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hereThis is a project I've been working on for the last six months. At the time I had just completed my QFR modification project and I decided I wanted to build a keyboard by myself. After looking for various parts for months and trying to convince myself that I could live with this or that compromise I was forced to face the terrible truth – my endgame keyboard is never going to be made by anyone other than myself. The equally terrible counterpart to that truth is the realization that I did not have the technical skills to get there.
Well, every journey has to start somewhere. I'm a pretty bright guy (and modest too) so I decided I would develop the skills I lacked. I would take a pragmatic approach and make one or more *middle-game* keyboards, advancing myself each time. The Metal Dragon is the first milestone of my journey.
It is a Phantom keyboard with an anodized aluminum case and a stainless steel plate top. It was designed in eMachineShop's software and cut/milled by eMachineShop as well. Anodizing was done by a Anotone, a local Chicago shop.
I knew I wanted a keyboard where the plate was the top cover as well. I really like the aesthetic and the simplicity that comes from this design characteristic and it makes cleaning easier too. I considered using aluminum 6061 for the plate but since the PCB would be fixed to the case via the plate on top instead of via standoffs on the bottom I was concerned about rigidity. I decided to go with stainless steel. The downside to using stainless steel is that it costs more to cut and it can't be anodized.
The main case is aluminum 6061. It's very simple open rectangle with two standoffs in the middle to support the PCB and four standoffs near the top edge to fasten a USB breakout board. There are a threaded holes around the top edge to fasten to the plate and two threaded holes in the bottom for possible feet. The idea to use a breakout board so I could use a detachable cable with the Teensy-based Phantom PCB was entirely inspired by Photeq's TEK-80. The case is anodized with a dark green.
I checked the measurements multiple times, but there were still dimensional errors at the end. The breakout board standoffs were too tall and there was not enough vertical clearance with a fully soldered PCB. I thought I would have to just go with an internal cable directly from the Teensy but then realized that I could turn the breakout board upside down and fasten at a slight angle. The other problem is the opening for the USB port is small – most of my USB cables have a housing that is too big to fit. Luckily, it turns out the USB cables that come with Coolermaster's QFRs have minimally sized housings and fit perfectly, which makes sense if you look at the bottom of QFR and see how little room they have to work with themselves.
The last problem I ran into was one I had not expected at all. All of the stabilizers on this board are Cherry plate mount except for the spacebar, which uses Costar stabilizers. It turns out the wire for Cherry plate mount stabilizers sticks out past the edge of the Phantom PCB so I could not fit the PCB assembly into the case comfortably. Thankfully the design of the plate allows for both Cherry and Costar stabilizers so I had a plan B.
Assembly was otherwise fairly straightforward.
I wanted a logo of a small dragon logo engraved into the case and my friend who works as an animator was nice enough to do some graphic design work for me pro-bono. Unfortunately, it turns out one-time custom engraving is not that cheap and after all the money I had already spent I decided I would try to hand engrave it myself using a Dremel. This is a middle-game keyboard after all, so I think the goofy looking dragon can be forgiven
For reference, this is what my friend had drawn up for me.
Amazing no? For the endgame keyboard I will definitely have the engraving done mechanically.
Currently the keyboard is using vintage MX Brown switches harvested from an old Compaq board. I hadn't typed on Browns for awhile and I wanted to see if after my experience with 62g clears, stock clears, reds, Matias tactile Alps, and buckling springs whether my outlook on Brown has changed much. My personal opinion is that Browns aren't the best switches out there, but are more than adequate for daily use (as opposed to stock clears which I did not enjoy using on a daily basis).
The caps are DSA Dolch from Signature Plastics. This will likely change in the future.
It would be difficult for me to thank all the people who contributed to this project unknowingly but I will give recognition to those that I consider instrumental. Photeq's TEK-80 thread was my main source of inspiration. MOZ's CAD resources hub was invaluable (he also sold me 2 Phantom PCBs for $50 shipped from India!). mkawa provided significant advice concerning materials and finishing advice. Obviously bpiphany is responsible for the Phantom PCB in the first place. metalliqaz's Easy AVR firmware is what drives the controller.
I have attached the emachineshop files (.ems) that I submitted. It comes with all the mistakes that I listed above. I think you will have to use their free software to open it but the software has an option to export to a DXF file. Anyone is free to use and distribute the drawings. Obviously I assume no responsibility from their use
UPDATE (November 17th 2014)With the coming of winter, the humidity has decreased to the point where I noticed I am occasionally getting shocked by the keyboard - in particular, by the unfinished steel plate. I'm not sure if I will do anything to address the problem with this keyboard, but it's more motivation to try powder coating for future plates. The thickness of powder coating is significant enough that I would probably have to change the design specs slightly but I think it's worth a shot. It's possible I'll have to get my hands on some anodized screws as well.
UPDATE (January 31th 2015)mkawa hooked me up and I was able to send the top plate to Tammi at Rainbow Paint and Blasting for a Cerakote finish. I really like how it turned out aesthetically. Also, it's thin enough that I do not think I would've altered the design dimensionally to account for it if I had known during the design phase that I was going to have it painted. Unfortunately, the finish does seem to scratch easily so I will probably plan for a powder coating finish next time and design with dimensional tolerances in mind.
I also swapped out the DSA Dolch key caps with DSA Granite key caps for accurate legends as well as a splash of green.
