Author Topic: Modular Cap System (MCS)  (Read 22667 times)

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Offline nubbinator

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Modular Cap System (MCS)
« on: Sun, 01 March 2015, 22:51:30 »
This is an idea I've been kicking around for a while, but haven't really had time to do until today.  The concept is a cap that you could easily transform into any stem you want, Alps, Topre, MX, BS, or some new stem that comes along.  It still hasn't been printed and tested to make sure dimensions and fitment are right, a cap hasn't been made, and other revisions haven't been made yet either, but I think it's off to an interesting start and wanted to share it.

Since I'm CAD incompetent, this probably took far longer than it should have (coupled with the fact that it was all done in TinkerCAD), but here's the rough idea:














I'm most likely going to change the mount to an Alps style mount since it will be easier to cast consistently and give a nice secure mount.  The circle will still be present and the mount will be recessed in the cap.  While it will raise cost a fair amount, it also makes things interesting since it allows for more flexibility in novelty caps.

And, for the record, the BS stem was a ***** to model.

Offline FrostyToast

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Re: Modular Cap System (MCS)
« Reply #1 on: Sun, 01 March 2015, 22:55:58 »
YES!
Finally someone is reviving this idea!
This was something that I saw when I first joined GH a couple of years ago and I want this to come to fruition so badly.
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Offline byker

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Re: Modular Cap System (MCS)
« Reply #2 on: Sun, 01 March 2015, 23:37:42 »
Great work nubbs!  :thumb:  I am excited to see where this goes, it would be great to have uniform caps that work on all boards!  :D

Offline naasfu

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Re: Modular Cap System (MCS)
« Reply #3 on: Sun, 01 March 2015, 23:38:16 »
That's really cool.  What's the green MX rectangular stem for?  Looks kind of like a Bro Cap stem.
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Offline nubbinator

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Re: Modular Cap System (MCS)
« Reply #4 on: Sun, 01 March 2015, 23:43:04 »
Great work nubbs!  :thumb:  I am excited to see where this goes, it would be great to have uniform caps that work on all boards!  :D


It will probably be slow going since it will be a fair amount of trial and error and won't be cheap, but it should be interesting to see if it works, especially the BS stem.


That's really cool.  What's the green MX rectangular stem for?  Looks kind of like a Bro Cap stem.

It's one of two different permutations of MX stems.  Rectangular stems are stronger, circular stems are more traditional and work with the Novatouch and the 3D printed Topre stems.

Purple - Stabilized Topre

Blue - Alps

Red - Buckling Spring

Green - Reinforced MX

Magenta - Traditional MX

Offline byker

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Re: Modular Cap System (MCS)
« Reply #5 on: Sun, 01 March 2015, 23:44:34 »
Let me know if there is some way I can help. :) I've never worked with CAD before but could buy some on shape ways to test, or throw some dollars your way for testing.  :thumb:

Offline NexVestrum

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Re: Modular Cap System (MCS)
« Reply #6 on: Mon, 02 March 2015, 00:17:40 »
Very cool idea! One thing I would want to see is a little tab or bump so that the modular stems "click" into place so if the fit is a little loose they wont slowly turn on the stem. I was thinking something like those clear orange pill bottle cap system. Nothing would bother me more than seeing one key turned 0.5 degrees  ;D

Offline Wilba

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Re: Modular Cap System (MCS)
« Reply #7 on: Mon, 02 March 2015, 00:48:45 »
Great idea!

I also think the Alps mount is a better plan... that locking mechanism is too complex for DIY keycaps (I mean, people like me turning some random object into a keycap, not artisan produced). Since they're most likely to be plastic, they could wedge into a rectangular hole in the keycap and be a tight fit.

Offline nubbinator

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Re: Modular Cap System (MCS)
« Reply #8 on: Mon, 02 March 2015, 00:54:24 »
Redesign based on Alps style I mentioned in OP.  Still need to work on the base cap.




Offline Ngt

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Re: Modular Cap System (MCS)
« Reply #9 on: Mon, 02 March 2015, 02:21:37 »
I don't really get how it is supposed to be used. You can remove the stem and put another instead? Or are they all-in-one system?

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Offline MOZ

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Re: Modular Cap System (MCS)
« Reply #10 on: Mon, 02 March 2015, 05:42:44 »
Very interesting idea, I remember me and Photekq toyign with this idea sometime early last year, but that never materialised into anything

Offline p3lim

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Re: Modular Cap System (MCS)
« Reply #11 on: Mon, 02 March 2015, 06:02:43 »
I don't really get how it is supposed to be used. You can remove the stem and put another instead? Or are they all-in-one system?

The idea is that the stems are replaceable, and the keycap has a mounting system to support this. So, for the customer you'd get a full set of keycaps and a set of stems that match your switch.

Offline Ngt

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Re: Modular Cap System (MCS)
« Reply #12 on: Mon, 02 March 2015, 06:07:27 »
I don't really get how it is supposed to be used. You can remove the stem and put another instead? Or are they all-in-one system?

The idea is that the stems are replaceable, and the keycap has a mounting system to support this. So, for the customer you'd get a full set of keycaps and a set of stems that match your switch.


Fair enough. I wonder how much it would cost. But why are there keycaps? Wouldn't the point be that you could use whatever keycaps matching the stem you put?

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Offline p3lim

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Re: Modular Cap System (MCS)
« Reply #13 on: Mon, 02 March 2015, 07:27:37 »
I don't really get how it is supposed to be used. You can remove the stem and put another instead? Or are they all-in-one system?

The idea is that the stems are replaceable, and the keycap has a mounting system to support this. So, for the customer you'd get a full set of keycaps and a set of stems that match your switch.


Fair enough. I wonder how much it would cost. But why are there keycaps? Wouldn't the point be that you could use whatever keycaps matching the stem you put?

By the look of the renders, the keycaps have to be designed around this "universal" mounting system. The stems themselves can't be mounted to the keycap otherwise.

Offline nova779

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Re: Modular Cap System (MCS)
« Reply #14 on: Mon, 02 March 2015, 17:44:00 »
How would this work with changing the caps, would you have to remove the caps and then the adapters, or would the adapters come off with the caps?

Offline HoffmanMyster

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Re: Modular Cap System (MCS)
« Reply #15 on: Mon, 02 March 2015, 17:48:33 »
Very cool, nubs!  I look forward to seeing where this goes, and will support it in any way I can.   :thumb:

Offline Ngt

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Re: Modular Cap System (MCS)
« Reply #16 on: Mon, 02 March 2015, 17:53:03 »
I don't really get how it is supposed to be used. You can remove the stem and put another instead? Or are they all-in-one system?

The idea is that the stems are replaceable, and the keycap has a mounting system to support this. So, for the customer you'd get a full set of keycaps and a set of stems that match your switch.


Fair enough. I wonder how much it would cost. But why are there keycaps? Wouldn't the point be that you could use whatever keycaps matching the stem you put?

By the look of the renders, the keycaps have to be designed around this "universal" mounting system. The stems themselves can't be mounted to the keycap otherwise.


If you are right it would mean we would lost some many great keycaps set because they aren't compatible with this "universal" stem. You would need to produce keycaps set in order to use this universal stem. I'm not sure I get the interest if you have to change all the stems of your board and buy other keycaps because the one you have atm won't fit on it. Wouldn't it be more interesting to have an "universal MX stem"? I'm just guessing here because I don't even know if that's possible.

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Offline HoffmanMyster

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Re: Modular Cap System (MCS)
« Reply #17 on: Mon, 02 March 2015, 18:00:39 »
I don't really get how it is supposed to be used. You can remove the stem and put another instead? Or are they all-in-one system?

The idea is that the stems are replaceable, and the keycap has a mounting system to support this. So, for the customer you'd get a full set of keycaps and a set of stems that match your switch.


Fair enough. I wonder how much it would cost. But why are there keycaps? Wouldn't the point be that you could use whatever keycaps matching the stem you put?

By the look of the renders, the keycaps have to be designed around this "universal" mounting system. The stems themselves can't be mounted to the keycap otherwise.


If you are right it would mean we would lost some many great keycaps set because they aren't compatible with this "universal" stem. You would need to produce keycaps set in order to use this universal stem. I'm not sure I get the interest if you have to change all the stems of your board and buy other keycaps because the one you have atm won't fit on it. Wouldn't it be more interesting to have an "universal MX stem"? I'm just guessing here because I don't even know if that's possible.

I think this is more geared towards artisan caps, but I'll let nubbinator comment on the intent himself.  In my opinion, the big benefit is that you could now have a Dolly cap that is compatible with every (major) switch type by simply having a small collection of these adapters to use with whichever keyboard you want.

Offline Ngt

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Re: Modular Cap System (MCS)
« Reply #18 on: Mon, 02 March 2015, 18:05:39 »
I don't really get how it is supposed to be used. You can remove the stem and put another instead? Or are they all-in-one system?

The idea is that the stems are replaceable, and the keycap has a mounting system to support this. So, for the customer you'd get a full set of keycaps and a set of stems that match your switch.


Fair enough. I wonder how much it would cost. But why are there keycaps? Wouldn't the point be that you could use whatever keycaps matching the stem you put?

By the look of the renders, the keycaps have to be designed around this "universal" mounting system. The stems themselves can't be mounted to the keycap otherwise.


If you are right it would mean we would lost some many great keycaps set because they aren't compatible with this "universal" stem. You would need to produce keycaps set in order to use this universal stem. I'm not sure I get the interest if you have to change all the stems of your board and buy other keycaps because the one you have atm won't fit on it. Wouldn't it be more interesting to have an "universal MX stem"? I'm just guessing here because I don't even know if that's possible.

I think this is more geared towards artisan caps, but I'll let nubbinator comment on the intent himself.  In my opinion, the big benefit is that you could now have a Dolly cap that is compatible with every (major) switch type by simply having a small collection of these adapters to use with whichever keyboard you want.


Oh ok, that would make sense.

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Offline nubbinator

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Re: Modular Cap System (MCS)
« Reply #19 on: Mon, 02 March 2015, 18:05:45 »
How would this work with changing the caps, would you have to remove the caps and then the adapters, or would the adapters come off with the caps?

Likely you'd pull the cap then the stem with the Alps style.  A pain? Yes, but a difficult one to get around.

The twist in idea would circumvent that, but would be difficult to cast consistently and without breaking your mold.  It would require a metal mold.

Very cool, nubs!  I look forward to seeing where this goes, and will support it in any way I can.   :thumb:

Thanks man, I like projects and this could be fun.

If you are right it would mean we would lost some many great keycaps set because they aren't compatible with this "universal" stem. You would need to produce keycaps set in order to use this universal stem. I'm not sure I get the interest if you have to change all the stems of your board and buy other keycaps because the one you have atm won't fit on it. Wouldn't it be more interesting to have an "universal MX stem"? I'm just guessing here because I don't even know if that's possible.

This is not intended for full cap sets.  It's a platform to build novelty caps on.  If someone wanted to make full sets with it, I'd love it, but I don't see it happening.  I just like modularity and being able to use caps the way I want.

Offline Ngt

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Re: Modular Cap System (MCS)
« Reply #20 on: Mon, 02 March 2015, 18:07:16 »
How would this work with changing the caps, would you have to remove the caps and then the adapters, or would the adapters come off with the caps?

Likely you'd pull the cap then the stem with the Alps style.  A pain? Yes, but a difficult one to get around.

The twist in idea would circumvent that, but would be difficult to cast consistently and without breaking your mold.  It would require a metal mold.

Very cool, nubs!  I look forward to seeing where this goes, and will support it in any way I can.   :thumb:

Thanks man, I like projects and this could be fun.

If you are right it would mean we would lost some many great keycaps set because they aren't compatible with this "universal" stem. You would need to produce keycaps set in order to use this universal stem. I'm not sure I get the interest if you have to change all the stems of your board and buy other keycaps because the one you have atm won't fit on it. Wouldn't it be more interesting to have an "universal MX stem"? I'm just guessing here because I don't even know if that's possible.

This is not intended for full cap sets.  It's a platform to build novelty caps on.  If someone wanted to make full sets with it, I'd love it, but I don't see it happening.  I just like modularity and being able to use caps the way I want.


Yeah I understand the purpose know. It is all clear now! :D

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Offline Korth

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Re: Modular Cap System (MCS)
« Reply #21 on: Mon, 02 March 2015, 19:10:36 »
Speaking of clear, can 3D printers use transparent or translucent plastics?

For LED-in-stem purposes, of course.

Offline NexVestrum

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Re: Modular Cap System (MCS)
« Reply #22 on: Tue, 03 March 2015, 16:32:17 »
Speaking of clear, can 3D printers use transparent or translucent plastics?

For LED-in-stem purposes, of course.

Depends on the printer, but easy answer: yes they absolutely can  ;D

Offline nubbinator

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Re: Modular Cap System (MCS)
« Reply #23 on: Wed, 04 March 2015, 01:20:55 »
Since the point of this (for me at least) is to make an easy system to mold caps on, I went ahead and made some simple cap designs.  I measure the size of the standard switch housing and based the interior dimensions off of that.  It *should* work with Alps, Topre, MX, or BS, but I won't know until I try it out.  Since I based it off of housing dimensions instead of caps, it should give the cap more room for modeling on, so if I want to build out the sides a little I can.  The cap can also be tapered in future iterations.

The Alps style peg was made marginally smaller than the hole of the stem and the circular cutout was made marginally larger than the stem to give a little room.  One of the pegs (or nubs) is tapered, the other straight just to see what works best.






I also looked at my BS stem again and noticed that the stem appears like it might be offset a little, so I fudged with the stem some more to try and make something that will work.






While working on this, I also messed around with the idea of a MXT (MX/Topre) stem.  It would require tougher tolerances, but it is theoretically possible.  So I'll be getting one made with the stems just to see.


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Re: Modular Cap System (MCS)
« Reply #24 on: Wed, 04 March 2015, 03:11:14 »
This is the best idea ever. Instead of having to swap boards or stems inside the board. Swap the Insert.

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Re: Modular Cap System (MCS)
« Reply #25 on: Wed, 04 March 2015, 11:13:08 »
This is the best idea ever. Instead of having to swap boards or stems inside the board. Swap the Insert.

Alternatively, if you want to make a fixed stem, you can also just drop in the stem you want for the mold, mold it, then start casting with that stem.  I've got my fingers crossed that it works like I think it should, but I'm holding off on prototypes until I get my MX to Alps convertors back.  Once I have those, I can get an idea of what material will be best and get it made up.  Otherwise I'd be spending $100-200 on prototypes instead of $50-100.

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Re: Modular Cap System (MCS)
« Reply #26 on: Wed, 04 March 2015, 17:02:23 »
This is the best idea ever. Instead of having to swap boards or stems inside the board. Swap the Insert.

Alternatively, if you want to make a fixed stem, you can also just drop in the stem you want for the mold, mold it, then start casting with that stem.  I've got my fingers crossed that it works like I think it should, but I'm holding off on prototypes until I get my MX to Alps convertors back.  Once I have those, I can get an idea of what material will be best and get it made up.  Otherwise I'd be spending $100-200 on prototypes instead of $50-100.

Oh yeah, that does sound great for cap crafters!

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Re: Modular Cap System (MCS)
« Reply #27 on: Sun, 08 March 2015, 03:50:14 »
Awesome project you have here, nubs! :thumb:

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Re: Modular Cap System (MCS)
« Reply #28 on: Sat, 14 March 2015, 20:20:47 »
Stems are ready to ship:




Just waiting on the caps:






I can't wait for these to arrive.  I messed up the models of the stems a little since I couldn't see spots where the two surfaces weren't actually touching in TinkerCAD, but those are resolved and they printed successfully.  I'm hoping they work out just fine.

I may have to get them SLA printed by somebody if I'm not 100% happy with the results.  If they all work and don't need any tweaking, they'll be available soon.

Offline Ngt

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Re: Modular Cap System (MCS)
« Reply #29 on: Sun, 15 March 2015, 11:48:07 »
Stems are ready to ship:

Show Image



Just waiting on the caps:


Show Image




I can't wait for these to arrive.  I messed up the models of the stems a little since I couldn't see spots where the two surfaces weren't actually touching in TinkerCAD, but those are resolved and they printed successfully.  I'm hoping they work out just fine.

I may have to get them SLA printed by somebody if I'm not 100% happy with the results.  If they all work and don't need any tweaking, they'll be available soon.
Thanks for letting us now. That's some good news.

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Offline Vizir

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Re: Modular Cap System (MCS)
« Reply #30 on: Sun, 15 March 2015, 16:27:22 »
sweet. this would be the holy grail for mech kb users.

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Re: Modular Cap System (MCS)
« Reply #31 on: Mon, 16 March 2015, 12:44:40 »
I could be way off base here, but my first thought is you’ll have very little room for error with the tolerances for your proposed Alps style peg/hole system.  If the hole’s too big, it’s going to rattle around on the peg, if the hole’s too small, the peg’s not going to fit.  The last thing an artesian cap maker needs is another potential element that can go wrong and render that cap defective.

I wonder if something like the two-piece IBM buckling spring keycap design might allow for looser tolerances and be a little less error prone?



Reference: http://deskthority.net/wiki/Keycap_mount

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Re: Modular Cap System (MCS)
« Reply #32 on: Mon, 16 March 2015, 13:42:01 »
I could be way off base here, but my first thought is you’ll have very little room for error with the tolerances for your proposed Alps style peg/hole system.  If the hole’s too big, it’s going to rattle around on the peg, if the hole’s too small, the peg’s not going to fit.  The last thing an artesian cap maker needs is another potential element that can go wrong and render that cap defective.

I wonder if something like the two-piece IBM buckling spring keycap design might allow for looser tolerances and be a little less error prone?

Show Image


Reference: http://deskthority.net/wiki/Keycap_mount

That's a very good question.  To answer your question, there's a few reasons I didn't.

First, Clack has done that and I wanted to make something that was different. 

Second, you run into the potential that you won't have walls thick enough to print or to comfortably cast without issue or you may have walls too thick to fit. 

Third, long term durability may not be there depending on the properties of the resin and thickness of the cast.  Playing with the stem may be less of a problem than popping the cap off. Or it might not be a problem at all. 

Fourth, casting difficulty.  The bases, especially the buckling spring, become much more difficult to cast. 

Fifth, cost effectiveness.  If you cannot easily cast the bases, you'll have to print them.  Making them easily and cheaper to print helps control costs. 

Sixth, it makes it very easy to make a single piece mold if you don't want swappable stems. 

Seventh, and last, I'm not sure my CAD skills are good enough to get that close of a tolerance.

I know I'll probably have to figure out a better modular stem system in the long run, but it's a stepping stone.
« Last Edit: Mon, 16 March 2015, 13:44:34 by nubbinator »

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Re: Modular Cap System (MCS)
« Reply #33 on: Tue, 17 March 2015, 01:02:34 »
Thank god other people are trying to think this through.  I was too CAD phobic and pho had very little time.  Please ask pho if he would share what we started with you.  You have my full endorsement.
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Re: Modular Cap System (MCS)
« Reply #34 on: Thu, 19 March 2015, 19:51:43 »
Just received the caps and stem today and it's mixed success.

Bad news first:

  • The Topre stem came in two parts even though I know I fixed the model.  I'll have to check it again.
  • The BS stem needs some redesign.  It appears that it needs to be made wider by just a hair and that the depth for the spring wasn't enough.  I may also thicken the walls a little to make it a little stronger.

Good news:

  • MX fitment is perfect on the Black and Red stems I tried it out on.  Both the round and rectangular ones fit perfectly.
  • Topre stem fitment appears to be perfect as well.
  • The Alps stem is perfect.
  • BS fits and may even work, so the rework shouldn't be an insane amount of work.
  • The cap is perfect whether it's the slightly tapered version or the squared off version.  They're snug and I didn't notice any issue with it in use at all.  It may be due to the material used, but it seems tight enough, so hopefully resins shouldn't be an issue unless they have huge amounts of shrinkage.  If that's a worry, it makes it easy to have a one piece cap mold so you can be modular in your casting.
« Last Edit: Thu, 19 March 2015, 19:57:28 by nubbinator »

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Re: Modular Cap System (MCS)
« Reply #35 on: Thu, 19 March 2015, 19:59:18 »
Awesome news nubs!

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Re: Modular Cap System (MCS)
« Reply #36 on: Fri, 20 March 2015, 10:11:52 »
Just received the caps and stem today and it's mixed success.

Bad news first:

  • The Topre stem came in two parts even though I know I fixed the model.  I'll have to check it again.
  • The BS stem needs some redesign.  It appears that it needs to be made wider by just a hair and that the depth for the spring wasn't enough.  I may also thicken the walls a little to make it a little stronger.

Good news:

  • MX fitment is perfect on the Black and Red stems I tried it out on.  Both the round and rectangular ones fit perfectly.
  • Topre stem fitment appears to be perfect as well.
  • The Alps stem is perfect.
  • BS fits and may even work, so the rework shouldn't be an insane amount of work.
  • The cap is perfect whether it's the slightly tapered version or the squared off version.  They're snug and I didn't notice any issue with it in use at all.  It may be due to the material used, but it seems tight enough, so hopefully resins shouldn't be an issue unless they have huge amounts of shrinkage.  If that's a worry, it makes it easy to have a one piece cap mold so you can be modular in your casting.
Wow great thanks for your dedication to this. I hope we'll be able to see some artisans' caps using your stem design soon! :D

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Offline nubbinator

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Re: Modular Cap System (MCS)
« Reply #37 on: Sun, 29 March 2015, 02:40:31 »
Finally got around to addressing the issues.  I widened the BS stem a little, increased the size of the nubs on the side a little, and fixed the spring well.  I should also have fixed the Topre stem.  I submitted them to Shapeways, so I should know in about a week or two.








I may be a CADtard, but I think I'm getting the hang of TinkerCAD.  I know it still takes me much longer to do stuff than someone who knows what they're doing or who has access to AutoCAD, but it's fun.


Offline CPTBadAss

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Re: Modular Cap System (MCS)
« Reply #38 on: Wed, 01 April 2015, 07:24:33 »
Looking forward to seeing how the next round performs :)

Offline nubbinator

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Re: Modular Cap System (MCS)
« Reply #39 on: Thu, 02 April 2015, 20:50:50 »
As with every iteration, I solved some problems and others popped up.

Good news:
  • MX and Alps stems are good to go.
  • The square caps you can build upon are good to go in detail plastic.
  • BS stem appears to consistently work with my F AT when it's seated properly

Bad News:
  • The Topre stem doesn't work. I believe it's just too short, so that's an easy fix.
  • The BS stem doesn't consistently work with my AT&T BS board.  I need someone to try the stem out on a Model M and see if it works with one.
  • The hole for the MCS is too big on Frosted Detail plastic by ~0.1mm.

The good outweigh the bad and, for the most part, they appear to be pretty easy fixes aside from figuring out why BS doesn't work.

Offline CPTBadAss

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Re: Modular Cap System (MCS)
« Reply #40 on: Thu, 02 April 2015, 21:14:16 »
Send the BS my way if you like. I've got an F, M, and a clear keychain so I could test it out on all three. Plus the keychain would make things easier to see.

Offline iamtootallforthis

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Re: Modular Cap System (MCS)
« Reply #41 on: Thu, 02 April 2015, 21:21:50 »
Nubs this is really awesome and I hope it works out as I would love to make use of them!

Offline Ngt

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Re: Modular Cap System (MCS)
« Reply #42 on: Fri, 03 April 2015, 02:32:26 »
As with every iteration, I solved some problems and others popped up.

Good news:
  • MX and Alps stems are good to go.
  • The square caps you can build upon are good to go in detail plastic.
  • BS stem appears to consistently work with my F AT when it's seated properly
Bad News:
  • The Topre stem doesn't work. I believe it's just too short, so that's an easy fix.
  • The BS stem doesn't consistently work with my AT&T BS board.  I need someone to try the stem out on a Model M and see if it works with one.
  • The hole for the MCS is too big on Frosted Detail plastic by ~0.1mm.
The good outweigh the bad and, for the most part, they appear to be pretty easy fixes aside from figuring out why BS doesn't work.


Good job, keep up the great work. Looking forward to see some artisans using it!

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Offline MAR82

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Re: Modular Cap System (MCS)
« Reply #43 on: Fri, 03 April 2015, 04:49:39 »
This is really cool! 
I wonder if some company like SP (I don't think GMK would care) would like to buy/license the concept from Nubb, like that they could sell GB caps to more people than just those who have Cherry MX boards

Offline Ngt

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Re: Modular Cap System (MCS)
« Reply #44 on: Fri, 03 April 2015, 05:31:33 »
This is really cool! 
I wonder if some company like SP (I don't think GMK would care) would like to buy/license the concept from Nubb, like that they could sell GB caps to more people than just those who have Cherry MX boards
I think it would require you to change all the stem of your board. I don't think all SP's customer would be ready for that. I think it is mostly directed towards novelty caps.

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Offline MAR82

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Re: Modular Cap System (MCS)
« Reply #45 on: Fri, 03 April 2015, 06:05:10 »
This is really cool! 
I wonder if some company like SP (I don't think GMK would care) would like to buy/license the concept from Nubb, like that they could sell GB caps to more people than just those who have Cherry MX boards
I think it would require you to change all the stem of your board. I don't think all SP's customer would be ready for that. I think it is mostly directed towards novelty caps.
The idea for the modular cap system is to be able to use the same caps on different switches. So the cap would have a fitting for Nubbs adapter, and the bottom part of the adapter would be for whatever type of switch you have (MX, Topre, ALPS, BS)

Offline Ngt

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Re: Modular Cap System (MCS)
« Reply #46 on: Fri, 03 April 2015, 10:14:59 »
This is really cool! 
I wonder if some company like SP (I don't think GMK would care) would like to buy/license the concept from Nubb, like that they could sell GB caps to more people than just those who have Cherry MX boards
I think it would require you to change all the stem of your board. I don't think all SP's customer would be ready for that. I think it is mostly directed towards novelty caps.
The idea for the modular cap system is to be able to use the same caps on different switches. So the cap would have a fitting for Nubbs adapter, and the bottom part of the adapter would be for whatever type of switch you have (MX, Topre, ALPS, BS)
Hum I see. I guess I got it wrong. But how the adapter would be attached to the key cap? Some kind of screw mechanism?

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Offline bcredbottle

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Re: Modular Cap System (MCS)
« Reply #47 on: Fri, 03 April 2015, 10:33:28 »
.
« Last Edit: Wed, 06 October 2021, 13:54:39 by bcredbottle »

Offline MAR82

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Re: Modular Cap System (MCS)
« Reply #48 on: Fri, 03 April 2015, 10:43:09 »
This is really cool! 
I wonder if some company like SP (I don't think GMK would care) would like to buy/license the concept from Nubb, like that they could sell GB caps to more people than just those who have Cherry MX boards
I think it would require you to change all the stem of your board. I don't think all SP's customer would be ready for that. I think it is mostly directed towards novelty caps.
The idea for the modular cap system is to be able to use the same caps on different switches. So the cap would have a fitting for Nubbs adapter, and the bottom part of the adapter would be for whatever type of switch you have (MX, Topre, ALPS, BS)
Hum I see. I guess I got it wrong. But how the adapter would be attached to the key cap? Some kind of screw mechanism?
If you look at the pictures Nubbs posted on the 29th (https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=69433.msg1697892#msg1697892) you'll see that under each cap there will be a little square hole that the new (cap) stems would fit into (they might need to be glued in or use double sided tape, unless it's a nice tight fit)

Offline Ngt

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Re: Modular Cap System (MCS)
« Reply #49 on: Fri, 03 April 2015, 14:08:34 »
This is really cool! 
I wonder if some company like SP (I don't think GMK would care) would like to buy/license the concept from Nubb, like that they could sell GB caps to more people than just those who have Cherry MX boards
I think it would require you to change all the stem of your board. I don't think all SP's customer would be ready for that. I think it is mostly directed towards novelty caps.
The idea for the modular cap system is to be able to use the same caps on different switches. So the cap would have a fitting for Nubbs adapter, and the bottom part of the adapter would be for whatever type of switch you have (MX, Topre, ALPS, BS)
Hum I see. I guess I got it wrong. But how the adapter would be attached to the key cap? Some kind of screw mechanism?
If you look at the pictures Nubbs posted on the 29th (https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=69433.msg1697892#msg1697892) you'll see that under each cap there will be a little square hole that the new (cap) stems would fit into (they might need to be glued in or use double sided tape, unless it's a nice tight fit)
Indeed. Thanks for the clarification. ;)

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