geekhack
geekhack Projects => Making Stuff Together! => Topic started by: popcap on Tue, 28 January 2020, 09:09:26
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Hey was wondering what the options are for putting detail on the underside of keycaps.
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if you're sculpting/casting yourself... you can do whatever. a lot of creators put either their initials or logo.
if you're talking about having some produced by a manufacturer, you're probably stuck with what their injection molds are. tooling to create new molds is no joke $$$.
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I guess I was more asking how one does this, I am trying to figure out the best way to add a clear graphic so just looking for some advice on the method.
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when you cast stuff yourself, usually the molds are two parts, one with a cavity that would create the top of the cap and another mold that would create the underside of the cap.
if you're just getting started, i'd suggest watching the TheGlyph's video series, or search for his posts here on the forum.
here's one of them (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93rkBbT-pOI).
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your detail would be on the master you cast. most will make a sculpt, and inscribe the bottom of it so when the bottom mold is created that detail is intact.
the way the L2K system works, you can interchange top & bottom molds. so you could add an underside detail to a top mold you've already created just by using a different bottom mold.