Versatile tenting with mini racks

[macroxue]

Hi.

I've been thinking about an easy way of tenting split keyboards and got some ideas. Here is the concept with Lego blocks and a touchpad.

A simple rack that doesn't require much material or skill to construct.


The rack and the touchpad are locked. Gravity is doing its job.


To increase the tenting angle, just move the rack to the right.


This works well for rectangular keyboards but not quite so for those irregular keyboards. An obvious downside is that the tenting mechanism is exposed rather than hidden. Has anybody tried something like this before?

Cheers,
Hanhong

[macroxue]

Finally printed tenting racks for my 60% split keyboard. They work very well. Adjusting angle/distance becomes effortless. The keyboard may sink a little but only when pressed really hard. This is definitely an upgrade from a box in the middle. 
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[kurplop]

Congratulations on your unique design. I always like to see other ways to solve problems.

Are the racks strong enough to prevent deflection? They seem marginal for being constructed of plastic.

[macroxue]

Thanks! I'm super happy with the design. I occasionally bottom out and the entire thing feels very solid. No bouncing or deflecting.

I tried to make the racks look a little better with curves but that was a mistake. Those curves tend to deform under vertical pressure. Eventually I settled on slightly slanted vertical bars, no much different than what I posted earlier.

[iso]

Allow me to one-up you    - My new KBD, work in progress.

[macroxue]

Allow me to one-up you    - My new KBD, work in progress.

Oh my! That's taking keyboard tenting to another level. If I didn't look carefully, I would think you were going to put a car on top of that.

[iso]

The 3d printed PLA plastic is not that strong and needs to be thick to withstand the hand pressure