Author Topic: AcidFire's modular keyboard system - Axios [In Development]  (Read 657557 times)

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Offline CommunistWitchDr

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Re: AcidFire's custom keyboard aka The Grand Piano
« Reply #50 on: Sat, 22 June 2013, 23:27:46 »
I'm curious how interested people might be in an add on that would give you addressable RGB LEDs for each key? With what I have in mind, it could be added later (with a bit of work) or the easier method which would be to add it while you're building the kit. The add on would probably cost 60-80 unless I can find cheaper versions of the LEDs I have in mind.

If you did this it would no longer almost be my ideal board. There would be no need for the almost.

Offline AcidFire

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Re: AcidFire's custom keyboard aka The Grand Piano
« Reply #51 on: Sat, 22 June 2013, 23:32:09 »
I'm curious how interested people might be in an add on that would give you addressable RGB LEDs for each key? With what I have in mind, it could be added later (with a bit of work) or the easier method which would be to add it while you're building the kit. The add on would probably cost 60-80 unless I can find cheaper versions of the LEDs I have in mind.

If you did this it would no longer almost be my ideal board. There would be no need for the almost.

Lol, glad to hear it. I've put out a number of inquiries for the LEDs I need to see if I can get them lower than the price I've found. It'll be the last thing I develop, but I definitely would like to know if its something I need to keep in mind design wise.

Offline BlueByLiquid

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Re: AcidFire's custom keyboard aka The Grand Piano
« Reply #52 on: Sat, 22 June 2013, 23:35:33 »
I'm curious how interested people might be in an add on that would give you addressable RGB LEDs for each key? With what I have in mind, it could be added later (with a bit of work) or the easier method which would be to add it while you're building the kit. The add on would probably cost 60-80 unless I can find cheaper versions of the LEDs I have in mind.

What LED do you have in mind. I did lots of research on this and I was only able to do this by using a surface mount RGB LED and dremeling out the LED spot (which isn't hard at all). If you could find on that does fit (3mm) each keyswitch only has two bottom holes (It looks like it is a full bar but the bottom half isn't) so you still have to dremel them out. I mention it because most people won't want to do it IMO. I love the idea of an RGB keyboard and wanted to do it with the Ergodox but it has to be built into the board because I just did a wired mod and it was insane with the wiring and that was just for one color. If you are interested the best and simpliest controller for the LEDs is the Colordunio. It can control 64 RGB leds and does white balance, etc. It can be controlled via I2C and you can chain them as they have I2C in and out, plus you slap an FTDI controller and you just plug and power it all via USB. It is a full arduino too and easy to program plus their is a c library so you can write you own code. For example you can do neat things like have the 1-9 keys show CPU usage or go from green to red to show it. I have tested this out and it is pretty neat. Also note if you get a surface mount part it has to be very bright, much brighter than you think in my tests because even with it drilled out you are just projecting a cone of light surrounded by very solid black opaque material and a little hole.

Offline CommunistWitchDr

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Re: AcidFire's custom keyboard aka The Grand Piano
« Reply #53 on: Sat, 22 June 2013, 23:36:21 »
I'm curious how interested people might be in an add on that would give you addressable RGB LEDs for each key? With what I have in mind, it could be added later (with a bit of work) or the easier method which would be to add it while you're building the kit. The add on would probably cost 60-80 unless I can find cheaper versions of the LEDs I have in mind.

If you did this it would no longer almost be my ideal board. There would be no need for the almost.

Lol, glad to hear it. I've put out a number of inquiries for the LEDs I need to see if I can get them lower than the price I've found. It'll be the last thing I develop, but I definitely would like to know if its something I need to keep in mind design wise.
I mean it's definitely the least necessary thing compared to everything else, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't want rainbows as I type if it's not too hard between having to make room for more traces on the pcb and firmware.

Offline AcidFire

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Re: AcidFire's custom keyboard aka The Grand Piano
« Reply #54 on: Sat, 22 June 2013, 23:51:44 »
I'm curious how interested people might be in an add on that would give you addressable RGB LEDs for each key? With what I have in mind, it could be added later (with a bit of work) or the easier method which would be to add it while you're building the kit. The add on would probably cost 60-80 unless I can find cheaper versions of the LEDs I have in mind.

What LED do you have in mind. I did lots of research on this and I was only able to do this by using a surface mount RGB LED and dremeling out the LED spot (which isn't hard at all). If you could find on that does fit (3mm) each keyswitch only has two bottom holes (It looks like it is a full bar but the bottom half isn't) so you still have to dremel them out. I mention it because most people won't want to do it IMO. I love the idea of an RGB keyboard and wanted to do it with the Ergodox but it has to be built into the board because I just did a wired mod and it was insane with the wiring and that was just for one color. If you are interested the best and simpliest controller for the LEDs is the Colordunio. It can control 64 RGB leds and does white balance, etc. It can be controlled via I2C and you can chain them as they have I2C in and out, plus you slap an FTDI controller and you just plug and power it all via USB. It is a full arduino too and easy to program plus their is a c library so you can write you own code. For example you can do neat things like have the 1-9 keys show CPU usage or go from green to red to show it. I have tested this out and it is pretty neat. Also note if you get a surface mount part it has to be very bright, much brighter than you think in my tests because even with it drilled out you are just projecting a cone of light surrounded by very solid black opaque material and a little hole.

The LEDs I have in mind are SMD, are roughly 2x1.5mm and RGB. I'd be using them in an array similar to the keys, using a set of 74HC595s & something along the lines of a ATMEGA8/168/328 on an I2C bus. We've already got libraries written for this at work so I can reduce the size of everything as much as possible. This board would come preassembled as it would be far simplier for me to troubleshoot and for you guys to put together if you don't have to solder 360 tiny leds. This would be the arrangement of the LEDs under the switch:

Offline AcidFire

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Re: AcidFire's custom keyboard aka The Grand Piano
« Reply #55 on: Sat, 22 June 2013, 23:55:51 »
I mean it's definitely the least necessary thing compared to everything else, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't want rainbows as I type if it's not too hard between having to make room for more traces on the pcb and firmware.

It should be fairly simple to add to the firmware if the control of the LEDs are offloaded to a second controller. As for room on the board, this would be a second PCB so that it can be done as a reversible design just like the main board and not have to worry about how crowded the PCB is, and would be cheaper to produce since I'd only need one design for both sides.
« Last Edit: Sun, 23 June 2013, 00:08:04 by AcidFire »

Offline bazemk1979

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Re: AcidFire's custom keyboard aka The Grand Piano
« Reply #56 on: Sun, 23 June 2013, 00:07:44 »
amazing work OP
Quote from: IvanIvanovich on Wed, 08 January 2014, 18:02:50

When you bottom out dong cap... is it going balls deep?

Offline BlueByLiquid

  • Posts: 122
Re: AcidFire's custom keyboard aka The Grand Piano
« Reply #57 on: Sun, 23 June 2013, 00:13:23 »
I'm curious how interested people might be in an add on that would give you addressable RGB LEDs for each key? With what I have in mind, it could be added later (with a bit of work) or the easier method which would be to add it while you're building the kit. The add on would probably cost 60-80 unless I can find cheaper versions of the LEDs I have in mind.

What LED do you have in mind. I did lots of research on this and I was only able to do this by using a surface mount RGB LED and dremeling out the LED spot (which isn't hard at all). If you could find on that does fit (3mm) each keyswitch only has two bottom holes (It looks like it is a full bar but the bottom half isn't) so you still have to dremel them out. I mention it because most people won't want to do it IMO. I love the idea of an RGB keyboard and wanted to do it with the Ergodox but it has to be built into the board because I just did a wired mod and it was insane with the wiring and that was just for one color. If you are interested the best and simpliest controller for the LEDs is the Colordunio. It can control 64 RGB leds and does white balance, etc. It can be controlled via I2C and you can chain them as they have I2C in and out, plus you slap an FTDI controller and you just plug and power it all via USB. It is a full arduino too and easy to program plus their is a c library so you can write you own code. For example you can do neat things like have the 1-9 keys show CPU usage or go from green to red to show it. I have tested this out and it is pretty neat. Also note if you get a surface mount part it has to be very bright, much brighter than you think in my tests because even with it drilled out you are just projecting a cone of light surrounded by very solid black opaque material and a little hole.

The LEDs I have in mind are SMD, are roughly 2x1.5mm and RGB. I'd be using them in an array similar to the keys, using a set of 74HC595s & something along the lines of a ATMEGA8/168/328 on an I2C bus. We've already got libraries written for this at work so I can reduce the size of everything as much as possible. This board would come preassembled as it would be far simplier for me to troubleshoot and for you guys to put together if you don't have to solder 360 tiny leds. This would be the arrangement of the LEDs under the switch:
Show Image


So is your idea to have all of them fully addressable or in sets of 4? I would assume as sets of 4 but I could do some really neat things if I could light different sections of a key up.

As for placement, in my test it was better to offset the LEDs so they are not right in the center. The reason being is that you are projecting the light in the thickest part of the key not in the wells of the key. This can be both good and bad but if you are using small LEDs. I would recommend setting them just off center a bit so you can avoid wasting light projecting it into the plus sign supports of the key and actually into the four wells of the key instead.

Offline AcidFire

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Re: AcidFire's custom keyboard aka The Grand Piano
« Reply #58 on: Sun, 23 June 2013, 00:23:04 »
So is your idea to have all of them fully addressable or in sets of 4? I would assume as sets of 4 but I could do some really neat things if I could light different sections of a key up.

As for placement, in my test it was better to offset the LEDs so they are not right in the center. The reason being is that you are projecting the light in the thickest part of the key not in the wells of the key. This can be both good and bad but if you are using small LEDs. I would recommend setting them just off center a bit so you can avoid wasting light projecting it into the plus sign supports of the key and actually into the four wells of the key instead.

Yes, the 4 LEDs would act as one for the first revision as doing independent control of each would be a fair bit more complicated, but I like the idea :) I've added it to my list of features to explore in a future revision.

As for the placement of the LEDs, I'm going to do a test board with each switch having the LEDs in a different position so I can do a visual test to see what would work.

Offline TD22057

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Re: AcidFire's custom keyboard aka The Grand Piano
« Reply #59 on: Sun, 23 June 2013, 18:39:15 »
OK - that is crazy cool.  I'll be following this with a lot of interest.  It will be really nice to see a custom wireless keyboard - I haven't been able to find any good examples on how to go about that.

Offline CommunistWitchDr

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Re: AcidFire's custom keyboard aka The Grand Piano
« Reply #60 on: Sun, 23 June 2013, 19:58:35 »
So is your idea to have all of them fully addressable or in sets of 4? I would assume as sets of 4 but I could do some really neat things if I could light different sections of a key up.

As for placement, in my test it was better to offset the LEDs so they are not right in the center. The reason being is that you are projecting the light in the thickest part of the key not in the wells of the key. This can be both good and bad but if you are using small LEDs. I would recommend setting them just off center a bit so you can avoid wasting light projecting it into the plus sign supports of the key and actually into the four wells of the key instead.

Yes, the 4 LEDs would act as one for the first revision as doing independent control of each would be a fair bit more complicated, but I like the idea :) I've added it to my list of features to explore in a future revision.

As for the placement of the LEDs, I'm going to do a test board with each switch having the LEDs in a different position so I can do a visual test to see what would work.

First revision as in software only or hardware too?
Would be nice if the traces were set up so it could be changed later in firmware, but I understand why that might not be plausible.

Offline AcidFire

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Re: AcidFire's custom keyboard aka The Grand Piano
« Reply #61 on: Mon, 24 June 2013, 02:20:01 »
First revision as in software only or hardware too?
Would be nice if the traces were set up so it could be changed later in firmware, but I understand why that might not be plausible.

Both, though it's mainly a hardware issue as it would be very complicated to wire 360 LEDs for individual control on a board that for the most part will be about 5mm wide between most of the holes. I won't say it's impossible yet, particularly w/ a 4 layer board, but the cost of something like that in order to recoup for the more expensive boards, design time, etc. would be fairly cost prohibitive for many that it may not be worth doing.



Offline AcidFire

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Re: AcidFire's custom keyboard aka The Grand Piano
« Reply #62 on: Mon, 24 June 2013, 14:10:09 »
So after doing a bit more research after some notes I had seen ic07 make on deskthority, I've started looking at other controller options to allow for what i want to do down the road. Right now I'm looking at a couple different controllers which are either cortex M3 or M4, USB capable AND right around the same price as the 32U4. The major advantage I get is a ton of programming room & plenty of ram, which should make it far more simpler to implement things like multiple layer management & macro recording/management.

Edit: I seem to be asleep at the wheel today, as I've completely spaced to the fact that the modularity of the design would allow for a processor upgrade w/ minimal effort down the road if I found the need to actually do it. Consider me back on the 32u4 wagon lol.
« Last Edit: Mon, 24 June 2013, 18:39:40 by AcidFire »

Offline BlueByLiquid

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Re: AcidFire's custom keyboard aka The Grand Piano
« Reply #63 on: Mon, 24 June 2013, 21:32:14 »
So will I be able to talk to this via software/api over USB so I can do custom lighting which changes at runtime?

Offline AcidFire

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Re: AcidFire's custom keyboard aka The Grand Piano
« Reply #64 on: Tue, 25 June 2013, 14:19:43 »
So will I be able to talk to this via software/api over USB so I can do custom lighting which changes at runtime?

Thats the plan. The board will have some functionality that will require control over the LEDs for indication like battery life, which bluetooth device youre connected to, etc etc. but otherwise I'd like to make it available over software so people can set up patterns and other fun stuff :)

Offline CommunistWitchDr

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Re: AcidFire's custom keyboard aka The Grand Piano
« Reply #65 on: Fri, 28 June 2013, 07:38:00 »
The led indicators sound pretty useful.

The battery one reminded me, what are you doing battery wise? Small rechargeable lithium battery? Really anything that lasts a good while (and can be replaced without soldering) is good.

Offline AcidFire

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Re: AcidFire's custom keyboard aka The Grand Piano
« Reply #66 on: Fri, 28 June 2013, 11:08:56 »
The led indicators sound pretty useful.

The battery one reminded me, what are you doing battery wise? Small rechargeable lithium battery? Really anything that lasts a good while (and can be replaced without soldering) is good.

I have a lipo battery in mind that is 3.7v & 2000mah, so I'll need a boost converter for it but the battery will be easily replaceable and require no soldering. Should last a week (I'm hoping) without needing a recharge, but we'll see how everything works out in reality.

Offline CommunistWitchDr

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Re: AcidFire's custom keyboard aka The Grand Piano
« Reply #67 on: Fri, 28 June 2013, 11:27:36 »

Should last a week (I'm hoping) without needing a recharge, but we'll see how everything works out in reality.

Sounds like plentiy, seeing as recharging is simple. Will probably be a lot less on average though, due to unexplainable desire to keep 300something leds on full brightness.

Offline AcidFire

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Re: AcidFire's custom keyboard aka The Grand Piano
« Reply #68 on: Fri, 28 June 2013, 17:57:23 »
Sounds like plentiy, seeing as recharging is simple. Will probably be a lot less on average though, due to unexplainable desire to keep 300something leds on full brightness.

Sometimes sacrifices need to made in the name of bling. However, it should be possible to add a secondary pack for those who need their LED fix while working wirelessly, it'll probably just take a little longer to charge ;)

Also, since I haven't posted any pics in a couple of days, I thought I would put up a couple more:
This is why I'm putting a lot of time into proper PCBs -_-


And some of my keycaps arrived, I had ordered these to flesh out a set I had bought in the Classified section that haven't arrived yet (tho fingers crossed for tuesday!)

Offline ShallowMoon

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Re: AcidFire's custom keyboard aka The Grand Piano
« Reply #69 on: Sun, 30 June 2013, 10:43:57 »
Really nice work. Following this thread closely.

Offline AcidFire

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Re: AcidFire's custom keyboard aka The Grand Piano
« Reply #70 on: Sun, 30 June 2013, 17:31:26 »
Quick update to share, first spin of the main boards is nearly done, just need to run the I2C lines:



And a bit more detail around the microcontroller:



For those of you who are wondering, I'm going to try using one of the new AtTiny828 chips from Atmel for handling scanning the board and control of the LEDs in each key. The pair of 0805 pads you see to either side of the controller determine which side they are (right or left) and which address to use, meaning you could actually have 4 main boards connected at once  :eek: the same controller will be used for the thumbboards as well, because while it will be over kill, it'll also help keep pricing low and the code base similar.
« Last Edit: Sun, 30 June 2013, 17:54:07 by AcidFire »

Offline ShallowMoon

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Re: AcidFire's custom keyboard aka The Grand Piano
« Reply #71 on: Mon, 01 July 2013, 03:03:52 »
This may be quite a subjective question, but what incline (degrees) seems to be the most comfortable when using 'The Grand Piano'?

Offline AcidFire

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Re: AcidFire's custom keyboard aka The Grand Piano
« Reply #72 on: Mon, 01 July 2013, 10:33:15 »
This may be quite a subjective question, but what incline (degrees) seems to be the most comfortable when using 'The Grand Piano'?

To be honest I haven't measured it yet, however I believe its 15-20 degrees. It's enough to force your hands to lift & tent without being overly uncomfortable and is actually pretty supportive. I'm still working on finding the best angle for it though.
« Last Edit: Tue, 02 July 2013, 11:09:07 by AcidFire »

Offline linziyi

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Re: AcidFire's custom keyboard aka The Grand Piano
« Reply #73 on: Mon, 01 July 2013, 11:10:19 »
So you are planning to design/make the PCB at this point correct?
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Offline BlueByLiquid

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Re: AcidFire's custom keyboard aka The Grand Piano
« Reply #74 on: Mon, 01 July 2013, 13:48:48 »
PCB Looks great. So based on your PCB it looks like this version is for single channel through hole LEDs correct? Still interested in grabbing a board just curious.

Offline AcidFire

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Re: AcidFire's custom keyboard aka The Grand Piano
« Reply #75 on: Tue, 02 July 2013, 11:08:35 »
So you are planning to design/make the PCB at this point correct?
Yes, I expect I will be doing atleast one more PCB revision before settling on something I'd feel comfortable producing in volume. Right now these layouts are more of a testing set up than anything else, hence the two sets of 12 pin headers for the LEDs & switches. I'll be designing the thumbs and breakout boards for both the main 32u4 controllers, as well as a breakout for the 828 micros as well. I'm hoping to get my order in by Friday.


PCB Looks great. So based on your PCB it looks like this version is for single channel through hole LEDs correct? Still interested in grabbing a board just curious.
The single channel will always be a built in option. The RGB board I mentioned would be paired w/ a 1.5mm piece of acrylic or similar and would replace the switch mounting plate. Effectively, each key would have a central LED or ring of LEDs (or both if you so chose), but it gives the end user more options for customization, or not, depending on what they want to spend. If you were to choose to have both the central LED -and- the secondary ring, they would live on separate addresses in the API, allowing for total control for each key.
« Last Edit: Tue, 02 July 2013, 11:10:15 by AcidFire »

Offline BlueByLiquid

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Re: AcidFire's custom keyboard aka The Grand Piano
« Reply #76 on: Tue, 02 July 2013, 16:26:10 »
Sounds great. Let me know where to throw my money if you are looking to get boards already

Offline CommunistWitchDr

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Re: AcidFire's custom keyboard aka The Grand Piano
« Reply #77 on: Tue, 02 July 2013, 16:31:35 »
Sounds great. Let me know where to throw my money if you are looking to get boards already
Hey, I was offering to throw money first!

But seriously, this is sounding great, you're making amazingly fast progress. One of the fastest idea->prototype->production cycles for something of this scale I've seen if your pcb time estimates are correct.

Offline BlueByLiquid

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Re: AcidFire's custom keyboard aka The Grand Piano
« Reply #78 on: Tue, 02 July 2013, 17:00:19 »
I'm just eager to start doing some programming for the lights after I finished my backlit Kinesis project

Offline AcidFire

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Re: AcidFire's custom keyboard aka The Grand Piano
« Reply #79 on: Tue, 02 July 2013, 17:06:10 »
Sounds great. Let me know where to throw my money if you are looking to get boards already
Hey, I was offering to throw money first!

But seriously, this is sounding great, you're making amazingly fast progress. One of the fastest idea->prototype->production cycles for something of this scale I've seen if your pcb time estimates are correct.
Well the encouragement on this forum and elsewhere has been a big driving factor to the development time ;) I'm also now pushing to get it done sooner than later, since Kickstarter will be opening it's doors to Canada by the end of the summer. This would allow me to reach a broader audience quickly, meaning far less waiting for funding to do some of the stuff that's been earmarked as down the road, not to mention hopefully putting the kind of funds I need together to do proper backlit keys.

I'm just eager to start doing some programming for the lights after I finished my backlit Kinesis project

I have to warn you that I have no idea how long it'll take me to get the lighting API together as it definitely won't be the first priority on my list. I will see what I can do though.

Offline BlueByLiquid

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Re: AcidFire's custom keyboard aka The Grand Piano
« Reply #80 on: Tue, 02 July 2013, 17:41:49 »
If there's any dev gel you need on the lighting let me know if I can help.

Offline AcidFire

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Re: AcidFire's custom keyboard aka The Grand Piano
« Reply #81 on: Wed, 03 July 2013, 10:55:00 »
If there's any dev gel you need on the lighting let me know if I can help.

Very much appreciated :)

Also, since I've got my first board prepped for prototyping, I thought I'd share:


Offline CPTBadAss

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Re: AcidFire's custom keyboard aka The Grand Piano
« Reply #82 on: Wed, 03 July 2013, 10:57:07 »
That's awesome that you're taking this to a Kickstarter. I really like the concept and I'm eager to see where this is going in the future.

Offline linziyi

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Re: AcidFire's custom keyboard aka The Grand Piano
« Reply #83 on: Wed, 03 July 2013, 11:15:22 »
:O it's on kickstarter?
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Offline AcidFire

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Re: AcidFire's custom keyboard aka The Grand Piano
« Reply #84 on: Wed, 03 July 2013, 11:21:02 »
That's awesome that you're taking this to a Kickstarter. I really like the concept and I'm eager to see where this is going in the future.
:O it's on kickstarter?
It isn't up yet as I've still got a ways to go to a working prototype & Kickstarter isn't available directly to Canadians yet. They've announced that it'll be available to us by the end of the summer, so I've got lots of time to develop and put together a good project. I'll be sure to let everyone know when it's available.

Offline Glod

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Re: AcidFire's custom keyboard aka The Grand Piano
« Reply #85 on: Wed, 03 July 2013, 11:36:58 »
i like where this is going except i am still not thrilled about the feet if you are still going that direction of the poles.

Offline AcidFire

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Re: AcidFire's custom keyboard aka The Grand Piano
« Reply #86 on: Wed, 03 July 2013, 11:47:52 »
i like where this is going except i am still not thrilled about the feet if you are still going that direction of the poles.

Not at all, the feet haven't changed because I haven't had the time to design a better system for adjustable tenting, I'm not a fan of them myself either :P

Offline CommunistWitchDr

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Re: AcidFire's custom keyboard aka The Grand Piano
« Reply #87 on: Wed, 03 July 2013, 11:50:07 »
Say, is the final case going to be layered acrylic or something else? If it's something else, look at the feet on the apple adjustable II. I couldn't see it working well not built into the case though.

Offline AcidFire

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Re: AcidFire's custom keyboard aka The Grand Piano
« Reply #88 on: Wed, 03 July 2013, 12:11:56 »
Say, is the final case going to be layered acrylic or something else? If it's something else, look at the feet on the apple adjustable II. I couldn't see it working well not built into the case though.

I've been debating on this, and what I think will end up happening is to offer the Acrylic as the "budget" case as machining or injection molding something will take a bit more investment to get set up. What I will probably do is offer other case options down the road that can replace the acrylic without costing an arm and a leg on their own, but again, it'll all come down to cost.

Offline AcidFire

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Re: AcidFire's custom keyboard aka The Grand Piano
« Reply #89 on: Wed, 03 July 2013, 19:59:58 »
More progress tonight, got two versions of the thumb boards done:


I also did the ATTINY828 Breakout that I wanted, so the only thing left before the boards go in for manufacture is the main controller :D

Offline Sai

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Re: AcidFire's custom keyboard aka The Grand Piano
« Reply #90 on: Wed, 03 July 2013, 21:03:02 »
subscribed to the thread so that i can keep track of the progress of this one and the kickstarter.  :)
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Offline BlueByLiquid

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Re: AcidFire's custom keyboard aka The Grand Piano
« Reply #91 on: Thu, 04 July 2013, 13:21:44 »
Looks great!

One thought while handling the layout for LEDs it would be great if there were the ability to handle extra LEDs other than just the ones for the keys. Maybe 10 extra (or what ever works out) so I could add custom things like which layer is on, etc

Offline AcidFire

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Re: AcidFire's custom keyboard aka The Grand Piano
« Reply #92 on: Thu, 04 July 2013, 13:31:39 »
Looks great!

One thought while handling the layout for LEDs it would be great if there were the ability to handle extra LEDs other than just the ones for the keys. Maybe 10 extra (or what ever works out) so I could add custom things like which layer is on, etc
I have something else in mind for that ;) It won't be a part of the initial project, but I've already built in the capacity to add it quickly.

I do have a question for those of you who are following this project. Do you prefer the Mini-B usb or Micro-B usb connection? I personally lean towards Mini-B for applications like this where you don't really need the Micro, but I'm curious to see what you guys prefer.

Offline MOZ

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Re: AcidFire's custom keyboard aka The Grand Piano
« Reply #93 on: Thu, 04 July 2013, 13:54:01 »
Mini.

I find it "sticks" better.

Offline linziyi

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Re: AcidFire's custom keyboard aka The Grand Piano
« Reply #94 on: Thu, 04 July 2013, 14:02:24 »
I don’t know why but I always fear of easily breaking the micro usb :S
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Offline BlueByLiquid

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Re: AcidFire's custom keyboard aka The Grand Piano
« Reply #95 on: Thu, 04 July 2013, 14:32:23 »
Probably mini just because I always seem to have extra mini cables lying around

Offline AcidFire

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Re: AcidFire's custom keyboard aka The Grand Piano
« Reply #96 on: Thu, 04 July 2013, 15:25:21 »
I don’t know why but I always fear of easily breaking the micro usb :S
I've actually broken the connector off a couple of breakout boards before while fighting the locking connectors, hence my hesitation to use it for this.
Mini.

I find it "sticks" better.
Probably mini just because I always seem to have extra mini cables lying around

I'm glad to see I wasn't crazy in sticking with the older style. Finished the last board I need to get my PCB order in:

Offline BlueByLiquid

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Re: AcidFire's custom keyboard aka The Grand Piano
« Reply #97 on: Thu, 04 July 2013, 16:12:24 »
Are u open to us sending you money to get an extra board with your order?

Offline AcidFire

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Re: AcidFire's custom keyboard aka The Grand Piano
« Reply #98 on: Thu, 04 July 2013, 16:32:59 »
Are u open to us sending you money to get an extra board with your order?

I'm not sure how comfortable I feel about that as these are very much prototype boards, it's something I would have to give some thought to. If anything I'll order a few spares and if I decide I don't need them I'll look at making them available to a few people.

Offline BlueByLiquid

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Re: AcidFire's custom keyboard aka The Grand Piano
« Reply #99 on: Thu, 04 July 2013, 16:47:32 »
Are u open to us sending you money to get an extra board with your order?

No problem. :)