Author Topic: GH CAD Resources Hub (Read 395917 times)

doub · « **Reply #100 on:** Sat, 02 November 2013, 20:48:55 »

Can anyone recommend a free (as in free beer) software on Windows to edit DWG files? In particular I'd like to create a full size Cherry MX backplate file to send to a laser cutting company, but I have no idea what software to use.

MOZ · « **Reply #101 on:** Sat, 02 November 2013, 23:28:16 »

Inkscape.

doub · « **Reply #102 on:** Sun, 03 November 2013, 20:39:06 »

I can't find how to open or save DWG files with Inkscape. Do you need a special version or some kind of plugin?

TD22057 · « **Reply #103 on:** Sun, 03 November 2013, 20:57:55 »

Quote from: doub on Sat, 02 November 2013, 20:48:55

Can anyone recommend a free (as in free beer) software on Windows to edit DWG files? In particular I'd like to create a full size Cherry MX backplate file to send to a laser cutting company, but I have no idea what software to use.

I use DraftSight. Works great and it's free. Check out the plate prototyping thread for a lot of good info (the whole thread is worth reading).

codyeatworld · « **Reply #104 on:** Sun, 03 November 2013, 22:01:49 »

I installed solidworks today, watched some videos at cadjunkie@youtube. I recommend it if your trying to get started with solidworks.
photek showed me the channel, the videos are from 2010, but they still apply for SW13.

edit: a night later...

doub · « **Reply #105 on:** Mon, 04 November 2013, 09:44:39 »

Quote from: TD22057 on Sun, 03 November 2013, 20:57:55

I use DraftSight. Works great and it's free.

I also stumbled on that one. It looks complete, but after an hour or so of reading the introductory guide it looks rather complex.

Quote

Check out the plate prototyping thread for a lot of good info (the whole thread is worth reading).

I used that thread as main inspiration for my current project (ie. realizing the non-staggered layout I want with that lasercut+bent backplane mounting method).

Quote from: codyeatworld on Sun, 03 November 2013, 22:01:49

I installed solidworks today, watched some videos at cadjunkie@youtube. I recommend it if your trying to get started with solidworks.
photek showed me the channel, the videos are from 2010, but they still apply for SW13.

edit: a night later...
Show Image

Show Image

Thanks for the links, but is there a free version of SolidWorks? I'm doing mostly open source hardware+software, I'd like to avoid forcing people reusing my stuff to use a proprietary software.

Melvang · « **Reply #106 on:** Mon, 04 November 2013, 09:53:10 »

Quote from: doub on Mon, 04 November 2013, 09:44:39

Quote from: TD22057 on Sun, 03 November 2013, 20:57:55
I use DraftSight. Works great and it's free.

I also stumbled on that one. It looks complete, but after an hour or so of reading the introductory guide it looks rather complex.

Quote
Check out the plate prototyping thread for a lot of good info (the whole thread is worth reading).

I used that thread as main inspiration for my current project (ie. realizing the non-staggered layout I want with that lasercut+bent backplane mounting method).

Quote from: codyeatworld on Sun, 03 November 2013, 22:01:49
I installed solidworks today, watched some videos at cadjunkie@youtube. I recommend it if your trying to get started with solidworks.
photek showed me the channel, the videos are from 2010, but they still apply for SW13.

edit: a night later...
Show Image

Show Image

Thanks for the links, but is there a free version of SolidWorks? I'm doing mostly open source hardware+software, I'd like to avoid forcing people reusing my stuff to use a proprietary software.

Sorry man but there is no free version of Solidworks. There is a student version that can be had by college students for around the $150 range or if you are a US military Veteran you can get the same version for $20 but requires you to email a scanned image/pic of your DD214.

yasuo · « **Reply #107 on:** Fri, 13 December 2013, 04:22:03 »

moz,you have gh60 plate?
i see no on OP

MOZ · « **Reply #108 on:** Fri, 13 December 2013, 05:45:01 »

GH60 plates have not been made available by WFD yet. However you can check the GH60 open source acrylic case thread, I have a working plate design, that should work with GH60 no problem.

ripospfeigrp · « **Reply #109 on:** Tue, 21 January 2014, 15:16:04 »

Quote from: damorgue on Thu, 12 September 2013, 07:34:01

u refers to a Unit by Cherry, which is 19.05mm. 2.25u is the same as 2.25*19.05mm

Quote from: Melvang on Mon, 21 October 2013, 13:44:44

Edit: I have received a response from Melissa at SP regarding key cap dimensions on some of the larger keys. The following is the response from her.
Key sizes are below for our DCS keycaps:
1.25 Space - 0.903" wide x 0.715"
1.5 space - 1.090" wide x 0.715"
1.75 space - 1.278" wide x 0.715"
2 space - 1.465" wide x 0.715"
2.25 space - 1.653" wide x 0.715"
2.75 space - 2.028" wide x 0.715"

2.25 * 19.05mm =/= 1.653 inches

is SP following Cherry standards? i understand Melvang/Melissa from SP suffixes with ### space. if that is their own proprietary unit, how do you fit their caps with Cherry switches? or more specifically, PCBs

Photekq · « **Reply #110 on:** Tue, 21 January 2014, 15:23:23 »

Quote from: ripospfeigrp on Tue, 21 January 2014, 15:16:04

is SP following Cherry standards? i understand Melvang/Melissa from SP suffixes with ### space. if that is their own proprietary unit, how do you fit their caps with Cherry switches? or more specifically, PCBs

I think you misunderstand.

A 19.05mm unit is the space between the centre of two switch holes on a switch plate that are meant for 1x keycaps. The 1x keycaps themselves are smaller than 19.05mm.

ripospfeigrp · « **Reply #111 on:** Tue, 21 January 2014, 15:35:28 »

Quote from: Photekq on Tue, 21 January 2014, 15:23:23

I think you misunderstand.

A 19.05mm unit is the space between the centre of two switch holes on a switch plate that are meant for 1x keycaps. The 1x keycaps themselves are smaller than 19.05mm.

thanks. is there a standard dimension for 1x keycaps?

MOZ · « **Reply #112 on:** Tue, 21 January 2014, 15:43:26 »

As Photekq said, 19.05 mm or 0.75 inches is the space between the center of two 1u switches. So a 1u switch occupies 0.75", a 2u switch would occupy 1.5".

Now keycaps a re slightly smaller because if they weren't, they'd rub against each other, so if you observe carefully, you'd notice that this spacing between each DCS keycap is 0.035". So, a 1u DCS keycap is 0.715" x 0.715".

Thus a 2.25 unit would be 0.75" * 2.25 - 0.035" = 1.6525" which is approximated to 1.653" by SP.

Edit: You can see the datasheet for each vendor for each keycap profile, the generally supply the width for 1u, and maintain the same "difference" (From Cherry 1u) with larger keys as well.

Photekq · « **Reply #113 on:** Tue, 21 January 2014, 15:45:49 »

Quote from: ripospfeigrp on Tue, 21 January 2014, 15:35:28

Quote from: Photekq on Tue, 21 January 2014, 15:23:23
I think you misunderstand.

A 19.05mm unit is the space between the centre of two switch holes on a switch plate that are meant for 1x keycaps. The 1x keycaps themselves are smaller than 19.05mm.

thanks. is there a standard dimension for 1x keycaps?

There's no standard dimension.

Original Cherry keycaps(esc row) are about 18.3x18.4mm by my rough measurements
SP keycaps (esc row) are about 18.05x18.1mm by my rough measurements

Melvang · « **Reply #114 on:** Mon, 17 February 2014, 23:18:26 »

Quote from: Photekq on Tue, 21 January 2014, 15:45:49

Quote from: ripospfeigrp on Tue, 21 January 2014, 15:35:28
Quote from: Photekq on Tue, 21 January 2014, 15:23:23
I think you misunderstand.

A 19.05mm unit is the space between the centre of two switch holes on a switch plate that are meant for 1x keycaps. The 1x keycaps themselves are smaller than 19.05mm.

thanks. is there a standard dimension for 1x keycaps?
There's no standard dimension.

Original Cherry keycaps(esc row) are about 18.3x18.4mm by my rough measurements
SP keycaps (esc row) are about 18.05x18.1mm by my rough measurements

According to Melissa from SP the DCS caps single unit caps are .715" square. Don't remember the radius on the corners. I could find it but would take some digging in my email to find it. I actually measured/calculated this and came up with the same number though.

In regards to the Teensy Breakout board, OldDataHands has provided an updated version that puts the mount holes for screws on the sides instead of the ends to allow the USB plug to be put right up to the face of a project box. He has some touch ups to do but an image of it can be found here.

http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=45587.msg1230988#msg1230988 So when this gets finished up can we get it posted along with the original version?

CPTBadAss · « **Reply #115 on:** Wed, 19 February 2014, 08:13:18 »

Hey Moz, can you add the info in this post to your OP?

MOZ · « **Reply #116 on:** Wed, 19 February 2014, 08:32:55 »

Updated, also added Alps specifications sheet.

Melvang · « **Reply #117 on:** Wed, 19 February 2014, 20:34:58 »

Quote from: Photekq on Thu, 29 August 2013, 01:46:48

Stepped = 4.763mm to the left.
Show Image

So by this the difference between a center and off center caps lock is 4.763mm or .1875 inches, correct?

MOZ · « **Reply #118 on:** Thu, 20 February 2014, 00:49:25 »

Yes, 0.25u.

Melvang · « **Reply #119 on:** Thu, 20 February 2014, 00:51:54 »

Cool thanks for the confirmation Moz. I am working on a design that will allow for both locations on plate mount with no PCB but have a square hole for the switch which will allow stable switch location.

stoic-lemon · « **Reply #120 on:** Thu, 20 February 2014, 06:08:39 »

Regarding the Phantom plate designs in first post; will they fit Cherry and Costar stabs equally with no problems? Do they allow for removal of the switch tops? I have been searching the forums and found reference to an 'improved' design by WFD. Are those CAD files good to go?

MOZ · « **Reply #121 on:** Thu, 20 February 2014, 06:10:03 »

Quote from: stoic-lemon on Thu, 20 February 2014, 06:08:39

Regarding the Phantom plate designs in first post; will they fit Cherry and Costar stabs equally with no problems? I have been searching the forums and found reference to an 'improved' design by WFD. Are those CAD files good to go?

They are good to go, do you a have link regarding the reference, just to be sure.

stoic-lemon · « **Reply #122 on:** Thu, 20 February 2014, 06:43:17 »

Quote from: MOZ on Thu, 20 February 2014, 06:10:03

Quote from: stoic-lemon on Thu, 20 February 2014, 06:08:39
Regarding the Phantom plate designs in first post; will they fit Cherry and Costar stabs equally with no problems? I have been searching the forums and found reference to an 'improved' design by WFD. Are those CAD files good to go?

They are good to go, do you a have link regarding the reference, just to be sure.

Sure. http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=38623.0 It confusing to keep up with many iterations and designs. All I really want is to find one that has been made already and that I can use.

jdcarpe · « **Reply #123 on:** Thu, 20 February 2014, 06:46:06 »

stoic-lemon, which plate design are you looking for? I may be able to help you out there.

stoic-lemon · « **Reply #124 on:** Thu, 20 February 2014, 06:55:30 »

I'd be happy with any ANSI layout really. The ones in the .zip I have downloaded look fine to my untrained eye, but I'm really not sure if those are the only freely available designs or whether there are others I ought to consider.

justnits · « **Reply #125 on:** Thu, 20 February 2014, 10:47:05 »

is there a CAD file for the switch sticker design filled in an A4 size?

MOZ · « **Reply #126 on:** Thu, 20 February 2014, 12:10:54 »

stoic-lemon, the files in the OP will support costar and cherry (Both PCB and plate mounted)

justnits, no, there isn't a file for an A4 size, but should be asy enough to take the one drawing and form a matrix.

stoic-lemon · « **Reply #127 on:** Fri, 21 February 2014, 06:10:46 »

OK, so I'm starting to gather some quotes for cutting. I have opened the plate file in DraftSight and it looks great (thanks JD and Moz) I'm filling in a form for a quote for a plate cut from 1.5mm stainless steel and attaching the .dxf file. The form is asking for dimensions, but I assume that info will be in the file? I couldn't figure it out.

I'm hesitant to ask too many questions here that are outside the scope of this thread, but any other pointers concerning material choice, thickness, etc. would be appreciated.

MOZ · « **Reply #128 on:** Fri, 21 February 2014, 06:15:10 »

The file is to scale, so the dimensions are what they are in the file, ie, the length is the length of the plate, etc.

jdcarpe · « **Reply #129 on:** Fri, 21 February 2014, 06:43:52 »

Sorry, I should have told you those files I sent you are in millimeters. That's all they are asking, whether they are in millimeters or inches.

zamphere · « **Reply #130 on:** Tue, 11 March 2014, 11:51:08 »

Quote from: MOZ on Thu, 29 August 2013, 00:29:52

Individual components for designing plates (DWG) This has pretty much all the different sized key units, including universal key units for mods based on the excellent work by WhiteFireDragon on the GH60 plates. I would also like to give a shout out to jdcarpe for his brilliant work in designing plates, which was the foundation for this work.

Show Image

For mounting cherry mx switches do I want holes like this in the plate?

which is 13.9700 mm (0.55 inches) wide or do I want the one that is 13.9451 mm. 13.9451 mm wide switches are most common in GH designs I have seen like this one here:

MOZ · « **Reply #131 on:** Tue, 11 March 2014, 12:20:24 »

Won't really matter as Cherry specification has .002in = .05mm tolerance.

zamphere · « **Reply #132 on:** Tue, 11 March 2014, 12:57:37 »

Quote from: MOZ on Tue, 11 March 2014, 12:20:24

Won't really matter as Cherry specification has .002in = .05mm tolerance.

Thank you, that is a relief.

BTW Do you have templates for laptop keys too? I really like those square key caps on the lenovo.

MOZ · « **Reply #133 on:** Tue, 11 March 2014, 13:40:23 »

Nope

Lubed Up Slug · « **Reply #134 on:** Sun, 11 May 2014, 15:23:23 »

What is the standard spacing between cherry switches? I am not getting this part. Also a lot of the files on the drop box cannot be accessed anymore.

Melvang · « **Reply #135 on:** Sun, 11 May 2014, 16:35:29 »

Quote from: Lubed Up Slug on Sun, 11 May 2014, 15:23:23

What is the standard spacing between cherry switches? I am not getting this part. Also a lot of the files on the drop box cannot be accessed anymore.

.75 inches or 19.05 mm

Edit: SP dcs profile single unit caps are .715x.715 inches and at .75 inch spacing leaves you with .035 inches between caps.

Naed · « **Reply #136 on:** Fri, 06 June 2014, 22:18:10 »

Moz / Very nice work on gathering this info

Any chance of a refresh on the dropbbox links (they seem to have been disabled)?

MOZ · « **Reply #137 on:** Sat, 07 June 2014, 06:37:46 »

I'll have some time later next week, I'll update the links, there was a security issue that DropBox had and they had reset many public links.

Naed · « **Reply #138 on:** Sat, 07 June 2014, 06:47:13 »

Moz/ Absolutely no rush

Thank you

trishume · « **Reply #139 on:** Tue, 01 July 2014, 13:45:07 »

I made some AutoCad files that use blocks for the Cherry cutouts that include separate layers for bounding boxes, cutouts and key caps. That way you can turn them on an off separately for different visualizations.
It includes blocks for 3 different shapes of cutout and a couple different sizes. Also includes a small test plate which you can laser cut to see which cutout type works best for you.

All the basic parts are taken from other cad files in this thread like jdcarpe's plate components file. Note that this file will likely only work in AutoCad and not other programs that can open AutoCad files.

MOZ · « **Reply #140 on:** Tue, 01 July 2014, 14:33:24 »

Thanks, I'll surely add it to the OP.

SonicRevolution · « **Reply #141 on:** Tue, 01 July 2014, 18:12:21 »

Hey guys,

I'm looking for some contract CAD engineers with keyboard experience to vet some ideas. Any recommendation? Feel free to ping me on this thread or email me!

brian@qwerkytoys.com

redskull · « **Reply #142 on:** Thu, 03 July 2014, 13:36:47 »

edit, found it.

sakai4eva · « **Reply #143 on:** Tue, 15 July 2014, 22:32:40 »

Hey, can anyone point me to the right direction for the litster phantom case?

jdcarpe · « **Reply #144 on:** Tue, 15 July 2014, 22:56:05 »

Quote from: sakai4eva on Tue, 15 July 2014, 22:32:40

Hey, can anyone point me to the right direction for the litster phantom case?

The design isn't open for that one. That's why they are sought after, and expensive.

sakai4eva · « **Reply #145 on:** Wed, 16 July 2014, 03:03:10 »

Quote from: jdcarpe on Tue, 15 July 2014, 22:56:05

Quote from: sakai4eva on Tue, 15 July 2014, 22:32:40
Hey, can anyone point me to the right direction for the litster phantom case?

The design isn't open for that one. That's why they are sought after, and expensive.

How about a more general cry for help in making an acrylic case for TKLs? I have access to a cutter and it'll be a shame not to use it fully until I have to return it

MOZ · « **Reply #146 on:** Wed, 16 July 2014, 12:29:36 »

Check my open source tkl case thread.

I was almost done before an accident so now I have quite an older version.

sakai4eva · « **Reply #147 on:** Wed, 16 July 2014, 21:52:59 »

Quote from: MOZ on Wed, 16 July 2014, 12:29:36

Check my open source tkl case thread.

I was almost done before an accident so now I have quite an older version.

Thanks! Exactly what I'm looking for.

Lubed Up Slug · « **Reply #148 on:** Wed, 30 July 2014, 00:28:22 »

So on the components file, what are the differences with the spacebars and also the different stabilized switch cutouts?

WhiteRice · « **Reply #149 on:** Wed, 30 July 2014, 19:21:30 »

I'm trying to put mounting holes in my dxf file. Does anyone have a drawing for a poker case compatible plate I can overlay. If what I'm saying doesn't make sense it's because I don't know what I'm doing. Please be kind

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Author Topic: GH CAD Resources Hub (Read 395917 times)