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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: epicepee on Tue, 19 August 2014, 00:45:02

Title: Where can I find standard layouts?
Post by: epicepee on Tue, 19 August 2014, 00:45:02

I am designing an ANSI TKL keyboard, and I am having trouble finding standard dimensions.  For example, how far from F4 to F5?

Is there a set of technical drawings that most TKL boards adhere to?

Title: Re: Where can I find standard layouts?
Post by: Oobly on Tue, 19 August 2014, 01:15:04

0.75" between key centres. You can work the rest out from there (for instance F4 to F5 would be 1.125" centre to centre since there's a 0.5x gap between them and 15x normal spaces across the main board section). The gaps between the main area and F keys, arrows and edits and between the arrows and edits and numpad are flexible. Each manufacturer chooses their own spacing. The "most standard" I would guess would be what Filco use. Perhaps someone with a Filco can measure for you. Key centre to key centre will get you the most accuracy.

At a guess I would say it's 0.5x vertical gap, 0.25x horizontal gaps. You can make a rough measurement from a good picture.

Title: Re: Where can I find standard layouts?
Post by: jacobolus on Tue, 19 August 2014, 01:50:44

Each small square in the grid here is 3/16" on each side, with the rulers at top and left measuring inches.
(http://i.imgur.com/tbzcawl.png)

Most TKL boards probably have less space between the F row and the number row. (This picture is based on a full-sized IBM-style ANSI keyboard.)

Title: Re: Where can I find standard layouts?
Post by: 0100010 on Tue, 19 August 2014, 09:08:55

Play around on this site : http://www.keyboard-layout-editor.com/

Keep in mind that 1x units on this page, is actually .75" in the 'real world'.

Some examples to look at -

http://www.keyboard-layout-editor.com/#/layouts/b40f198fba6ef9b85a3e70eb2487d5c7

http://www.keyboard-layout-editor.com/#/layouts/6e020637a1db9ef6f08ea54922507bf9

Title: Re: Where can I find standard layouts?
Post by: epicepee on Tue, 19 August 2014, 16:37:16

Thanks, y'all!

Does this mean that there is no one standard layout with certain distances between keys?

Title: Re: Where can I find standard layouts?
Post by: IvanIvanovich on Tue, 19 August 2014, 18:15:34

Nope. Some are really close like .25 - .5 units as with most Costar made for example, others are really far like 1 units or more sometimes on vintage boards.

Title: Re: Where can I find standard layouts?
Post by: jacobolus on Tue, 19 August 2014, 19:06:56

I think the most common is like the layout I pasted above but with only 3/8" gap between the number row and f row, instead of the 3/4" shown there. But yeah, some are closer together than that.

The layout inside the main section of the keyboard is relatively more standardized, but the bottom row in particular gets some variation.