neverused's build log

[neverused]

I love seeing build logs and seeing others create beautiful machines, so I decided to document my progress here as well.

My plan is to build a 120 key custom keyboard, so far I have the teensy++ 2.0 and 150 Cherry MX Red switches.  Next I will have my case/plate laser cut from acrylic, as well as order other miscellaneous parts (diodes, screws, etc).  I also plan to have a micro usb jack and headphone pass through so that I can plug into my keyboard on one side and then into my laptop while at my desk on the other and avoid getting tangled up.

I will post a copy of my plate layout, please feel free to share your thoughts.  Also, if I plan to make use of macros and dedicated functions on some keys, which firmware would you suggest?  I have looked into hasu's and soarer's but am not sure which to work with.

Please post any suggestions or thoughts and I will update this as I progress.

Thank you!
-neverused


Plate below - the planned color scheme will be white top and bottom (and one additional 1.5mm layer), plus 3 middle layers in 3mm brown acrylic, possibly blue 104 keyset with extra yellow and red keycaps.  Thoughts?  Also, the inner border in the image below is just for my reference and will not be cut out.

[dorkvader]

thoughts: Awesome!

things to consider: symmetric stagger.

I eagarly look forward to seeing how this pans out. There is a certain... je ne sais quoi about smaller keyboards

[neverused]

Do you mind if I ask what you mean about symmetric stagger?  Also a smaller project like the jd40 may have to be next, but my day job as an engineer means I use the ten-key a lot and I really like extra buttons if I have room anyways.

Thanks for the encouragement!

[DrHubblePhD]

Yeah this looks great! I'm with you that if you have the space, add more keys!

[neverused]

Thanks!

Does anyone have any thoughts on the merits of each firmware? Does either allow mouse functions?

[0100010]

PCB or direct wired?  Seems it would look better with a 2x wide key in the top left corner, more like a Sun keyboard :

[dorkvader]

Do you mind if I ask what you mean about symmetric stagger?

https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=19613.0

so modern keyboards are staggered, instead of perfectly columnar, the rows are offset. But the stagger is different for the right and left hands. Symmetric stagger helps to address this and is a pretty easy thing to get used to. Just something to consider.

The reason I mentioned it is that you can do it with the same keycaps you normally get on a KB, and if you're making yor own custom plate: why not? Some more ergonomic layouts look a little weird and can be hard to get used to, but symmetric stagger isn't. Also your co-workers won't give you really odd looks like they do if you come in with an ergodox or datahand or something.

If you want to go all out ergo, you can do this + this

[neverused]

Thank you for that explanation, perhaps I will have to explore that in a future iteration.

Does anyone  have suggestions regarding firmware? I have been looking for a comprehensive tutorial but haven't found anything explicitly laid out.

[dorkvader]

loading firmware is relatively easy on a teensy. You load up the teensy loader, open the firmware in it, then press the buttons in order (load, program, reset) and you're good to go. For other devices you put them in bootloader mode, then boot up atmel flip, open the USB port, then click the buttons in order.

using DFU bootloader for the arduino pro micros for example you just copypasta the instruction, add the correct serial port and go.

Really depends on what hardware you want to use and what firmware you want to put on it. I believe hasu's "TMK_firmware" allows for mouse keys but I've never used it. (and I think you have to modify source and then build the program every time you want to change layouts.

For ease of use I really like soarer's controlelr code. you just program the matrix into a human readable text file, run scas then scwr to write it. To update layout, just modify the config file, and re-run those commands. Super easy. You dont need to re build the firmware, reset the microcontroller or even unplug it.

[neverused]

I got my quote for all the pieces of acrylic that I wanted cut and it came to $180 from Pololu, which is easy too high to justify at this time. Can anyone direct me to a good laser cutter on the US?

An alternative would be to have the main plays cut out of acrylic or aluminum if cheap enough and then cut/bend aluminum u bracketing to form the sides.

Thoughts? Opinions?

[dorkvader]

one off custom plates can be expensive. See if you can get a short run made and GB.

[berserkfan]

I love seeing build logs and seeing others create beautiful machines, so I decided to document my progress here as well.

My plan is to build a 120 key custom keyboard, so far I have the teensy++ 2.0 and 150 Cherry MX Red switches.  Next I will have my case/plate laser cut from acrylic, as well as order other miscellaneous parts (diodes, screws, etc).  I also plan to have a micro usb jack and headphone pass through so that I can plug into my keyboard on one side and then into my laptop while at my desk on the other and avoid getting tangled up.

I will post a copy of my plate layout, please feel free to share your thoughts.  Also, if I plan to make use of macros and dedicated functions on some keys, which firmware would you suggest?  I have looked into hasu's and soarer's but am not sure which to work with.

Please post any suggestions or thoughts and I will update this as I progress.

Thank you!
-neverused


Plate below - the planned color scheme will be white top and bottom (and one additional 1.5mm layer), plus 3 middle layers in 3mm brown acrylic, possibly blue 104 keyset with extra yellow and red keycaps.  Thoughts?  Also, the inner border in the image below is just for my reference and will not be cut out.

Show Image

If you're not egotistical about it, you can just save all that time and effort and go with samwisekoi's 122-134 key monster keyboard which is really very much like what you're planning to do now.

[neverused]

Ego aside, I haven't been able to find a plate layout for that project and would like to hand wire my first. Thus, I laid it out myself.

[MOZ]

What thickness acrylic plate do you plan to use?

[neverused]

I'll be using 1.5 mm acrylic or PETG so far, though I will need to use standoffs to support it well.

I'm currently trying to figure out how to reduce cost as much as possible.

[MOZ]

1.5mm acrylic might be too thin for such a large hand-wired board. If you do go with it though, I would recommend a secondary layer just below the plate layer with slightly larger cutouts (Large enough for switches and stabs to go through).

[neverused]

That was my thought too, but I was going to try adding about 6-8 standoffs within to help mitigate the flex. Perhaps I will add support with the side parts, I will have to edit my layout to reflect that thought.

[neverused]

I have not abandoned this project, but life and work have taken my time so far.  In the meantime I have been reading and thinking in an effort to minimize the number of iterations that I will have to build in order to find what I really want/like. 

My thought is to make this as compact as I can, while retaining a full ten-key and arrow keys, as I use them heavily each day.  I would also like dedicated media keys.  Below is a mock up of my proposed layers and I would appreciate feedback.  Open space along the top will accommodate the Teensy and any USB hub I may throw in, but mostly I just didn't want keys there.

I also found a 0.25" aluminum plate I am considering using for a base that is 15" x 6" which would give the keyboard some nice weight to help keep it stationary.  Additionally, I have been toying with making a case with an acrylic plate, and sides of either Lego, wood, more acrylic, or open for the time being.  The plate may be 1.5mm or 3mm with hot glue to hold the switches in place, though I live in the desert and do not favor hot glue.

Please share any thoughts you may have.

[neverused]

So I just looked at the Red Scarf III and I seem to have a variation on that same plate. I'll have to decide quick of that's the best route rather than an acrylic plate.

[dorkvader]

since you can get just the plate on the RSIII I think it may be the best option. you'll still have to cover over the holes for the function key switch locations with a top plate, but a thin sheet of aluminium sholud suffice (and give plenty of room for the teensy).

Then screw it all together to make a sandwhich... you can even use the acrylic spacer from the RSIII project.

[neverused]

This project isn't dead yet, work and life have slowed it down.

The more I think about it and try to limit my usage to determine my true needs, it seems that this layout may be a good compromise for me:

http://www.keyboard-layout-editor.com/#/layouts/e43b12b26b33aa4a7b0be6685673c363

I find myself disliking the foot print of my current keyboard, as well as having to keep moving my hand far over to my mouse.  I also find myself only using the space bar below the 'n' key and enjoy having dedicated arrow keys.

Thoughts?

[derezzed]

This project isn't dead yet, work and life have slowed it down.

The more I think about it and try to limit my usage to determine my true needs, it seems that this layout may be a good compromise for me:

http://www.keyboard-layout-editor.com/#/layouts/e43b12b26b33aa4a7b0be6685673c363

I find myself disliking the foot print of my current keyboard, as well as having to keep moving my hand far over to my mouse.  I also find myself only using the space bar below the 'n' key and enjoy having dedicated arrow keys.

Thoughts?

Show Image

While I would have liked to see your original design come to fruition, I totally understand your decision to go small.  I've used full-sized boards all my life, until 4 months ago, when I bought a TKL.  Having the mouse closer to you is very nice.  So, I decided to buy a TKL for work but then decided that wouldn't be small enough.  Then I started designing a 75% board, then a 60% board.  Using the TouchCursor program to put the nav cluster buttons around the right-hand alpha home keys showed me I could effectively use a 60% without dedicated arrow and Home/End keys.   The power of these smaller boards lies in the ability to use hotkeys and having optimal placement of the modifier key that gives you access to the functions of the keys that have been removed from the layout is crucial to maximizing the effectiveness and efficiency of the board.  Since the thumbs are underutilized and almost always rest in the same place, I think having a modifier key in the middle of the space bar is one of the best design choices for a 60% board.  I only use right control for the arrow keys, so I don't see the removal of right control being an issue.  If you have the CAD expertise to design your own case, having a non-rectangular key arrangement isn't a bad choice.  I wouldn't build a board with a layout like that for myself until I had the knowledge and  funds to build a case that covered the exposed parts of the switch plate or I could afford to have the switched anodized or powder-coated.  Of course, if your switch plate is acrylic, that isn't an issue.  I will repeat Findecanor's advice to another user and suggest you print your layout and see how comfortable the key placement on the space bar row feels and see where your thumbs naturally rest.

[neverused]

Thanks for the feedback, I've tried the layout on paper and like it. My right thumb rests right over the space bar below the N which is what I almost always use to type a space. My dilemma currently is the arrangement of modifier keys in the bottom row whole maintaining the navigation cluster as is.

[derezzed]

Thanks for the feedback, I've tried the layout on paper and like it. My right thumb rests right over the space bar below the N which is what I almost always use to type a space. My dilemma currently is the arrangement of modifier keys in the bottom row whole maintaining the navigation cluster as is.

I'm not an old pro when it comes to keyboard design, but it seems to me that the key to designing a custom 60% board is finding the best combination of compromises that works for you.  I went through several revisions for my design and I may revise it more before I actually build it.