I decided to test my patience and improving skill on a mill by taking a 10 lb. chunk of 6061 aluminum and making about 9.25 lb. of shavings leaving me with a sleek housing for a keyboard ...Milled? :eek: I thought that it was a piece of sheet metal that you had pressed.
Same here. Looks great though!I decided to test my patience and improving skill on a mill by taking a 10 lb. chunk of 6061 aluminum and making about 9.25 lb. of shavings leaving me with a sleek housing for a keyboard ...Milled? :eek: I thought that it was a piece of sheet metal that you had pressed.
Is there any chance of an mx version, I'd be down to buy one of these.
Awesome milling work, as a product it would not be that productive though. Too much material removed, but as a prototype is understandable.
The aluminum would serve as a plate too, instead of being just the frame of the keycaps, ala GON style.
That looks amazing
When I made my Qazpad I made so many mistakes in the design. Parts wired backwards. Traces to ground missing. I had to ugly up the boards quite a bit to get it working. It's a learning experience!
That has to be the sleekest, most professional 3D ergo keyboard ever made. Incredible work.Thanks. I'm glad you're still around. I haven't heard from you in a while.
I loved the polished aluminium look, but the darker colour does look more business-like and professional.Ditto. :(
Just saw this, and amazing work so far kurplop :thumb:
Just wondering if you anodised it yourself with a homemade setup or did you have access to a place where you could go do it yourself?
This progress looks amazing kurplop! I'm going to ask you so many questions about etching PCBs when I'm ready to make my own :).I probably know more about how not to make PCB's, but am happy to offer what I can.
That sounds amazing, did you just read about the process of anodising or is there a guide that you can refer me to where you got the info for a home made setup?Just saw this, and amazing work so far kurplop :thumb:
Just wondering if you anodised it yourself with a homemade setup or did you have access to a place where you could go do it yourself?
I put together my own set up for anodizing. It cost about $400.00 for the power supply, misc. containers, and chemicals. If you plan on doing just one project you might consider other options because of the cost and leftover supplies, but it was surprisingly easy to do if you follow the instructions.This progress looks amazing kurplop! I'm going to ask you so many questions about etching PCBs when I'm ready to make my own :).I probably know more about how not to make PCB's, but am happy to offer what I can.
Thanks. I'm glad you're still around. I haven't heard from you in a while.
Thanks. I'm glad you're still around. I haven't heard from you in a while.
My sporadically obsessive nature has me focused on other things now, but I stop by to see if there are some cool ergos in development.
What did you do to the aluminum after you machined it? I don't see tool marks, so I'm guessing you did did something to prep it for anodizing? And tell me you at least have some motor controlled axis motion on that mill or a cordless drill to drive the cranks (that actually works really well) and that you didn't machine all that turning wheels by hand. You are nuts otherwise.
My sporadically obsessive nature has me focused on other things now
That's great. I've heard that moving on while keeping some of what you've gained is growth, while leaving it all behind is just change.
My sporadically obsessive nature has me focused on other things now, but I stop by to see if there are some cool ergos in development.
What did you do to the aluminum after you machined it? I don't see tool marks, so I'm guessing you did did something to prep it for anodizing?
And tell me you at least have some motor controlled axis motion on that mill or a cordless drill to drive the cranks (that actually works really well) and that you didn't machine all that turning wheels by hand. You are nuts otherwise.
When are you going to start making your own switches? :)
PCB blanks aren't too expensive, I wouldn't sweat the loss.I'm glad to hear you say that. I'll send you the bill for them. ;D
They look pretty damn professional when completed too, at least the resolution we can see them at.Thanks. With each attempt, they seem to improve in quality. I must be learning something but I'm honestly not sure what I'm doing to make them better. I think adjusting the trace separation has made the etching crisper. Have you considered the possibility that I'm not that bad a photographer and the poor resolution is a smokescreen to hide my limited PCB skills? ;)
I'm interested to hear if you can solve the hole alignment issue and whether you can determine if it was stretching of the toner/paper or not. Let us know when you get more done on it. Still my favorite project on here :)I printed new toner copies the other day but haven't checked them for dimensional accuracy yet. I'll let you know when I do. I'm guessing that it's happening during the ironing process though.
For your casting issues, and depending on what resin you're using, you might want to try a 15-30% by weight addition of glass fibres to your resin before pouring. 30% can take you from "brittle" to "unbreakable", and you can apparently get them down to ~0.5mm length (I've been using 3mm, but I'm casting much bigger pieces).Thanks for the suggestion. Can you tell me where I can source the glass fibers? I guess I could just pull a few batts out of the attic. :)) Also, does the fiber affect the viscosity of the resin or are there any other possible negative issues using it? I've read that the curing time is retarded with thin castings because of less heat generated during the chemical reaction. Do you think that could also affect the ultimate tensile strength of the fully cured product?
Thanks for the suggestion. Can you tell me where I can source the glass fibers?Mine came from the local builder's merchant - at 3-5mm they're sold as strengthener for cement. Those are probably too long for you, though, especially in the stems.
@oobly, my happiness level this morning > 9000. Thank you for posting that link on how you etch custom PCBs! I've been wondering how GHers have been doing that for a little while :D.
When you say iron, do you mean a iron for your hair? Just trying to understand the details.
This is one of my favorite threads.
Also Kurplop's hands are some of the least geeky looking. They look like construction worker hands. Quite interesting.My spouse thinks that my rough, burly hands are a turn-on. By the way, I'm a woman. (Just kidding)
That said, using ML switches... very sad.
This might be a silly idea, but irons are designed to stretch fabric as part of the crease removal process. Perhaps a stream press would be the solution?
Regular iron with the steam turned up high, with a sheet or two of (t-shirt?) material between iron and paper to reduce friction?
My spouse thinks that my rough, burly hands are a turn-on. By the way, I'm a woman. (Just kidding)
Seems like so much unnecessary work when you could just send the design off to a PCB fab and get it back perfectly the first time.*projectile vomits*
Seems like so much unnecessary work when you could just send the design off to a PCB fab and get it back perfectly the first time
I hope the MLs work out for you in the long run.
I'll take one apart and experiment on it but they are small switches and are difficult for me to work with. Cherry's spec sheet says they have 3mm travel with activation at 1.5mm. It may be possible to limit the bottom travel by inserting something into the center barrel.
And I do wonder if .7 spacing, even horizontally (I'm already sold on <.75 vertical spacing), might actually be ideal. From the looks of it, my finger tips are skinnier than yours, so if you have no issues with the spacing, I may have to try that on my next build.
Edit: I respect your desire to keep capslock functionality, but what I'd recommend is that you possibly combine your capslock and shift keys into one in the following manner: retain normal shift function, however, a press and release of shift without any other keys being hit while it was down would serve as a capslock toggle. I can't think of any downsides to this since caps is never used in key combos and the shift key is only ever used _with_ key combos. Of course, this is only if you can actually make use of the extra key it would free up.You make a good point. Do you think that I could maintain the caps lock indicator light if I made such a change? If so, the only downside of me removing the caps lock is that it may threaten my reputation as a recalcitrant old man. ;)
And I do wonder if .7 spacing, even horizontally (I'm already sold on <.75 vertical spacing), might actually be ideal. From the looks of it, my finger tips are skinnier than yours, so if you have no issues with the spacing, I may have to try that on my next build.
The nice thing about the ML switch is that it's small enough that the limiting factor will be anatomical not because the switch is too big.Personally I think the ideal keeps the horizontal spacing about as it is, but compresses the vertical spacing dramtically (down to maybe .6"), but combine that with quite a bit of height step between columns, and place different fingers’ keys at different heights. The key tops can be reduced to a fairly small size (.6" x .4" ?) and they should probably not sit in totally parallel columns, but rather include a bit of the natural splay you get when extending the fingers straight.
Personally I think the ideal keeps the horizontal spacing about as it is, but compresses the vertical spacing dramtically (down to maybe .6")
It reminds me of the cigarette lighter in the Old Man's '62 Chrysler....and you can't easily get 12V over USB.
Haha. What if you black anodized it though?
It reminds me of the cigarette lighter in the Old Man's '62 Chrysler....and you can't easily get 12V over USB.
You can with USB 3.1 type C connectors. 20 volts!It reminds me of the cigarette lighter in the Old Man's '62 Chrysler....and you can't easily get 12V over USB.
But I don't smoke.Pump 12v down your USB line and let your controller do the smoking for you.
This is the beginning of what is hopefully about a 2 month thread, detailing the completion of my latest project.
(Attachment Link) (Attachment Link) (Attachment Link)
I decided to test my patience and improving skill on a mill by taking a 10 lb. chunk of 6061 aluminum and making about 9.25 lb. of shavings leaving me with a sleek housing for a keyboard loosely based on the ErgoDox and once again integrating a Slimblade trackball. Repeating this fundamental combination attests to my overall satisfaction with having a large trackball set between a split keyboard.
My objective is to make a semi portable keyboard that shares the basic layout as my desktop setup. An earlier iteration aka 'The ErgoPlop', unfortunately had to be renamed the ErgoFlop. While there were many things that worked well on it, its execution seemed to fall between two stools; most notably, the 20+ degrees of tenting simply made it too tall to be portable and the smaller trackball just didn't feel right after being spoiled by a larger one.
Some of the design features include, using Cherry ML switches because of their smaller profile, of course the Slimblade, centered between the keyboard halves, repeating the use of modified arcade buttons for mouse functions and reducing the keyboard to 62 keys, actually 64 because the two arcade buttons above the trackball are keyboard commands.
The keyboard measures 7.5" high by 13.25" wide by 1.5" high to the highest keys (less trackball). The one piece aluminum chassis is covered beneath with a 3/8" walnut baseplate rabbeted into it. The ML switches are PCB mounted only, so I designed and home etched a flawed prototype PCB that can be partly seen through the thumb pockets. I made some mistakes in the design but drilled it out to confirm various dimensions and key location. I have since corrected the design (hopefully) and will be printing the new ones soon. I used the laser printer toner method to mask the copper I wanted to remain, then burned off the exposed copper with ferric chloride. I think the process worked pretty well but it is obviously not the quality of a professionally produced PCB.
More details to follow...
This is some handsome workmanship. You've got some great stuff there. I've got nothing worthwhile to contribute to the thread other than that tiny ego boost of a faceless person on the internet thinking your crafts are pretty neato. Keep it up.
I would like one..
HOW MUCH??
I'm not sure about the legends.The ones you have pictured above are dyesubs.
I'm not sure about the legends.The ones you have pictured above are dyesubs.
53
53
You win! The number was 35, the per cent I'll probably have to pay to my bankrupt uncle. You weren't very close but you win by default.
If I have anything left, I'll send you a prize.
Repent.
Repent for all your dirty plunder. And pay.
Pay more and more for every dime you so greedily collected.
IRS 25:17
What is IRS 25:17?
Probably related to:
Ezekiel 25:17 (Tarantino Edition)
"The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish, and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who in the name of charity and good will shepherds the weak through the Valley of Darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper, and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon the with great vengeance and furious anger, those who attempt to poison and destroy my brother. And you will know my name is The LORD, when I lay my vengeance upon thee."
I assume it's from one of his movies?You’ve never seen Pulp Fiction?!
If you wanted to reduce travel after activation, could you drop a small ball into the plunger shaft? A soft ball would also cushion the bottoming out. I find the standard 3mm travel, 1.5 mm before and 1.5mm after activation pretty good.
FYI - The switches you're testing are new so are probably as scratchy as they ever will be.
I wonder if the ideal process would be to use them unlubed for a while to wear them in, then lube them?
Do you think it's necessary to disassemble the switches to lube? I ask for two reasons. First, as you know the switches are quite small and fragile, if opening can be avoided it would be a plus. Second, most of the contact points can at least be partially reached externally.
I don't notice binding if I strike the corners of the keycaps as much as when the strike isn't vertical. I agree however that the round top ML caps would probably be helpful.
I think I'm good with the .7" horizontal spacing too. Once you get use to it, the advantage of having the keys closer is a definite positive. Do you think there's merit in the vertical spacing being a bit tighter? My earlier testing found .65" to be ideal for my hands but I think I limited it to that because I couldn't fit a tighter spacing with either the MX or the Alps style switches. A future board may try a .6" to .65". The only spot where I would have liked a greater vertical spacing is between the thumb keys. If I moved the upper thumb rows away from the alpha's, there would be room to raise them .1 to 1.5" which I think would feel less cramped. Part of the problem is the way I contoured the upper thumb keys; they cramp the lower row a bit. Reshaping them may solve the problem.
Thanks for the results of your preliminary testing. :thumb:
Lastly, as for Pulp Fiction, it's one of my favorites, and was indeed the source for my selected numbers. It's probably about as opposite from Lady and the Tramp as you can get, though, so it just depends on if you are in the mood. I haven't given much of Tarantino's newer stuff a chance, because they all look so dumbed down for mass consumption, but Pulp Fiction is definitely an intelligent and hilarious movie if you can get past the comical violence.
Don�t be afraid to exploit people�s generosity� .
Second, if anyone has any black or grey ML, 1u blanks that they would like to contribute to the cause, it would save me the trouble of casting them.
My limited experiences with dyeing plastics haven't turned out well. Could you direct me to a good "how to dye plastic" resource?
My limited experiences with dyeing plastics haven't turned out well.What kind of plastic were you trying to dye, and what type of dye?
What kind of plastic were you trying to dye, and what type of dye?
Thanks guys for the articles. I haven't had time yet to completely go through them all but I will soon.
What kind of plastic were you trying to dye, and what type of dye?
I'm not sure of the plastic. I think ABS. They were white Sanwa arcade switches. I tried to dye them black and grey with Rit powder dye. It didn't respond so I turned up the heat . I got a light grey tint but at the cost of distorting the plastic from excess heat, probably near boiling.
If I try dyeing the caps it would be the stock cherry ones pictured above. Do you know the type of plastic it is?
If I try dyeing the caps it would be the stock cherry ones pictured above. Do you know the type of plastic it is?Again, they’re PBT. :-)
If I try dyeing the caps it would be the stock cherry ones pictured above. Do you know the type of plastic it is?Again, they�re PBT. :-)
PBT is much much easier to dye than ABS.
Excuse my denseness. I thought your PBT comment was a generalization about their suitability for dyeing, not an identification of my caps.Oh, I didn’t mean that in a snippy way.
That's good to know. One packet of black dye powder on the shopping list.
Good to hear my dream of the keyboard coming together with all black keys is still alive.
That just looks great. Such a tiny footprint too.
So what's the plan? Use this as your main keyboard at home and also take it everywhere with you where you need to type?
Also, can't help myself: "This is the beginning of what is hopefully about a 2 month thread, detailing the completion of my latest project." � on: Thu, 08 January 2015, 00:58:15 �
That's just the nature of these things :)
I'm leaving on a trip and worked all day to finish this up before I leave. Big thanks to the GH community for all of your advice and encouragement.
Ic07 bailed me out with his assistance loading and configuring the firmware but I still had a lot of issues I had to work through; bad switches, bad connections, fried USB hub,...
Everything works and I'm tickled!
(Attachment Link)
(Attachment Link)
Excuse the dust and lint, I still need to get it out of the shop and clean it up.
I'm leaving on a trip and worked all day to finish this up before I leave. Big thanks to the GH community for all of your advice and encouragement.
Ic07 bailed me out with his assistance loading and configuring the firmware but I still had a lot of issues I had to work through; bad switches, bad connections, fried USB hub,...
Everything works and I'm tickled!
(Attachment Link)
(Attachment Link)
Excuse the dust and lint, I still need to get it out of the shop and clean it up.
as for hot dying abs (stubborn plastic) .. you can use acceton to the color water mix
the tester is crucial
there are ALOT of ABS mixtures and there is no 100% holy formular ..
i figured about 10-30% acceton works best .. of course take it slowley in 5% steps and babysit the caps .. !
hope that helps
amazing project .. i own a lathe and a 3 axis cnc . .but that would be far to much work for me .. i tip my hat to you sir
And I have a Yoga, too, which makes me realize exactly how compact it is. You do have huge hands, though. Video of you typing? :p
Woah, where did all the 1x modifiers come from? Did you print them yourself somehow?
.
BTW I'm most impressed by the slimblade incorporation into the keyboard. I took apart my slimblade but could not figure out any reasonably easy way to get that done.
Thanks everyone.
I've been working on an Alumaplop accessory and here's the teaser.
(Attachment Link)
I added it to the end of my Flickr page https://www.flickr.com/photos/kurplop/sets/72157651718823173
By the way, my Keyboard Tray Evolution is less than 500 views short of 200,000. Why don't you check it out again to help put it over the top. https://www.flickr.com/photos/kurplop/sets/72157633538408496/
Thanks everyone.
I've been working on an Alumaplop accessory and here's the teaser.
(Attachment Link)
I added it to the end of my Flickr page https://www.flickr.com/photos/kurplop/sets/72157651718823173
By the way, my Keyboard Tray Evolution is less than 500 views short of 200,000. Why don't you check it out again to help put it over the top. https://www.flickr.com/photos/kurplop/sets/72157633538408496/
YES MORE MACHINING PORN. MORE. I WANT TO BATHE IN THE CHIPS.
It looks a keyboard and an arcade cabinet got put into one of the teleporters from the movie The Fly, and the Alumaplop is the result. I don't want this, I need it.
Impressive work :eek:
That requires many knowledge in diverse areas. I wanna be like you when i grow up :D
Congratulations :thumb:
Update:
+ I'm getting use to using it and my speed is about as fast/slow as with my former set up. I'm pretty sure that the shorter travel and spacing will make my typing speed much faster.
+? I'm really liking the layout but the jury is still out on the tighter horizontal spacing.
? The switches seem to be getting smoother with time. I lubed them and I think the viscosity was a bit heavier than ideal.
Would I use ML's again? I'm not sure. I think time will tell. For a portable keyboard it makes a lot of sense because of the much lower profile. If I made custom sized keycaps it would be easy to make the vertical spacing tighter; I think .60" to .65" would be perfect. If I used them on my next desktop keyboard, it will be for consistency in muscle memory.
I think that I goofed when I did a partial lube. I was able to pretty well lube most of the rub points just by lubing the stem. I mixed 2 different krytox lubes, one very thin oil and the other more of a grease viscosity, I think the mix was to thick because it actually made it feel stickier than before. I may have to pull them all apart to fix the problem but in the meantime I'm hoping it will improve on its own.
If I do take them apart I'll be able to fully lube the remaining areas. I think the only thing left is the stem shaft. Am I right?