Ergodox Custom Case

[jjones2]

Hey Guys and Gals,

I am looking for help creating a custom keyboard case for a Ergodox keyboard.

I was wondering if someone would be interested in helping me create a file for a CNC machine to machine a drop in case for my ergodox. I am trying to create something that has enough space between the keyboards to either put a mac magic trackpad or a smaller trackpad or possibly a trackball mouse.

The case I am hoping to make is a solid piece of wood or pieces of wood laminated together with a slight tilt either up or down to provide a more ergonomic position for my hands as right now the keypads are just sitting flat on my desk. I would really like to have a drop in slot for my trackpad or trackball in the middle of the keyboard as well.

The ergodox is my first mechanical keyboard as well as first split keyboard... You can say that I jumped into the deep-end on this one. But I fell in love with this keyboard after seeing this online (http://xahlee.info/kbd/ergodox_keyboard_with_trackball.html) and would really like to create something like it for my setup.
 
If anyone knows of any resources online where something like this is already created could you please pass them my way.

Or if someone is interested in making a custom case please hit me up. I am willing to pay for services but we would need to determine the price before hand.

Thanks in advanced.

[xondat]

The sandwich style case files are on the internet somewhere, if that's what you want. If you want a fully custom ergodox case, then that'd be harder to do (but possible by someone fluent with CAD).

[Omnipotent]

Or if someone is interested in making a custom case please hit me up. I am willing to pay for services but we would need to determine the price before hand.

You might be able to get Profet to do something custom for you. He just launched his site at: http://shop.profetkeyboards.com/ and started doing Atreus62's. He has done a ton of custom ergodox cases in the past. Imgur Catalog: http://profet23.imgur.com/

You can contact him through his Contact Page, or Reddit. But the contact page on his site is probably your best bet.

[jjones2]

Thanks I will look into that website.

Also, I am not really looking for a sandwich per say. However I may be able to use the slice. I am trying to get something that I can just drop my hand pads into and be good to go.

I will have to do some more digging on the interwebs as I haven't really find what I am looking for yet.

Thanks again yall

[tp4tissue]

Let me explain why you may not want to do this..

 The keyboards apart gives you very good flexibility,

So when you game for example.. you just put the mouse in the middle, move the right piece further away..


This puts your hands much closer together than even a TKL..


Now,  if you have this thing in a one piece..  You get the track pad,  and it might objectively LOOK tied together,   it's far less flexible, and is as wide as a 102, so you're back to that spacing if using with a mouse which we've already determined is bad for ergonomics.

[Findecanor]

Here are the CAD files for Litster's design for a case made of layered acrylic.
The original files had a bug with the stabilisers, which has been fixed. Another file might have that error still.
My guess is that Kurplop's metal cases (placed inside a wood frame) would have been made from a derivative of Litster's design.

The thickness of each layer is not included in the files, but you might be able to infer those. The switch-mounting plates are supposed to be quite thick, thicker than the 1.5mm that Cherry MX switches would clip into. They were designed this way because 1.5mm acrylic could otherwise be a bit brittle without reinforcement.
If you build your case out of metal, then you could of course make the plates the correct 1.5mm thick.

[tp4tissue]

Another serious problem by using a drop in design..

The tenting angle is no longer versatile..


Not all tenting angles work for every single desk height or typing height.

So what happens is if you move to a lower desk, you need higher angles,  and on a higher desk, you need lower angles..



So, by using a locked case.. You're removing a fundamental aspect of the Ergodox ,  Adaptability..


There is no one size fits all,  EVEN when it comes to personal use..  because situations inevitably change..

[tp4tissue]

Change is merely the contract of Entropy.. A grand exchange on the scale of the Universe..

As humanity has not ever managed to appreciably reverse entropy.. we are destined to weather its storms..


The hallmark of good Humans is the willingness to adapt, to think outside of the box, to look at stagnation and ask the question, will it withstand the coming tide..


The answer is invariably NO..   Flat keyboards are rubbish... Single piece keyboards are rubbish... They betray our very biology, they are lazy and uninspired..  They are the culmination of diseased lesser minds which thought not beyond a gilded cage...





Good morning.. !!

[xtrafrood]

Thanks I will look into that website.

Also, I am not really looking for a sandwich per say. However I may be able to use the slice. I am trying to get something that I can just drop my hand pads into and be good to go.

I will have to do some more digging on the interwebs as I haven't really find what I am looking for yet.

Thanks again yall

Recessed areas for Kinesis pads? Interesting--I should add that to my list of ideas for future projects