Hey!

[NeoNoeN]

Hey guys!

I've been lurking around here for the past couple of months, really interested in a lot of the projects going on and the awesome mods people have been making to their keyboards. As a gamer I'm a heavy user of my peripherals and decided to take the plunge and purchase a noppoo choc mini with blues (I absolutely love them), though aesthetically not pleasing I plan on making some improvements to it (Making my own case, installing a mini usb port etc.).

I've lurked around in deskthority quite a bit and noticed that this community overlaps with that one quite a lot, whereas on /r/mechanicalkeyboards it's a bit harder to tell with a tad of toxicity between the two communities.

I plan on making 60% mods to the apple extended keyboard II and a model M (Yeah I know these have been done before but I want to add some features that I require).

All in all I can't wait to contribute to this community, thanks for reading guys!


Neon

[infiniti]

Welcome to GeekHack!

What material do you plan to use for the choc mini case?

[NeoNoeN]

I haven't got too much experience but I'm thinking some type of layered wood/acrylic case that kind of sandwiches the PCB using the gap between the PCB and plate (Of course I wouldn't put too much pressure on the PCB, only enough to lock it in place) so that I can have a neat low profile case. I really like floating keys, I don't really know why they just look really nice.

If the plate is only attached to the switches is there a risk that it will pop off if not supported by the case? or is it fine if the case isn't attached to the plate?

[Sent]

Sounds like the case you're thinking of constructing is similar to the style of GON, Kaliet, and a few others.   It's a very clean look.  I like.  Welcome to the site, by the way.  Plenty of knowledgeable people here to help you out with your project.

[infiniti]

'looks like the top and bottom housing of the choc mini just snaps together to hold the plate/pcb in place.


Pic Credit



Pic Credit

You could try making a tray-type case out of layered acrylic or wood.  If the PCB sits directly on the case, I don't think the plate-mount switches would pop out but I'm not sure how stable it would sit in the case (see pic of PCB above).  Perhaps put some drawer liner at the bottom of the case?  Or (depending on your material) install some standoffs for the PCB to sit on?

Depending on how low a profile you want, you could just stick some bump ons to the bottom of your PCB so it won't scratch your table. I think someone has done this but I cannot remember who.

[NeoNoeN]

I'm not really happy with the whole bumpers idea, I feel like it would negatively effect the PCB. However I was thinking I could get some kind of silicon layer (Like the material found in iphone cases) and use that as a barrier between the pcb and case so there isn't too much pressure applied to the PCB, I was also thinking that I could use bolts in certain positions to lock the keyboard to the case like so:

(the green bits are the bolts, sorry for the crappy diagram)

[infiniti]

For the silicone, try looking for silicone baking mats.

You should post in the making stuff together! sub-forum and see what ideas the other members have for mounting options.  If the bolt head is too large, it might interfere with the keys.

[NeoNoeN]

Thanks for the advice, I'll make a post a bit closer to the date in the making stuff sub forum as I think I'm a couple months away from starting the project (Exams).

[infiniti]

No problem!  I look forward to seeing your project.

P.S. Study hard...PARTY HARDER!

[rowdy]

Welcome to Geekhack!

Any new idea is welcome here, a do-it-yourself approach is highly appreciated.

If you've been lurking for a couple of months, you've probably already found the making stuff together! area.

[NeoNoeN]

Thanks! Yeah I'm pretty familiar with the forum's structure having been a lurker for a while, I'm pretty interested in making some stuff like custom MX stems (if anyone has a scale 3d model of an MX stem be sure to link me! It'll save a load of effort) and I just started designing a keycap set that I'll probably put up for an interest check next month.

EDIT: This is the keycap set I'm looking at making, not really sure if it's any good or not so criticism is welcome:

[rowdy]

You'd know, then, that the GH CAD Resources Hub thread is probably the best place to ask for 3D models

By all means create an IC thread - you will get lots of feedback then.  Looks a bit reminiscent of CCnG, but with a different shade of green.