minimal split ergo, inspired by ergodox, suka & obra

[Glod]

take a break but never give up, this thing looks crazy cool

[bearcat]

Thanks for the kind words!  I already tried shorting two i/o pins and no dice.

I was worried i was back at square one, where nothing happened, the teensy didn't blink, and i had no idea where to go from there.  But, a good night's sleep and talking the problem over makes things look much better.

I went back and RTFM'd and found that yes, indeed, a jumper cable ties the onboard LED pin to ground.  (headdesk)

With that and hid_listen, i've been able to ascertain that the teensy isn't ****ed, which means the firmware is the next step.

I'll start by fixing up my layout, removing all the stuff that deals with lighting up LEDs, and hopefully putting some of the usb_debug_putchar traces will at least give me some clues about where it's dying.

And any multimeter advice would be great as well   I've tested connectivity and all the diodes and they seem ok.  Nothing more sophisticated than that.

[obra]

Just to reassure yourself, you might want to use the multimeter to verify that you can see current flow through the correct pins when you hit each key. That'll help reassure you that you should keep going.

[bearcat]

Ok!  Got everything working!

Apparently i either don't understand my multimeter, don't understand my diodes, don't understand which way electricity goes, don't understand the 1/0 on the "drive rows/drive columns" constants, or the code is actually backwards, but changing from driving columns to rows did it.  Every key works.  Awesome.

For people looking to troubleshoot, i strongly recommend switching out the src/lib-other/pjrc/usb_keyboard library to the src/lib-other/pjrc/usb_keyboard_debug library. 

In a matter of minutes i was able to determine that
a) the firmware was booting
b) that it was entering the scanning loop
c) that it was not hanging/crashing
d) that it was not detecting *any* keypress events.

Very handy.

Now on to the layouts!

[bearcat]

Now, if only the raindrop set or the DSA retro set would hurry up & get here, i'd be set   WASD red & orange are a bit disappointing



and not on a wooden background


ETA: gallery link: http://imgur.com/a/9zYE1

[esoomenona]

That looks really sweet. Good work!

[nubbinator]

That looks amazing.  I wish I knew where to start with designing a circuit path for a keyboard like that.

How does that bottom row work for you?  The innermost two seem comfortable, but I'm having a hard time with the red one and key next to it.  They strike me as just off enough that you'd want to use your middle or index finger with them.

[bearcat]

Of the the innermost two are definitely the easiest to hit, very natural.
The one next to the horizontal 2x is also really easy to hit with your thumb.

That horizontal 2x is a little weird looking -- but it's about as easy to hit as alt or command, and easier to hit than the red/orange keys in the innermost column.

I'm definitely still tweaking the layout, though

And, i used the circuit from the ergodox -- there's a diagram at https://github.com/benblazak/ergodox-firmware/tree/master/src/keyboard/ergodox/circuit-diagram.svg .  So easy even a shmoe like me could figure it out

[kurplop]

Nice work on the split keyboard design. How is the oak holding up through the process? I've done a fair amount of wood carving and it can  be frustrating having a piece almost done and accidentally breaking a foot or a hat brim off. I know the piece was cut by CNC but just pressing in keys could present problems with an open grain wood like oak. I ask because I'm thinking about making a wood case for an ErgoDox and would invite your input.

[bearcat]

It's turned out really well for what was supposed to be a quick prototype.  I had some 1/2" planks that were on sale and thought i'd try it out; Red oak isn't my favorite, but better to test on this than on some fancy 1/2" hardwood.  You're quite right that the wood was a bit finicky; broke off a thin bit right by the USB connector, which was frustrating.

The top is probably way too thick, just over 1/8" (marked at 0.15, but probably ended up 0.16).  It's very stable, there isn't much flex at all in the top part, i have to really bend it apart.  (Am testing this on a spare)

The holes all came out slightly too small, and i spent a lot of time dremelling/filing them down, which was a huge pain and made me wish i was working in something soft. 

I'm not sure if i'll make the next case the same way, or if i'll do a more traditional four mitered sides & a lid & a bottom.

I'd also love to make a wood case for the ergodox i bought, but i'm definitely not a professional cabinet maker :-/  I saw that assembly you did and it was *gorgeous*.  Be sure to post pics of anything you end up doing

[regicide]

Wow nice work, that wood looks astounding.
For a prototype this thing looks fantastic.

Best of luck.

[bearcat]

Update.  The version shown here was my daily driver from May thru August.  It eventually broke and i made a half-assed attempted to fix it, but decided to build a new one to fix some of the things that were bothering me, namely:

1. Pinky column needed to be lowered even further -- 'p' was the worst letter to hit bar none.
2. Extra index column not very useful.
3. Vertical 1.5u keys on the outsides gave up prime real estate
4. Hand wiring in the small case was a pain.
5. I missed having an LED, at least for diagnostics!
6. The single piece milled case was nice but required a lot of post processing.

After a lot of thought, the final case pieces for v2 arrived tonight!  The case tries to hide as many of the joints as possible, with the top aluminium cover plate and the mitered corners.  This version also experiments with the matte acrylic sheets they sell at ponoko -- i really like how it looks.  I've also got a draft PCB in to check for depth -- which checks out!   Will go with DSA caps for the final assembly, i think -- vertical DCS feel funny to me.

Album





(the case in the background is a plywood prototype with mitered corners)

Sorry about the potato pics & thanks for looking

[Oobly]

This is looking great! I like the angled thumb key caps and I think the matte acrylic looks good, but not as good as your original oak case.

Good work, I look forward to the next update!

[bearcat]

Thanks!  Glad to hear you liked the oak   Maybe after get better at using my mill...

BTW, the matte acrylic will just be visible from the sides.  The aluminium plate will fit right on top of the acrylic and hide the joint.

[kurplop]

Very nice, clean look. I like the direction you went with this. Keep posting.

[bearcat]

Just an update, another productive weekend, and I think i've finished the PCB.  Gonna have a friend look at it and hopefully ship it out to seeed this week  I have a newfound respect for PCB designers...

http://imgur.com/a/otJ6u#4

[lkong]

Thats exactly what I want for my coffee shop gear.
Little ergo and tablet.

[bearcat]

Thats exactly what I want for my coffee shop gear.
Little ergo and tablet.

That usecase is my thought as well   Hopefully this set of PCBs will work out ok!

[bearcat]

small update, the PCBs arrived!  Digikey order should land sometime this week so hopefully i'll figure out how badly i messed it up soon!




And if you know anyone who has any extra 3.5mm 4-wire TRRS connectors (same as ErgoDox) -- i really need a few!

[yasuo]

I think with dsa caps better particulary on thumb cluster IMO
nah,like this

[bearcat]

Yes, definitely DSA caps!  Definitely will get DSA caps for the finished version

[jeffgran]

I have to say that wood case is one of the coolest looking cases I've seen too. I wish there was an easy way to use CNC or something to make a custom 3D design out of wood...

[CPTBadAss]

Oooo, those PCBs are looking good bearcat! Now build them up!

[bearcat]

Oooo, those PCBs are looking good bearcat! Now build them up!

Digikey shipment arrives today   Should get above freezing this weekend too -- my "soldering station" is an unheated shed 

I have to say that wood case is one of the coolest looking cases I've seen too. I wish there was an easy way to use CNC or something to make a custom 3D design out of wood...

I've been thinking about how to mill your case, and i think i'm getting to the point where i might be able to do the two halves in two passes each.  It'd be a lot easier if the keytray was a separate piece that could be made from e.g. aluminium or acrylic sheeting.  Otherwise, to do it all as a single case I'd need a 4-axis machine which is a bit out of budget
If you're working in jscad & come up with any STLs, let me know!  I have a lot of mill improvements to make over the holidays...

[jeffgran]

Oooo, those PCBs are looking good bearcat! Now build them up!

Digikey shipment arrives today   Should get above freezing this weekend too -- my "soldering station" is an unheated shed 

So is mine (well it's in the unheated garage), but I got this little radiant heater and put it above my workbench and it works pretty darn well for just heating up your work area where you're standing (I had to take my outer layer off cause I was too hot, and it was like 20F outside): http://www.amazon.com/Ceiling-Mounted-Workshop-Heater-Halogen-Light/dp/B002VMKCWQ/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1386729775&sr=8-15&keywords=radiant+heater

I have to say that wood case is one of the coolest looking cases I've seen too. I wish there was an easy way to use CNC or something to make a custom 3D design out of wood...

I've been thinking about how to mill your case, and i think i'm getting to the point where i might be able to do the two halves in two passes each.  It'd be a lot easier if the keytray was a separate piece that could be made from e.g. aluminium or acrylic sheeting.  Otherwise, to do it all as a single case I'd need a 4-axis machine which is a bit out of budget
If you're working in jscad & come up with any STLs, let me know!  I have a lot of mill improvements to make over the holidays...

Cool man! I don't know much about milling or manufacturing or anything. You're probably right though, if we could make the basic case shape out of one or two pieces and lay the keyswitch plates on top that might be a better technique than the all-in-one I've got going on so far. You can have a look at my code here (I checked in the built STLs too): https://github.com/jeffgran/ergo56-hardware (apologies in advance if you look at my code -- it's still pretty messy and needs some refactoring).

PS Sorry to derail your thread. But I'm watching your build with interest too. Have you thought about what you're going to use for the firmware? I've been playing with hasu's TMK on my ergodox and it's pretty sweet.

[bearcat]

Jeffgran, nice space heater!  I have one out there already but it's pretty ineffective.  We'll see!

Re: milling & whatnot, there's basically two very different sets of tolerances; whatever planar face has the holes in it needs +/- .1mm accuracy.  (the "plate", i guess).   But, whatever holds that planar face can have much looser tolerances.

WRT the mill, i need the plate to be perpendicular to the toolhead, and the rest of the case can be angled however.  Plus, if i need to work one face, then flip it over, then it's probably easiest to do the plate-face first.  I'll check out the code tomorrow night   Which jscad are you using?


As for the firmware, i was planning on adopting the ergodox firmware, but, since i don't have a teensy, i need to figure out the bootloader first.  No idea yet.  But once it gets to software it's back in my area of expertise, uh, moderate competence, so i'm looking forward to that.

[jeffgran]

WRT the mill, i need the plate to be perpendicular to the toolhead, and the rest of the case can be angled however.  Plus, if i need to work one face, then flip it over, then it's probably easiest to do the plate-face first.  I'll check out the code tomorrow night   Which jscad are you using?

What I do is drag and drop the entire root directory of my project into the little target box at the bottom of the openjscad.org page.  It automatically looks for the "main.jscad" which requires all the other files that it needs and executes the project.

[bearcat]

ok, openjscad.org then   I know there are some forks floating around... thanks!

[bearcat]

After a long hibernation, I finally verified that the logic on my main half works, but the half with the 23018 is a little dumb... i threw an LED on 3 extra pins there without understanding the ramifications of "open drain" collectors    Hopefully i can just switch the LED from common cathode to common anode and whitewire it across...

BUT!  The complicated half works

https://imgur.com/n26X5wE

Now to assemble!

[Melvang]

I can say that on linux 2 keyboards work fine, I can hold shift on one and type a capital letter on the other.

Works fine in windows 8.1 as well between 3 keyboards.  I have tested all combinations between my Das, Razer Orbweaver, and my Razer Naga Epic.

[OverKill]

I am jealous of your lighting. The lighting in my house sucks.