a tad too wide. I'm thinking something along the lines of 3" would be good. The one in the pic is 5.5".

I can get it covered with some kind of black cloth, use wood back so the cloth can be stapled down, and then add a rubber backing so it doesn't slip. It wouldn't be cheap though, maybe $30-40 if it's gonna be hand made. If anyone might be interest we might make a few and see what happens.

(Attachment Link) 22633[/ATTACH]

great to hear about the pads. you should find what works best to make it quieter but to keep the tactility. only have one option because from what ive heard about the soft pads from EK they do almost nothing. i have purchased the Firm pads from EK and am awaiting my engraved PBT keycaps to install them. ill tell you how it turns out

wrist rests would be a great idea you should offer them in all 3 sizes (Full, TKL, HHKB) not just ones for a full keyboard as you offer TKL, keys, and other parts. Also then you will be ready when you offer other styles of keyboards in the future. i like the extra width on the wrist rest i have since i got my SteelSeries 7G. i measured my SteelSeries 7G wrist rest (which i think is perfect) it is 4 3/4in i think 4 1/4in (maybe 4 1/2in for people with bigger hands than me) would be ideal. your idea for covering it sounds good (memory foam (rather firm preferably) + black cloth (what kind?) + wood + rubber back (make sure its nice and grippy)). dont forget about the thinkness as that is rather important (thickness of my keyboards HHKBP2=5/8in SS7G=3/4in [i believe 3/4 is the standard]). I would be interested at that price but would have to see a prototype before putting money out.

[TheProfosist]

i was thinking yo could go and offer some more stuff like other companies. keyboard board cases (i cant seem to find a good one for a full size keyboard) and keyboard roofs. there are 2 different types you could offer: sits on keyboard or sits on desk. i think i prefer sits on keyboard (currently looking for one for a full sized keyboard) especially if you
 have a wrist rest. (unless that is you make the one that sits on the desk large enough to fit you keyboard and wrist rest). you could possibly do wire key pullers if you can find a good cheap supplier because not everyone has them and ordering them for a ok price with the keys would be handy. eventually you may want to brand accessories.

i would start of with accessories that would fit your style keyboards that you offer. other sizes by custom order possibly



also on i side note there was a page i was reading about some korean keyboards that offered some interesting ideas and concepts. also not to copy but many of their color schemes seem like good presets.
i could find a couple threads on GeekHack here and here

[TheProfosist]

also since your looking into the soft landing pads

Is it the soft Buna-N O-rings?.  BTW are the o-rings similar to the soft landing pads?  Do you need to physically do anything besides add the little rings around the switch?  I'm interested since I find myself bottoming out a lot on the red switches.

Found a link on youtube.. so I'm watching now haha http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79rWQ-CU9Lw

Yes, McMaster-Carr part number is 2418T114. Very easy to install, roll them over the keycap stems. Better feeling the soft-landing pads which are too soft/mushy.

Here are fantastic and cheap 008 o-rings, at 50A durometer (softer, thus much better than the standard 70-90 durometer ones).
http://www.mcmaster.com/#as568a-o-rings
Drill down to AS568A size 008 round 50A durometer, they are $9.17 per 125 pack. McMaster-Carr part number is 2418T114.
Better deal than the 40A durometer ones I acquired earlier.

may want to them out as their supposedly better than even the firm pads from EK (though this may be personal preference [and i still dont have mine installed])

[wasdkeyboards]

Already ordered some :smile:

also since your looking into the soft landing pads







may want to them out as their supposedly better than even the firm pads from EK (though this may be personal preference [and i still dont have mine installed])

[TheProfosist]

Already ordered some :smile:

sounds great. once more stuff develops, i defiantly plan to buy a board. im looking forward to the pre installed soft landing pads and wrist rest (a full sized keyboard roof might be nice). I was wondering since your hand making the wrist rest would you be able to make one for my HHKB?


if you do end up making keyboard covers i always wondered why on the one that sit on top of the keyboards they were only 2 sides instead of completely surrounding the keyboard. if this can be done i think that i would prefer it.

i believe that someone was looking to getting a chess bag for a full sized keyboard here. they didnt know if it had padding though. It might me something to look into.

[wasdkeyboards]

sounds great. once more stuff develops, i defiantly plan to buy a board. im looking forward to the pre installed soft landing pads and wrist rest (a full sized keyboard roof might be nice). I was wondering since your hand making the wrist rest would you be able to make one for my HHKB?


if you do end up making keyboard covers i always wondered why on the one that sit on top of the keyboards they were only 2 sides instead of completely surrounding the keyboard. if this can be done i think that i would prefer it.

i believe that someone was looking to getting a chess bag for a full sized keyboard here. they didnt know if it had padding though. It might me something to look into.

Well I do have the ability to cut acrylic, but isn't that the same thing EK is already selling?

[TheProfosist]

Well I do have the ability to cut acrylic, but isn't that the same thing EK is already selling?

they no longer offer full keyboard size. also they only have it so that it rests on the top and bottom not all the way around the keyboard (which i dont know if it would even work). i believe keyboard co offers one that rests on the desk not the keyboard.

also it is kind of nice to get everything in one place rather than having to go all over the place. you could just start with full size then do other sizes when you carry that size keyboard or for custom orders.

[TheProfosist]

i just noticed (at least if the facebook pic is an actual photo) that the front of you keyboard has a good bit a plastic beneath the space bar. my measurements for width of wrist rest was for my 2 keyboards SS7G and HHKB P2 which dont have that extra bit of plastic. So when you make wrist rest specifically for you keyboards you may want to shorten by that difference in length because the wirst rest will be slightly further from the keys and wont need to be as wide.

[wasdkeyboards]

Just a quick note, there are NO RENDERED IMAGES of any WASD Keyboards. All are actual photo's with a tad of photoshop. I edit out the background and do some color balancing to make sure the colors are true to life as possible. I use an IPS monitor so the color on my screen is pretty decent.

If the wristrests happen. I'll probably just have a variety of sizes. HHKB, TKL, Full Size, wide, narrow, etc. All in the spirit of customization. However, this whole project is still up in the air. Realistically, I don't have time to make them myself right now. It may come later or if I can get someone to help me. My girlfriend is the first on the list. Which BTW, she's about to make some Ctrl, Alt, Del throw pillows if anyone is interested in some home decor items :smile:

[WasabiJ]

If you're looking for raw foam and rubber mats for wrists, McMaster Carr sells some raw memory foam in sheets, and samplers of all their foams and rubbers.  I hope that you stay with the ultra wide form of the wrist rest, so that my rests are supported down my arms and not just up at the top.  I don't like those kinds and feel they just get in the way.

You should have a hand or something "real" in the back/foreground of those keyboard pics, because you do take incredibly clean pics of incredibly neat products, and it would be a shame if people thought they were just renders.

And can I put down a deposit on some of those CTRL-ALT-DEL throws?

[TheProfosist]

Just a quick note, there are NO RENDERED IMAGES of any WASD Keyboards. All are actual photo's with a tad of photoshop. I edit out the background and do some color balancing to make sure the colors are true to life as possible. I use an IPS monitor so the color on my screen is pretty decent.

If the wristrests happen. I'll probably just have a variety of sizes. HHKB, TKL, Full Size, wide, narrow, etc. All in the spirit of customization. However, this whole project is still up in the air. Realistically, I don't have time to make them myself right now. It may come later or if I can get someone to help me. My girlfriend is the first on the list. Which BTW, she's about to make some Ctrl, Alt, Del throw pillows if anyone is interested in some home decor items :smile:

alright nice to know i was just wondering as it looked a little unrealistic with the white background and near perfect color keys (i too use a IPS monitor ASUS PA246Q) .

well i would probably be interested in a wristrest for my HHKB and WASD Keyboard (once i have it) within the measurements i posted and would be happy to test for you (though am halfway across the country)

o by the way nice wire key puller and its even branded. will have to order one with my keyboard (read u actually get one with a complete keyboard purchase. is this the case?).

i think you should get fill (black/white) as soon as you can as etched with no fill (otherwise known as engraved) is rather hard to see and for those people who are not as accustomed to a keyboard as the users here or for gaming purposes where a quick glance is necessary would be more likely to buy. (I am not one of those people. i just ordered engraved PBT keys for my steelseries 7G. i would have ordered from you but there are some incompatibilities [edit: after looking at some pics i think they may be compatible just a different height which shouldnt have mattered when replacing all the keys. should have ordered from you {though wouldnt have been PBT}, would have been much cheaper.])

i was working withe the keyboard designer and noticed when you select multiple keys the default text color is white even though it isnt an option. Also many people here would think of your etched keys as engraved as etched keys usually have some fill and engraved have none. one way to make sure people know is say Etched (no fill) or something along that line.

[TheProfosist]

i notices in your semi-custom v1 thread that you mentioned dampeners. what did you end up going with?

[wasdkeyboards]

The McMaster ones you/sordna recommended. I tried some out and they feel pretty good. I bottom out like 50% of my key strokes so it was a bit weird at first since it does slightly reduce the amount of key travel.

[TheProfosist]

The McMaster ones you/sordna recommended. I tried some out and they feel pretty good. I bottom out like 50% of my key strokes so it was a bit weird at first since it does slightly reduce the amount of key travel.

ok it will be nice to test those against the EK Firm Soft Landing pads that ill be installing in my 7G soon. i have finalized my design for my keyboard the lettering is what took the longest and the colors are loosely based off one of your presets. I trying to decide on switch type now. My 7G is currently my only Cherry keyboard and it has black switches but ever since using my HHKB i prefer the topre switch mostly because of its feel (its lighter and has tactile feedback). I think brown might be closest to this and well i dont really want audible clicks...

[TheProfosist]

just had an idea. you could once you offer other size keyboards look into how big the market if for a separate mechanical number pad. if you do that you should also make it so that it works separately as a calculator.

also i notice on the fully custom keyboards that the dampeners are not yet available.

[wasdkeyboards]

just had an idea. you could once you offer other size keyboards look into how big the market if for a separate mechanical number pad. if you do that you should also make it so that it works separately as a calculator.

also i notice on the fully custom keyboards that the dampeners are not yet available.

I don't have the ability to add them as options like the Semi-Custom at this point. But what I did instead was offer additional "items" that you add to the cart. You can get dampeners or even upload your own art for a small fee.

Custom Keyboard Options

[TheProfosist]

sounds good.

i know the wrist rests on not on their way any time soon but i did some research. The standard width for a wrist rest is 2.5 in. Keeping this in mind you could offer 3 different widths which would keep everyone happy. Those being Standard (w=2.5in), Wide (w=3.75in), and Extra Wide (w=5in).

I ended up making one for my HHKB by cutting down and modifying a natural rubber wrist rest i got off ebay to a length of 11.5in and width of 4.5in. im liking it so far but it is a art projects looking. I like the natural rubber (in foam form?) it is firm but has just enough give to be comfy (same principal as those Anti-Fatigue mats?).

Also it looks like EK is out of both the TKL (says stock=no) and Full size (no longer even listed on their site) keyboard roofs and there have been a few people asking about them since they have been out. If you have the time you may want to look into them.

[wasdkeyboards]

sounds good.

i know the wrist rests on not on their way any time soon but i did some research. The standard width for a wrist rest is 2.5 in. Keeping this in mind you could offer 3 different widths which would keep everyone happy. Those being Standard (w=2.5in), Wide (w=3.75in), and Extra Wide (w=5in).

I ended up making one for my HHKB by cutting down and modifying a natural rubber wrist rest i got off ebay to a length of 11.5in and width of 4.5in. im liking it so far but it is a art projects looking. I like the natural rubber (in foam form?) it is firm but has just enough give to be comfy (same principal as those Anti-Fatigue mats?).

Also it looks like EK is out of both the TKL (says stock=no) and Full size (no longer even listed on their site) keyboard roofs and there have been a few people asking about them since they have been out. If you have the time you may want to look into them.

I've been pretty busy with just keyboards and keys the past week. Looks like R&D time for wrist rests and covers is going to get cut back. Once there's enough volume to justify hiring someone I can begin experimenting a little more with other accessories again.