Update on the current state of the world's slowest build
I have:
- my PCBs.
- Kailh Speed Silvers
- g20 key caps ( to dremel down to 16mm )
- Custom ordered 15g @ 2mm springs (on order)
- pro micros ( I have a stack here and more on order )
- steel plates ordered with Woodkey's group buy (on order)
- a couple of thousand smd sod 1N4148 (on order)
- case - Undertermined - I will probably outsource an acryilic sandwich
... I would much prefer a nice low profile anodized aluminum shell.
Thought appreciated... Have I missed anything?
I have my solder, solder sucker, wick, soldering station in hand
and a hot air gun and solder paste on order. (using leaded)
While waiting for piece parts for the first 5 boards I have started
looking at doing the PCB entirely as smd rather than using a pro-micro board.
Yes I am a masochist and it provides a very clean low profile layout.
On the plus side having ordered a few thousand each of the caps, diodes, switches etc I won't be stuck waiting on the small bits next time. Waiting on orders from China is the least fun part of this.
I am undecided whether to:
* refine my current build,
*go bigger (gherkin sized) and see if I can sneak in an adafruit bluetooth module or an raspberry pi 0 W
* OR build a split keyboard.
I have been eyeing an openbuilds c-beam cnc kit. For a couple of grand I could etch my own pcbs, mill my own plates/enclosures and anodize them in a 5 gallon pail. I have been having a difficult time coming up with nice keycaps for stenography and a desktop cnc would let me do it myself.
... All of this would reduce my dependency on outsource to china which while cheap makes actually completing a project a painfully long process.
Thanks again for the help with the first PCB. I'm really looking forward to modifying it for smd on the next build and having it for a reference really helped me understand the software better than if I had started with a blank slate.
Any thoughts on SMD, CNC, Raspberry Pi, AdaFruit BlueTooth andFaster Chinese ordering gratefully appreciated.
thanks,
T