ENHANCING LED SUPPORT WITH FIBER OPTIC:
Currently, to make led compatible keycaps we have 2 options:
(1) To do a thin layer of resin for the light to shine through.
(2) Using a high refractive index material (>water ideally): mineral beads, clear resin.
It's good enough for eyes that are in straight line from the led at the base of the switch, however it doesn't work to illuminate effectively little parts of the keycaps of <2mm spots and or lateral sides.
What hasn't been done?: use fiber optic threads.
Method: at cast time, they should be pinched through the mold and bent towards the base of the keycap, where the led would be located, so they'd be included in the final cast.
Hypothesis: The clarity of illumination should displace poorer performing refractive materials as clear resins or even most crystals.
Uses: to illuminate front and sides of a keycap or accentuate tiny spots on it. If enough threads are grouped together, minor shapes could be achieved such as alphabet characters or little drawings, for instance. It could illuminate just the iris in the eyes.
Dedicated thread