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Muri ONE: Low Profile Wireless TKL

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suicidal_orange:
While not for me this is a very impressive project - good to see it progressing :)

aabbcc:

--- Quote from: ice9js on Wed, 26 May 2021, 02:05:50 ---I appreciate the kind words, thank you!


--- Quote from: aabbcc on Tue, 25 May 2021, 17:32:27 ---I'd 100% buy one if it didn't have the wrist pad

--- End quote ---

I realize it might not be everyone's preference although for me, personally, it definitely makes a very noticeable difference. Apart from the typing position, because it's a large piece of metal it also helps keep my hands from sweating for longer - very desirable feature for myself. As an added bonus, it also makes it pleasant to use on your lap.
But yes, so with the updated design, there's a number of new opportunities - the battery fits in the area under the slider now so technically it's possible to get rid of the wrist pad.
Now I'm wondering whether it should be removable or just an entirely separate version without it. If I make it removable, it's probably better for user experience as you get to decide and reduces the unique part count but then I either end up with very sharp corners on the bottom or I have to sacrifice the 'seamless' transition.
For now all I can say the idea is in the back of my head and I'm giving it time - but I'm open to a compromise here.


--- Quote from: aabbcc on Tue, 25 May 2021, 17:32:27 ---You don't have any plans on making a full size version?

--- End quote ---

No. But I'll hopefully do you one better: how does a wireless numpad sound?
It'd feature the same design that I end up with, possibly a screen in place of the top row and a slider as well (need some space for the battery and besides, would make for a very nice media pad).
You could connect it to the 'main' keyboard so it acts as a split, or to your computer directly if you prefer, but that it would also have some basic standalone functions like a calculator etc.
By being detachable you can place it wherever it suits you most or get it out of the way completely - and obviously if you don't want it you don't buy it.

That's the idea. I'm still at an early stage and the keycaps are the biggest question mark at the moment, followed up by getting the case manufactured. Once I've solved these two problems I'll probably be able to say more on how viable it is for me to do the numpad immediately or if it'd need to be a follow up project and how that'd work then.

--- End quote ---

Wireless numpad sounds even better, keep up the good work! Does the bluetooth chip support multi device pairing?

Let me know if you need help beta testing, you could just send over a pcb and I'll order the bom, I repair and build diy synthesizers in my spare time so I know my way around electronics :)

ice9js:
Thanks y'all. It's really motivating to see some action in the thread. It's much appreciated.

So today I finally got around to printing the first batch of keycap prototypes. It's only my first print ever so bare with me...



As you can see, the 'front' edges of the keycaps are a little out of shape. Spacebar to an extreme degree. This was my mistake trusting the slicing software with generating supports.
Unfortunately the generated ones weren't enough to firmly hold onto that first edge from which the print is started. I'll make sure to add plenty extra for the next batch.

Other than that - I'm quite pleased. Even without sanding down the support residue the fit is near perfect and all the mounting points match up as well.
They came out quite a bit flatter than I expected, but that's something I found very hard to judge on a screen. You can still feel the sculpt but I'm not quite satisfied just yet.
I'll probably experiment a bit more with narrowing down the radius without making them too thin in the center.

It'll be a little while before I do the next revision as I need to get myself some resin first (first round was on the house).


--- Quote from: aabbcc on Wed, 26 May 2021, 16:34:33 ---Let me know if you need help beta testing, you could just send over a pcb and I'll order the bom, I repair and build diy synthesizers in my spare time so I know my way around electronics :)

--- End quote ---

Nice, thanks! I might just take you up on that some time if you want to play with it. It's not like I've got something to do with all the extras.

ice9js:
Time for another update  :)

I did some more testing on the keycaps and I managed to find some areas for improvement:

- The profile might just be too shallow, I'll need to experiment with using a smaller radius.
- I assumed the stabilizer connectors are symmetric but it turns out the 'cross' on Choc stabs is actually slightly larger on one axis. My dimensions are based on the shorter axis. I can force them on but I can feel it's not the way it should be. I'll need to fix this.
- Theoretically only 2u and above need stabilizer but the 1.75 feels really wobbly actually - to the point where I don't like it. I'll probably just try to add a set of stab connectors on there too and experiment some more. Could also be down to the quality of my initial prints.

I took some time to parametrize my model (Grasshopper is magic!) so I'm easily able to control the shape and other aspects of the keycap and auto-generate the entire family. This should speed up the iteration time a lot.

On another note, new partially-assembled PCBs have arrived and seem to live up to the expectations. Just need to throw on the ICs on there and I can get back to the firmware side of things.
I also went ahead and got a batch of slider FPCs - pretty excited to test them too.

ice9js:
Another round of keycap protos  :) As you can see the shape is a little bit different now as well with the scoop centered on the stem where previously it was offset to the top.

I decreased the radius on the surface by about 30-35% and it does feel quite satisfying now, interestingly especially so on modifiers. The stabilizer connectors also fit perfectly now.
Unfortunately this round is quite a bit more prone to breaking - I'm not sure if it's down to it not being completely cured or the resin itself, I'll experiment some more. But they did a great job as non-functional prototypes and I'm very satisfied with this new direction. That said, I'll probably do a few more runs using some 'extreme' settings just to make sure I actually have all bases covered before committing to one design.



Other than that, I've soldered on the missing chips on one of the PCBs and will be going back to doing more software work for ZMK.

One question I have... is there any tricks to make reworking PCBs easier? I don't know what kind of solder they used there but it was close to impossible to reflow using hot air and even trying to remove it with a wick and an iron proved to be quite difficult as well (I use plenty of flux). Once I applied fresh solder to the pads, it was smooth sailing from there.

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