Making my next customs

[Photekq]

Ever since finishing the TEK-80 project I've wanted to make another custom. I knew that I could produce a better keyboard with the knowledge I gained from making the TEK-80. However, due to the very prohibitive costs of getting prototypes made, I never did it.

Now that I'm doing mech eng at university I have access to some high end 3-axis CNC mills for free prototypes, so I decided I would start the design process for two customs : A TKL and a 65%.

Before I could start designing I needed to find PCBs to use. I'm fairly sure that I will be using Leeku's TKL and 65% PCBs but they're currently undergoing revisions, so for the time being I've decided to design the first prototype of the TKL for use with the B87 PCB.

I've spent the past few days coming up with a design. Here's what I have so far : The TEK-α (name not final). Not finished yet.. Still need to add a weight to the base and some details such as screw holes, etc. May change the design of the base piece.







The idea behind that odd shaped thing on the base piece in the last picture is that it will have a rubber/foam adhered to it, and it will apply force to the rim of the plate when assembled, dampening the plate. I'm not sure how feasible having rubber/foam on it is, so if it turns out that it will be very tricky it may end up being ditched. If anyone has any ideas for how I could attach foam/rubber to this ledge I'd love to hear it. I was thinking about having the strips laser cut from a rubber/foam sheet with adhesive backing.

65% will have a similar design and tentative name is TEK-Ω

[trenzafeeds]

Is there any chance of you running a groupbuy for this, or is it for you only? It looks extremely nice, love the little alpha on the case.

[jdcarpe]

I'm definitely interested, both as an observer, and as someone who would like to have one!

[Photekq]

Is there any chance of you running a groupbuy for this, or is it for you only? It looks extremely nice, love the little alpha on the case.

I'm not going to think about group buys or anything until I get prototypes made and I'm happy with the design.

[romevi]

That's pretty neat. Interested to see how the dampening would work.

[raymogi]

I LOVE the design on that bottom part. Something about those lines.

[trenzafeeds]

Is there any chance of you running a groupbuy for this, or is it for you only? It looks extremely nice, love the little alpha on the case.

I'm not going to think about group buys or anything until I get prototypes made and I'm happy with the design.

Of course, just wondering if I can hope! And it sounds like maybe I can...

[Jokrik]

What angle are you planning of?

After having a few of customs, I feel that the angle of the case and the thickness of the lips really makes the difference in usage
Although it's more of a personal taste

[joey]

Looks good photekq! I think I'd probably be interested, just because UK made

[Photekq]

What angle are you planning of?

After having a few of customs, I feel that the angle of the case and the thickness of the lips really makes the difference in usage
Although it's more of a personal taste

8.5deg or 9deg

[Bromono]

Man that's cool.

I wish I could do cool stuff like that =(

[Jokrik]

What angle are you planning of?

After having a few of customs, I feel that the angle of the case and the thickness of the lips really makes the difference in usage
Although it's more of a personal taste

8.5deg or 9deg

 

Will be looking forward for the prototype shot

[bocahgundul]

I love the design of this board

[E3E]

I love the design of this so far. At a glance, it brought back memories of the Mira, but I do like contours on this one; the idea of dampening foam on the ridges where the plate is mounted is a pretty novel but cool idea.

[livingspeedbump]

following. if you're making, im interested.

[byker]

Excited to see how this turns out! I know pho has put a lot of hard work into the drawings so far, and has been considering what makes each custom keyboard good (or bad).

[trenzafeeds]

and has been considering what makes each custom keyboard good (or bad).

Yes, this interests me a lot as well. I think a lot of people spend a ton of time on aesthetics, but don't realize how much variability you can have in the functionality of a basic TKL board like this. Nice attention to detail with the foam idea and things like that.

[heedpantsnow]

I love custom projects!  Make sure you get plenty of machining pron footage!

[HoffmanMyster]

following. if you're making, im interested.

+1  huge fan of photek's machining work. 

[Melvang]

Can't wait to see how this pans out.

I will reread the OP and let you know my thoughts on the design/construction of the foamplate integration.

Couple thoughts on the foam.  Using adhesive backed foam would be OK, my only issue I have with it is time.  Look at the effects of time and the environment on IBM foam.  My suggestion is a groove for a silicone oring that would go all the way around the perimeter.  This would probably be cheaper, easier to install for you/buyer in case of GB, plus it is removable (possible screw length issues here depending on design between installed and not installed).  Another side benefit, it very well could be easier machining, and allow thinner stock thickness, further possibly reducing cost, but at the added complexity of another part in the case.

[Photekq]

Can't wait to see how this pans out.

I will reread the OP and let you know my thoughts on the design/construction of the foamplate integration.

Couple thoughts on the foam.  Using adhesive backed foam would be OK, my only issue I have with it is time.  Look at the effects of time and the environment on IBM foam.  My suggestion is a groove for a silicone oring that would go all the way around the perimeter.  This would probably be cheaper, easier to install for you/buyer in case of GB, plus it is removable (possible screw length issues here depending on design between installed and not installed).  Another side benefit, it very well could be easier machining, and allow thinner stock thickness, further possibly reducing cost, but at the added complexity of another part in the case.

Yeah, I think you're right. Foam is perhaps not a good idea. Silicone or rubber are probably better.

I really like the o-ring idea. It would remove the issue of adhesion and, as you said, it would make installation a lot easier. Thanks for that.

I just spoke to the CNC operator and I'll be going to show him the files on wednesday so he can have a look at them. Fingers crossed he'll say it's something he can do.

[CPTBadAss]

Can you do me a solid and post more machining porn like last time? Stoked to see what you come up with.

[trenzafeeds]

Can you do me a solid and post more machining porn like last time? Stoked to see what you come up with.

Agreed, I'd love to see it.

[Leslieann]

For the rubber you can 3d print or mill a small mold, then pour in some 2 part silicone. Pop that out and into your keyboard. You could also just use a Vinyl sticker, it doesn't need to do much.

Ask yourself why you need it though, it's going to add flex to the keyboard in the way of allowing the plate to shift. If you are still expecting to fully clamp it, then it's not going to do as much as just the entire mass of the case being clamped to it and spreading it out. You could probably accomplish just as much by putting something in the bottom to dampen the aluminum as a whole (I do this on mine). By putting something in the bottom you can not only dampen the case and plate but also dampen any noise being reflected back at you from inside.

[Photekq]

For the rubber you can 3d print or mill a small mold, then pour in some 2 part silicone. Pop that out and into your keyboard. You could also just use a Vinyl sticker, it doesn't need to do much.

Ask yourself why you need it though, it's going to add flex to the keyboard in the way of allowing the plate to shift. If you are still expecting to fully clamp it, then it's not going to do as much as just the entire mass of the case being clamped to it and spreading it out. You could probably accomplish just as much by putting something in the bottom to dampen the aluminum as a whole (I do this on mine). By putting something in the bottom you can not only dampen the case and plate but also dampen any noise being reflected back at you from inside.

Well, the plate will be screwed to the top piece, so it's not going to budge. I wanted to then have the surface with rubber/silicone push up on the edges of the plate from below in order to dampen any vibrations, not to secure it further.

[ika]

I don't particularly like the idea of foam as dampening, as I've seen too much deteriorated foam making a huge mess in older electronics. How about simple rubber washers that fit on the screw mounts? It'd be a lot easier to implement and you'd only have to account for a few mm of thickness. As long as you pick something standardized or readily available it should be easy to replace and measure.


Also use an aluminum or acrylic plate; steel is too rigid.

[kiwi99]

Very nice design,  what modelling software you using?

[Photekq]

I don't particularly like the idea of foam as dampening, as I've seen too much deteriorated foam making a huge mess in older electronics. How about simple rubber washers that fit on the screw mounts? It'd be a lot easier to implement and you'd only have to account for a few mm of thickness. As long as you pick something standardized or readily available it should be easy to replace and measure.

I do agree with the foam. The deterioration aside, a denser material like silicone or rubber would be more suitable anyway.

Very nice design,  what modelling software you using?

Solidworks. I should probably be using NX but for some reason I prefer Solidworks for keyboards.

[CPTBadAss]

Eh....I think you're fine with Solidworks. I used both for a few years and I like Solidworks more. Work forced me to use NX.

[Photekq]

Eh....I think you're fine with Solidworks. I used both for a few years and I like Solidworks more. Work forced me to use NX.

I only say that because it's NX that I'll be using throughout this course... I should probably get used to it sooner rather than later )

[CPTBadAss]

Ha well in that case...It took me a couple weeks from using just Solidworks before I was comfortable with NX. Although with the new NX version, it's not as clunky as it was.

[Dreamre]

I'm so down if you're going to do a GB for this. I love your TEK-80...and I this I'm sure is going to be amazing.

[billnye]

How does this board compare to Electrostatic Capacitative keyboards?

[xondat]

Those pictures already make the potential so apparent, they look great. What program do you use for designing customs? Looking at doing the same for a 60% and then a 75%.

[swimmingbird]

I'd be interested in both boards

[Leslieann]

Well, the plate will be screwed to the top piece, so it's not going to budge. I wanted to then have the surface with rubber/silicone push up on the edges of the plate from below in order to dampen any vibrations, not to secure it further.

I'm not so sure this will work.
You have a squishy material separating the two halves, but a hard mounted bolt holding them together.

I think one of two things will happen with your system.
The first scenario is that the system will do nothing more than dampen the entire case because the bolts transfer the shock from the top half to the bottom, in which case the feet will do what they are designed to do. Or your "suspension" system actually works, you hit a key, the whole top squishes a teeny bit, the mounting bolt moves down, then the assembly rebounds and the bolt head crashes back into the base.

I'm not saying it's useless, there can be varying degrees of success in between those extremes, but if you want to isolate the top, you need to isolate the mounting hardware as well. If you are trying to just dampen the metal in general, put some rubber/silicone in the bottom of the case and/or get isolating feet.

[Melvang]

Well, the plate will be screwed to the top piece, so it's not going to budge. I wanted to then have the surface with rubber/silicone push up on the edges of the plate from below in order to dampen any vibrations, not to secure it further.

I'm not so sure this will work.
You have a squishy material separating the two halves, but a hard mounted bolt holding them together.

I think one of two things will happen with your system.
The first scenario is that the system will do nothing more than dampen the entire case because the bolts transfer the shock from the top half to the bottom, in which case the feet will do what they are designed to do. Or your "suspension" system actually works, you hit a key, the whole top squishes a teeny bit, the mounting bolt moves down, then the assembly rebounds and the bolt head crashes back into the base.

I'm not saying it's useless, there can be varying degrees of success in between those extremes, but if you want to isolate the top, you need to isolate the mounting hardware as well. If you are trying to just dampen the metal in general, put some rubber/silicone in the bottom of the case and/or get isolating feet.

Sorbothane washers above and below the plate on the bolt.  This way you have some give both directions.

[CommonCurt]

Commenting so I don't forget about this.

[ideus]

I like that case, I am pretty sure you will end with a nice keyboard for yourself. What is that sign at the right? an alpha?

[nguyenkimtam]

i will join if you run GB my friend 

[bocahgundul]

I really want this to be a GB those side profile is really really cool

[Diokhan]

This is looking great!
Will follow your progress and/or future groupbuy

[Photekq]

Should say that I've decided to focus entirely on the 65% custom. My exams just ended so I will soon start designing it properly.

[bocahgundul]

focus on the tkl bro I really like this tkl design

[Photekq]

focus on the tkl bro I really like this tkl design

Too many TKLs already.

[bocahgundul]

focus on the tkl bro I really like this tkl design

Too many TKLs already.

B-B-But ok then 65%. be sure to make the side like the tkl bro cause it looks real awesome

[Photekq]

B-B-But ok then 65%. be sure to make the side like the tkl bro cause it looks real awesome

Yeah, the case design will be mostly the same, just smaller.

[bocahgundul]

B-B-But ok then 65%. be sure to make the side like the tkl bro cause it looks real awesome

Yeah, the case design will be mostly the same, just smaller.

AWESOME BRO!

[HoffmanMyster]

Should say that I've decided to focus entirely on the 65% custom. My exams just ended so I will soon start designing it properly.

If there's anything we (I) can do to help with prototypes or the like, let us know.  Not sure if you'll be needing funding or other such help, but I'd like to support the efforts in any way I can, within reason of course.   

[CPTBadAss]

I kinda hope you only do two one-offs again. It's so fun to see something that's truly custom and not always done with a GB in mind.