Modifying the ErgoDox to add RGB LEDs

[sagedeville]

Has anyone looked into adding rgb leds for the ergodox keyboard?  I'd really like to have individually addressable leds for each of the keys.  I've thought about going the cutout method, but I wonder if it would be easier to use a WS2811 chip and the standard rgb led for the keys that use all four holes.

Also, has anyone modified it to use the teensy 3.6 - I ask because I have a couple of those that I have used for other projects and I have 2 sitting around.  I'd like to be able to switch it out to use the teensy 3.6, but it runs at 3.3v.

[Findecanor]

The Teensy 2.0 and Teensy 3.6 have very different microcontrollers in them so you can't use existing firmware for the ErgoDox right away. Luckily, there exists firmware that should support Freescale but you would still have to adapt it for the ErgoDox. The I/O expander in the left half should support 3.3V.

The WS2811 can drive only one LED at once.
Individually adressable RGB LEDs would be a lot of hand-wiring (three times that of the keyboard matrix) so you would want to make a PCB.
If you will be making your own PCB then you might as well put the keyboard on there as well ... and a board design for that already exists: https://github.com/antevens/ErgoDox (But I am not sure if anyone actually printed one and tested it...)

If you just want backlighting then it would be easier to get the Infinity ErgoDox instead. It has support for it from the beginning but it is only one colour. It is not compatible with any components for the regular ErgoDox but it has the same layout.

[mike873]

Check this out.

https://oshpark.com/shared_projects/xx7D5F59

[sagedeville]

Mike873, that is awesome.  Would it allow me to set certain keys at one color and other ones at a different color?

[mike873]

This is not my work, just something I came across recently.

Seems like the author is here:

https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=22780.msg1137951#msg1137951