Author Topic: Open Source 60% Alps Plates  (Read 94037 times)

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Offline phoible

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Re: Open Source 60% Alps Plates
« Reply #50 on: Mon, 01 August 2016, 12:07:44 »
Anyone know how to calculate the total path length for a dxf (or dwg) file? I have freecad (but not autocad), and can download anything else that's free.

I'm trying to get an AEK plate made by lasergist, but I need to know the path length (and they don't seem to be responding to the contact form).

Offline emdude

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Re: Open Source 60% Alps Plates
« Reply #51 on: Mon, 01 August 2016, 12:19:33 »
Anyone know how to calculate the total path length for a dxf (or dwg) file? I have freecad (but not autocad), and can download anything else that's free.

I'm trying to get an AEK plate made by lasergist, but I need to know the path length (and they don't seem to be responding to the contact form).

If you don't get an answer before the end of the day, I can grab the path length using Autocad for you when I get home.  I haven't really used Freecad so I'm afraid I do not know how to find path length using it.
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Offline phoible

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Re: Open Source 60% Alps Plates
« Reply #52 on: Mon, 01 August 2016, 12:23:54 »
That would be awesome!

Offline duynguyenle

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Re: Open Source 60% Alps Plates
« Reply #53 on: Mon, 01 August 2016, 16:12:10 »
Yeah, we ultimately used your measurements for the space bar stab clip cutouts.  Everything should be good to go, pending prototypes for the AT101W layout, which I may be able to do in a few months. 

The .DXFs or the image files should work just fine as templates for cutting up larger plates, good luck!

I noticed in the latest version of the Dell and AEK plates, there isn't a cutout for the centre mounting bolt to the case. Is this intentional? I'm throwing together a quick layout for the ISO version of the Dell board (AT102W) just to check the dimensions (this is a bit quick and dirty, using a bog-standard ruler, as I don't have my calipers with me. I'm wondering if it's possible to have a plate that is both compatible with Dell ANSI keyset and the Tai-Hao keyset (Costar spacebar). Just glancing at the plate layout for both, I think it's probably possible to have a plate with cutouts for both costar and alps clips.

Can anyone have a look at my ISO plate and chime in (sorry if the dimensions are a bit out of whack, I was just eyeballing it). I might try getting these laser-cut and see what happens. There's a laser shop near my work, but they have a 125GBP minimum order :(
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Offline emdude

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Re: Open Source 60% Alps Plates
« Reply #54 on: Mon, 01 August 2016, 16:45:37 »
Yes, the lack of a cutout for the center screw is intentional; an Alps switch cutout is wider than that of a Cherry MX switch.  I'm not sure if there would be enough clearance between the two switches to fit in the screw (though I have not tested this).

I can put together a plate that supports both the Alps-style and Costar-style stabilizers for the space bar later, as well.

As for the AT102W plate, I cannot take a look at it right now, but if you are unsure of your measurements, then I recommend generating a plate using Swill's plate builder first then modifying it as needed.  The measurements used to generate the plate work just fine (at least for ANSI layouts), the only modification that should be needed are for the space bar stabs and also the ISO Enter which, from a cursory look, appears to have the proper cutout, albeit with mirrored stabs.  I can also put together an AT102W plate if you'd like.

For getting a plate cut, I recommend using Lasergist.  Their services are much cheaper.
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Offline duynguyenle

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Re: Open Source 60% Alps Plates
« Reply #55 on: Mon, 01 August 2016, 16:58:42 »
Yes, the lack of a cutout for the center screw is intentional; an Alps switch cutout is wider than that of a Cherry MX switch.  I'm not sure if there would be enough clearance between the two switches to fit in the screw (though I have not tested this).

I can put together a plate that supports both the Alps-style and Costar-style stabilizers for the space bar later, as well.

As for the AT102W plate, I cannot take a look at it right now, but if you are unsure of your measurements, then I recommend generating a plate using Swill's plate builder first then modifying it as needed.  The measurements used to generate the plate work just fine (at least for ANSI layouts), the only modification that should be needed are for the space bar stabs and also the ISO Enter which, from a cursory look, appears to have the proper cutout, albeit with mirrored stabs.  I can also put together an AT102W plate if you'd like.

For getting a plate cut, I recommend using Lasergist.  Their services are much cheaper.

That's basically what I did, I got the printout for Swill's plate builder with an ISO format, then moved the bits around until it roughly matches an AT102W I had around. I think the holes for the spacebar clips are a bit further up than swill's tool generated, since I wasn't sure the geometry was possible to make by laser cutting (the bottom edge of the cutout had a thickness of like 0.02mm... seems a bit low). I also had to manually place the holes where the two columns on the spacebar go into (again, kinda eyeballed it with a bog standard, pretty imprecise ruler)

Never heard of lasergist before, have you had any experiences using them? How much would a 60% plate typically cost using this service?
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Offline emdude

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Re: Open Source 60% Alps Plates
« Reply #56 on: Mon, 01 August 2016, 17:13:08 »
Ah, all right.  What I also like to do, if you have not tried this yourself, is to get a 1:1 scale print out to overlay over a bare plate.  It's pretty silly and probably a bit imprecise, but it might help catch some errors.  It's helped me at least once.

A few other members and I have got plates made at Lasergist. I had the AT101 prototype made using their service.  They charge about $40 for a 60%-sized plate, free shipping from Greece included.  The quality is pretty good, their laser cutters can handle that 0.02mm thickness you mentioned just fine (I will double-check this when I get home though).

EDIT: To further clarify, the specs for their laser cutter have a tolerance of 0.01mm.

Source: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10693166
« Last Edit: Mon, 01 August 2016, 17:26:07 by emdude »
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Offline duynguyenle

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Re: Open Source 60% Alps Plates
« Reply #57 on: Mon, 01 August 2016, 17:25:43 »
Ah, all right.  What I also like to do, if you have not tried this yourself, is to get a 1:1 scale print out to overlay over a bare plate.  It's pretty silly and probably a bit imprecise, but it might help catch some errors.  It's helped me at least once.

A few other members and I have got plates made at Lasergist. I had the AT101 prototype made using their service.  They charge about $40 for a 60%-sized plate, free shipping from Greece included.  The quality is pretty good, their laser cutters can handle that 0.02mm thickness you mentioned just fine.

Basically the reason I moved the clip hole up a few tenths of a mm was because I got this plate from someone over at DT, and it had a defect near the clip position:
https://imgur.com/a/G2ABz

Just thought putting a bit more material in the way would avoid this happening. I'll probably take your advice and do a 1:1 print at work tomorrow, and compare it with the plate. That should help.

I'll request a quote from the laser cutting house near me. They have a pretty high minimum order, but it's worth having a look just for the sake of comparison (I'm planning to get some 1800 plates cut as well, so combining the orders might meet their minimum amount anyway.
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Offline emdude

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Re: Open Source 60% Alps Plates
« Reply #58 on: Mon, 01 August 2016, 19:52:32 »
Anyone know how to calculate the total path length for a dxf (or dwg) file? I have freecad (but not autocad), and can download anything else that's free.

I'm trying to get an AEK plate made by lasergist, but I need to know the path length (and they don't seem to be responding to the contact form).

If you don't get an answer before the end of the day, I can grab the path length using Autocad for you when I get home.  I haven't really used Freecad so I'm afraid I do not know how to find path length using it.

The path length is 4446.3479mm, which sounds about right.

Yes, the lack of a cutout for the center screw is intentional; an Alps switch cutout is wider than that of a Cherry MX switch.  I'm not sure if there would be enough clearance between the two switches to fit in the screw (though I have not tested this).

I can put together a plate that supports both the Alps-style and Costar-style stabilizers for the space bar later, as well.

As for the AT102W plate, I cannot take a look at it right now, but if you are unsure of your measurements, then I recommend generating a plate using Swill's plate builder first then modifying it as needed.  The measurements used to generate the plate work just fine (at least for ANSI layouts), the only modification that should be needed are for the space bar stabs and also the ISO Enter which, from a cursory look, appears to have the proper cutout, albeit with mirrored stabs.  I can also put together an AT102W plate if you'd like.

For getting a plate cut, I recommend using Lasergist.  Their services are much cheaper.

That's basically what I did, I got the printout for Swill's plate builder with an ISO format, then moved the bits around until it roughly matches an AT102W I had around. I think the holes for the spacebar clips are a bit further up than swill's tool generated, since I wasn't sure the geometry was possible to make by laser cutting (the bottom edge of the cutout had a thickness of like 0.02mm... seems a bit low). I also had to manually place the holes where the two columns on the spacebar go into (again, kinda eyeballed it with a bog standard, pretty imprecise ruler)

Never heard of lasergist before, have you had any experiences using them? How much would a 60% plate typically cost using this service?

Okay, I was incorrect, the measurement I got was 0.1171mm, which sounds much more reasonable.  This was for both the AT101 and AT101W plates, so I guess this is what should be generated from Swill's tool.  I am a little bit confused about your figure now, it does seem rather small.

Am I correct in saying this was what you needed clarification on:

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Offline duynguyenle

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Re: Open Source 60% Alps Plates
« Reply #59 on: Mon, 01 August 2016, 20:11:15 »


Yes, the lack of a cutout for the center screw is intentional; an Alps switch cutout is wider than that of a Cherry MX switch.  I'm not sure if there would be enough clearance between the two switches to fit in the screw (though I have not tested this).

I can put together a plate that supports both the Alps-style and Costar-style stabilizers for the space bar later, as well.

As for the AT102W plate, I cannot take a look at it right now, but if you are unsure of your measurements, then I recommend generating a plate using Swill's plate builder first then modifying it as needed.  The measurements used to generate the plate work just fine (at least for ANSI layouts), the only modification that should be needed are for the space bar stabs and also the ISO Enter which, from a cursory look, appears to have the proper cutout, albeit with mirrored stabs.  I can also put together an AT102W plate if you'd like.

For getting a plate cut, I recommend using Lasergist.  Their services are much cheaper.

That's basically what I did, I got the printout for Swill's plate builder with an ISO format, then moved the bits around until it roughly matches an AT102W I had around. I think the holes for the spacebar clips are a bit further up than swill's tool generated, since I wasn't sure the geometry was possible to make by laser cutting (the bottom edge of the cutout had a thickness of like 0.02mm... seems a bit low). I also had to manually place the holes where the two columns on the spacebar go into (again, kinda eyeballed it with a bog standard, pretty imprecise ruler)

Never heard of lasergist before, have you had any experiences using them? How much would a 60% plate typically cost using this service?

Okay, I was incorrect, the measurement I got was 0.1171mm, which sounds much more reasonable.  This was for both the AT101 and AT101W plates, so I guess this is what should be generated from Swill's tool.  I am a little bit confused about your figure now, it does seem rather small.

Am I correct in saying this was what you needed clarification on:

Show Image


Yes that's the guy! Maybe I misread the printout when I was measuring that distance. In any case, I've moved the hole up to 0.3mm in my drawing (from that miniscule 0.11mm like your picture). That shouldn't affect normal operation of the stabiliser wire should it?
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Offline emdude

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Re: Open Source 60% Alps Plates
« Reply #60 on: Mon, 01 August 2016, 21:05:54 »
It shouldn't..  But I'm not sure, probably best to check with the printout.

In any case, Lasergist should be able to handle that 0.11mm without issue.
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Offline hasu

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Re: Open Source 60% Alps Plates
« Reply #61 on: Tue, 02 August 2016, 00:17:10 »
Anyone know how to calculate the total path length for a dxf (or dwg) file? I have freecad (but not autocad), and can download anything else that's free.

I'm trying to get an AEK plate made by lasergist, but I need to know the path length (and they don't seem to be responding to the contact form).

You can get the length with QCAD or LibreCAD.
1) Select all of the paths with Menu: Select > Select All
2) Go to Menu: Info > Total length of ...
http://www.qcad.org/doc/qcad/3.15.4/reference/en/scripts/Pro/Information/InfoTotalLength/doc/InfoTotalLength_en.html

Measured alps64_aek_plate.dxf with LibreCAD:
Quote
Total Length of selected entities: 4422.0681

Offline BlueNalgene

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Re: Open Source 60% Alps Plates
« Reply #62 on: Tue, 02 August 2016, 00:34:20 »
It shouldn't..  But I'm not sure, probably best to check with the printout.

In any case, Lasergist should be able to handle that 0.11mm without issue.

Alternative solution.  You can find pathlength in Inkscape by using Extensions->Visualize Path->Measure.

Offline phoible

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Re: Open Source 60% Alps Plates
« Reply #63 on: Tue, 02 August 2016, 09:58:09 »
Ok. Ordered Hasu's AEK plate on Lasergist. Will post pictures when it arrives.

Looking forward to (finally) finishing my AEK build.

Once I get my keyboard built, happy to get that GB off the ground with the supplier in LA that Emdude found (although with shipping, the price probably won't be that much lower than Lasergist).

Offline duynguyenle

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Re: Open Source 60% Alps Plates
« Reply #64 on: Tue, 02 August 2016, 13:34:51 »
Ok. Ordered Hasu's AEK plate on Lasergist. Will post pictures when it arrives.

Looking forward to (finally) finishing my AEK build.

Once I get my keyboard built, happy to get that GB off the ground with the supplier in LA that Emdude found (although with shipping, the price probably won't be that much lower than Lasergist).

What what what GB? I must''be missed that bit!  :p
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Offline phoible

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Re: Open Source 60% Alps Plates
« Reply #65 on: Tue, 02 August 2016, 15:45:38 »
60% AEK plates and potentially also AT101 plates if we have a working design/enough interest.

Offline jdcarpe

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Re: Open Source 60% Alps Plates
« Reply #66 on: Tue, 02 August 2016, 15:51:04 »
Just wanted to confirm that the center screw hole position isn't needed. The wider Alps switches preclude using a screw in that position, so no need for a screw hole there.
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Offline duynguyenle

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Re: Open Source 60% Alps Plates
« Reply #67 on: Wed, 03 August 2016, 12:50:58 »
Just wanted to confirm that the center screw hole position isn't needed. The wider Alps switches preclude using a screw in that position, so no need for a screw hole there.

I see, thanks for the clarification!
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Offline emdude

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Re: Open Source 60% Alps Plates
« Reply #68 on: Sun, 07 August 2016, 16:02:31 »
Another update: I modified the measurements of the Costar-style stabilizers on the relevant plates, for some reason the measurements were a bit off.

I also added a plate design that supports the keysets currently produced by Tai-hao (Dolch, Olivette, and WoB).  Please note that the important distinction here is the use of Costar-style stabilizers for the space bar and an unstepped Caps Lock.  If you plan to use a Tai-hao keyset, use this design and not the AT101W.

As always, if you are willing to have an untested plate made, please report here with your results.  Any input on issues would be greatly appreciated.

EDIT: Have spotted an issue with the Tai-Hao plate, will be fixing later this evening. FIXED.
« Last Edit: Wed, 10 August 2016, 21:11:04 by emdude »
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Offline MandrewDavis

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Re: Open Source 60% Alps Plates
« Reply #69 on: Wed, 10 August 2016, 11:31:43 »
I contacted Lasergist about any possibility of steel between 1 and 1.5mm thick and here is their response;

Quote from: Lasergist
Hello MandrewDavis,
 
Thanks for getting in touch! In fact we do have 1.2mm Stainless Steel available for laser cutting.
The price would be the same as using 1.5mm if you want to check out some pricing on our Product Configurator: http://lasergist.com/shop/lasergist
 
We can also provide you with custom pricing depending on your request- so, what are you interested in making?
 
--
Lasergist.com

Also, is the AEK plate design final?
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Offline emdude

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Re: Open Source 60% Alps Plates
« Reply #70 on: Wed, 10 August 2016, 11:40:50 »
Yes, Hasu had an AEK plate made with his design and it worked without issue: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=69740.msg2221632#msg2221632
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Offline duynguyenle

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Re: Open Source 60% Alps Plates
« Reply #71 on: Wed, 10 August 2016, 11:52:34 »
I contacted Lasergist about any possibility of steel between 1 and 1.5mm thick and here is their response;

Quote from: Lasergist
Hello MandrewDavis,
 
Thanks for getting in touch! In fact we do have 1.2mm Stainless Steel available for laser cutting.
The price would be the same as using 1.5mm if you want to check out some pricing on our Product Configurator: http://lasergist.com/shop/lasergist
 
We can also provide you with custom pricing depending on your request- so, what are you interested in making?


 
--
Lasergist.com

Also, is the AEK plate design final?

Hi peeps,

I too have been making some inquiries to laser houses around my area (turns out there is one laser cutting company right down the road from my office. They have confirmed they can provide plates of both 1.5mm (Cherry) and 1.2mm (Alps) in both stainless steel and Aly 6082 (good all-around alloy, good price to tensile performance too, although that isn't gonna make much of a difference in the application for keyboard plates)

I'm probably going to be making an order from them within the next few weeks, just waiting for my workload to drop off a little so I can have a bit more time for keyboards... Also they have a minimum order of £125, so I'm probably going to order more plates than I need (planning to get some Cherry 1800 plates cut as well). Just spending a bit of time tweaking my Dell ISO files.

Also, I've been looking at the Alpine Winter keyset, and obtained some excess keys from SP grab bags. I was quite surprised to find that all their large keys have cherry stems (spacebars, shifts, enters and such). Does anyone here have an Alpine Winter set in their possession? I'm curious to find out how you stabilise the mods. Do you just use your Alps wire holder with Costar stem insert? How well does it work and does it hold the key in place without wobbling? Would be great if anyone can chime in on this.

I'll keep working on my Dell ISO plate and try and get it cut, and report my findings here.

Anyone here based in the UK/EU? I'm going to have quite a few AEK plates cut based on Hasu's files, since he confirmed fitment with his FR-4 plate, probably will have a few extras afterwards.

Edit: I also forgot to ask, what is an appropriate corner radius to use for best compatibilities with the 60% cases on the market (be it aluminium like the Tex cases or plastic Aliexpress ones)
« Last Edit: Wed, 10 August 2016, 15:28:35 by duynguyenle »
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Offline BlueNalgene

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Re: Open Source 60% Alps Plates
« Reply #72 on: Wed, 10 August 2016, 13:02:17 »
More
I contacted Lasergist about any possibility of steel between 1 and 1.5mm thick and here is their response;

Quote from: Lasergist
Hello MandrewDavis,
 
Thanks for getting in touch! In fact we do have 1.2mm Stainless Steel available for laser cutting.
The price would be the same as using 1.5mm if you want to check out some pricing on our Product Configurator: http://lasergist.com/shop/lasergist
 
We can also provide you with custom pricing depending on your request- so, what are you interested in making?

Edit: I also forgot to ask, what is an appropriate corner radius to use for best compatibilities with the 60% cases on the market (be it aluminium like the Tex cases or plastic Aliexpress ones)
 
--
Lasergist.com

Also, is the AEK plate design final?

Hi peeps,

I too have been making some inquiries to laser houses around my area (turns out there is one laser cutting company right down the road from my office. They have confirmed they can provide plates of both 1.5mm (Cherry) and 1.2mm (Alps) in both stainless steel and Aly 6082 (good all-around alloy, good price to tensile performance too, although that isn't gonna make much of a difference in the application for keyboard plates)

I'm probably going to be making an order from them within the next few weeks, just waiting for my workload to drop off a little so I can have a bit more time for keyboards... Also they have a minimum order of £125, so I'm probably going to order more plates than I need (planning to get some Cherry 1800 plates cut as well). Just spending a bit of time tweaking my Dell ISO files.

Also, I've been looking at the Alpine Winter keyset, and obtained some excess keys from SP grab bags. I was quite surprised to find that all their large keys have cherry stems (spacebars, shifts, enters and such). Does anyone here have an Alpine Winter set in their possession? I'm curious to find out how you stabilise the mods. Do you just use your Alps wire holder with Costar stem insert? How well does it work and does it hold the key in place without wobbling? Would be great if anyone can chime in on this.

More
I'll keep working on my Dell ISO plate and try and get it cut, and report my findings here.

Anyone here based in the UK/EU? I'm going to have quite a few AEK plates cut based on Hasu's files, since he confirmed fitment with his FR-4 plate, probably will have a few extras afterwards.

Ooh, finally something I can answer without breaking the Chinese wall for this open source project.

The Alpine Winter caps require a cruciform stabilizer insert, and this can be used with the classic Alps stabilizer clip (the small rectangle on the board).  The Matias stabilizer sets have the plastic parts you will need for this.  They also include stabilizer wires, but the lengths are incorrect.  This can be easily remedied by rebending the stab wires.  Some folks have been using wire bending tools for this task, while I personally have been using pliers/hammer/anvil to do it.  Either way, correctly rebending the wires produces a well stabilized cap that doesn't have any noticeable rocking or fluttering.

Here is a link to the Matias stabilizers.

Here is a link to a size reference.  (Edit: for the Alpine Winter caps.)

Here is a link to the GB I had for the stabilizers with some pictures and pricing info.  Hint: cheaper in bulk.


Offline duynguyenle

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Re: Open Source 60% Alps Plates
« Reply #73 on: Wed, 10 August 2016, 14:15:08 »
More
I contacted Lasergist about any possibility of steel between 1 and 1.5mm thick and here is their response;

Quote from: Lasergist
Hello MandrewDavis,
 
Thanks for getting in touch! In fact we do have 1.2mm Stainless Steel available for laser cutting.
The price would be the same as using 1.5mm if you want to check out some pricing on our Product Configurator: http://lasergist.com/shop/lasergist
 
We can also provide you with custom pricing depending on your request- so, what are you interested in making?

Edit: I also forgot to ask, what is an appropriate corner radius to use for best compatibilities with the 60% cases on the market (be it aluminium like the Tex cases or plastic Aliexpress ones)
 
--
Lasergist.com

Also, is the AEK plate design final?

Hi peeps,

I too have been making some inquiries to laser houses around my area (turns out there is one laser cutting company right down the road from my office. They have confirmed they can provide plates of both 1.5mm (Cherry) and 1.2mm (Alps) in both stainless steel and Aly 6082 (good all-around alloy, good price to tensile performance too, although that isn't gonna make much of a difference in the application for keyboard plates)

I'm probably going to be making an order from them within the next few weeks, just waiting for my workload to drop off a little so I can have a bit more time for keyboards... Also they have a minimum order of £125, so I'm probably going to order more plates than I need (planning to get some Cherry 1800 plates cut as well). Just spending a bit of time tweaking my Dell ISO files.

Also, I've been looking at the Alpine Winter keyset, and obtained some excess keys from SP grab bags. I was quite surprised to find that all their large keys have cherry stems (spacebars, shifts, enters and such). Does anyone here have an Alpine Winter set in their possession? I'm curious to find out how you stabilise the mods. Do you just use your Alps wire holder with Costar stem insert? How well does it work and does it hold the key in place without wobbling? Would be great if anyone can chime in on this.

More
I'll keep working on my Dell ISO plate and try and get it cut, and report my findings here.

Anyone here based in the UK/EU? I'm going to have quite a few AEK plates cut based on Hasu's files, since he confirmed fitment with his FR-4 plate, probably will have a few extras afterwards.

Ooh, finally something I can answer without breaking the Chinese wall for this open source project.

The Alpine Winter caps require a cruciform stabilizer insert, and this can be used with the classic Alps stabilizer clip (the small rectangle on the board).  The Matias stabilizer sets have the plastic parts you will need for this.  They also include stabilizer wires, but the lengths are incorrect.  This can be easily remedied by rebending the stab wires.  Some folks have been using wire bending tools for this task, while I personally have been using pliers/hammer/anvil to do it.  Either way, correctly rebending the wires produces a well stabilized cap that doesn't have any noticeable rocking or fluttering.

Here is a link to the Matias stabilizers.

Here is a link to a size reference.  (Edit: for the Alpine Winter caps.)

Here is a link to the GB I had for the stabilizers with some pictures and pricing info.  Hint: cheaper in bulk.

Ah thanks for chiming in, I do have on hand a Matias clip set, can confirm they include Costar-looking inserts for their spacebar. I do have a set of Costar stabiliser inserts lying about somewhere. I can try and find them to do a quick side-by-side against the inserts in the Matias set, but from a quick visual inspection (read: just eyeballin' it) of the Matias spacebar insert, they seem identical. I'll carry on with the assumptions that the modifier keys in AW keyset can all use Costar insert with bent wires like those pictures.
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Offline emdude

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Re: Open Source 60% Alps Plates
« Reply #74 on: Wed, 10 August 2016, 21:07:29 »
Whoops, accidentally quoted the main post. :P

Anyhow, fixed the Tai-hao plate.

Edit: I also forgot to ask, what is an appropriate corner radius to use for best compatibilities with the 60% cases on the market (be it aluminium like the Tex cases or plastic Aliexpress ones)

It is 2.5mm (at least for the cheap plastic case I got as well as Hasu's Alps64 PCB).
« Last Edit: Wed, 10 August 2016, 21:13:22 by emdude »
Current drivers: IBM Model M SSK

Offline phoible

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Re: Open Source 60% Alps Plates
« Reply #75 on: Wed, 10 August 2016, 22:57:05 »
Just got my AEK plate in 304 Stainless from Lasergist. I ordered it on August 2nd, and it arrived today in San Francisco, so turnaround time was pretty fast. Fit and finish is good - the top is perfect, and only a few scratches on the bottom (I didn't choose back side brushing or the touch up bath). It cost me $43 including trackable shipping, which is a lot less than big blue saw wanted.

The cutouts for keys seems to match up perfectly with the stock AEK plate.

I ordered 1MM thick steel, and the ALPS switches clip in just fine.

I will probably build it up this weekend if I get time.

145014-0

Offline duynguyenle

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Re: Open Source 60% Alps Plates
« Reply #76 on: Sat, 13 August 2016, 11:21:18 »
Just got my AEK plate in 304 Stainless from Lasergist. I ordered it on August 2nd, and it arrived today in San Francisco, so turnaround time was pretty fast. Fit and finish is good - the top is perfect, and only a few scratches on the bottom (I didn't choose back side brushing or the touch up bath). It cost me $43 including trackable shipping, which is a lot less than big blue saw wanted.

The cutouts for keys seems to match up perfectly with the stock AEK plate.

I ordered 1MM thick steel, and the ALPS switches clip in just fine.

I will probably build it up this weekend if I get time.

(Attachment Link)

That looks pretty damn good! Did you use Hasu's plate file?

I just got a quote from a local laser shop as well for my AEK/Dell ISO plate, looks like my local shop can do the plates for £20 for each AEK plate in either Stainless or Aly 5251 (no cost differential between materials). The difference between the path length between AEK plate and Dell plate (2 extra switch holes) ended up being only a few pennies. They don't offer any surface finishing option or post processing (deburring, anodising or so forth). They do have the appropriate thicknesses in both materials (I asked for 6082 but they don't stock 6000 series under 3mm thick)

I'm going to make an order for a few plates in both materials at the end of the month and report back.
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Offline phoible

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Re: Open Source 60% Alps Plates
« Reply #77 on: Sat, 13 August 2016, 17:35:28 »
Yeah. It's Hasu's design. I just built it up today - actually typing on it right now.

Sounds you got a really good price on that plate.

Offline emdude

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Re: Open Source 60% Alps Plates
« Reply #78 on: Sat, 13 August 2016, 17:39:44 »
The final product looks very nice; what switches does it use?
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Offline phoible

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Re: Open Source 60% Alps Plates
« Reply #79 on: Sat, 13 August 2016, 19:25:11 »
I'm using cream ALPS switches harvested from an AEKII.

Offline emdude

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Re: Open Source 60% Alps Plates
« Reply #80 on: Wed, 17 August 2016, 22:47:41 »
A quick update:  I recently made a Big-Ass Enter (BAE) plate based on the IBM 5140 for a personal build, I will add it to the repo.  Please note that this is a Winkeyless layout and will NOT work with all BAE keys (e.g. like those from Focus or Northgate keyboards); I have seen at least three or four different ways by which a BAE is stabilized.

This plate also uses the updated measurements for the space bar circular stab; I have confirmed these measurements to work just fine with the 5140 plate.  As the AT101 plate also uses an identical 7u space bar, I can now confirm it to work without any issues!
Current drivers: IBM Model M SSK

Offline rand77

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Re: Open Source 60% Alps Plates
« Reply #81 on: Wed, 31 August 2016, 01:01:25 »
Thanks to all for their efforts for making open source plate designs a reality.

I have 3 Alps64 PCBs lying around waiting to be built for a few friends.  As such, I'll be cutting several plates.

If anyone else is interested in a plate, I can look into having a few extra cut, as it might be slightly more cost effective to have several made.

Offline emdude

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Re: Open Source 60% Alps Plates
« Reply #82 on: Wed, 31 August 2016, 01:06:17 »
Thanks to all for their efforts for making open source plate designs a reality.

I have 3 Alps64 PCBs lying around waiting to be built for a few friends.  As such, I'll be cutting several plates.

If anyone else is interested in a plate, I can look into having a few extra cut, as it might be slightly more cost effective to have several made.

Oh, cool!  Which layouts do you plan to use?
Current drivers: IBM Model M SSK

Offline rand77

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Re: Open Source 60% Alps Plates
« Reply #83 on: Wed, 31 August 2016, 10:40:51 »
Thanks to all for their efforts for making open source plate designs a reality.

I have 3 Alps64 PCBs lying around waiting to be built for a few friends.  As such, I'll be cutting several plates.

If anyone else is interested in a plate, I can look into having a few extra cut, as it might be slightly more cost effective to have several made.

Oh, cool!  Which layouts do you plan to use?

I'm thinking 3 AEK, or 2 AEK + 1 plate supporting tao hao alps keycaps (one off using lasergist).   The AEK plates would probably be most effective getting cut locally with increasing quantity.

Offline emdude

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Re: Open Source 60% Alps Plates
« Reply #84 on: Wed, 31 August 2016, 10:53:15 »
Thanks to all for their efforts for making open source plate designs a reality.

I have 3 Alps64 PCBs lying around waiting to be built for a few friends.  As such, I'll be cutting several plates.

If anyone else is interested in a plate, I can look into having a few extra cut, as it might be slightly more cost effective to have several made.

Oh, cool!  Which layouts do you plan to use?

I'm thinking 3 AEK, or 2 AEK + 1 plate supporting tao hao alps keycaps (one off using lasergist).   The AEK plates would probably be most effective getting cut locally with increasing quantity.

Okay, please let me know how the Tai-hao plate comes out!
Current drivers: IBM Model M SSK

Offline Slippery_John

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Re: Open Source 60% Alps Plates
« Reply #85 on: Tue, 13 September 2016, 18:14:02 »
Hi loot bag, did the AEK one that you made a while ago worked out perfectly?

Never worked on a AEK plate, only interested in HHKB really.

Oh sure, we'd really appreciate your contribution!  Let us know how it goes! ;D

Prototype arrived, everything fits great so far.
I need to buy a AT101W for keycaps and the 7U spacebar/stabilizer wire.

Show Image


Need some confirmation here.
I forgot to make the cutout for center stem Caps Lock, instead it is shifted and will use the bottom two solder points.
The AT101w caps lock key should work for this position right?

Show Image


How did that end up working out?
« Last Edit: Tue, 13 September 2016, 18:18:19 by Slippery_John »

Offline emdude

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Re: Open Source 60% Alps Plates
« Reply #86 on: Tue, 13 September 2016, 21:50:51 »
@Slippery_John, I saw your original message and finally got around to uploading HHKB and Infinity plates.  I recommend doing a test printout to at least check the bottom row against a key set or Hasu's Alps64 PCB; everything should be fine though.
Current drivers: IBM Model M SSK

Offline waqar

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Re: Open Source 60% Alps Plates
« Reply #87 on: Thu, 15 September 2016, 18:25:57 »
Lasergist Steel plate arrived.

Let the adventure begin.

Offline m3atworks

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Re: Open Source 60% Alps Plates
« Reply #88 on: Wed, 21 September 2016, 01:07:49 »
Hi guys, I'm trying to load the dxf file for the AT101 into pretty much any program that can read dxf.
Always shows up empty?
Would anyone be so kind to upload it as an .eps or svg?
regards
-s

edit...
nvm I managed to open it in houdini...and re-export.
thanks!!!
« Last Edit: Wed, 21 September 2016, 01:15:52 by m3atworks »

Offline emdude

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Re: Open Source 60% Alps Plates
« Reply #89 on: Wed, 21 September 2016, 01:31:41 »
Hi guys, I'm trying to load the dxf file for the AT101 into pretty much any program that can read dxf.
Always shows up empty?
Would anyone be so kind to upload it as an .eps or svg?
regards
-s

That's strange, I can open the 'Direct' downloaded file just fine in FreeCAD.  Sorry about that, I've attached an SVG.  Let me know if you need anything else.

Current drivers: IBM Model M SSK

Offline m3atworks

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Re: Open Source 60% Alps Plates
« Reply #90 on: Wed, 21 September 2016, 01:43:39 »
Thanks for your help emdude!!
Hi guys, I'm trying to load the dxf file for the AT101 into pretty much any program that can read dxf.
Always shows up empty?
Would anyone be so kind to upload it as an .eps or svg?
regards
-s

That's strange, I can open the 'Direct' downloaded file just fine in FreeCAD.  Sorry about that, I've attached an SVG.  Let me know if you need anything else.


Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk


Offline m3atworks

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Re: Open Source 60% Alps Plates
« Reply #91 on: Wed, 21 September 2016, 05:04:15 »
FYI emdude.
I uploaded the linked dxf file to lasergist.com and they said the file was invalid also.
Seems like some programs can read it and some can't.
I sent them the svg you attached. So thank you again for that.
cheers
-s

Offline hasu

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Re: Open Source 60% Alps Plates
« Reply #92 on: Wed, 21 September 2016, 13:28:58 »
emdude,
QCAD refuses to open AT101.dxf but I can open it with LibreCAD and it includes some LISP code on layer :D
The LISP code probably causes the problem with Lasergist and some CADs?




Offline emdude

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Re: Open Source 60% Alps Plates
« Reply #93 on: Wed, 21 September 2016, 14:09:18 »
emdude,
QCAD refuses to open AT101.dxf but I can open it with LibreCAD and it includes some LISP code on layer :D
The LISP code probably causes the problem with Lasergist and some CADs?

(Attachment Link)

Thanks for letting me know, that was what I using to find total path length of objects, but it looks like I somehow imported the code block as actual objects.  :-X

EDIT: For ease of use, I think I will upload SVG versions of all the plate designs when I can get around to it.

EDIT 2: And done.
« Last Edit: Wed, 21 September 2016, 15:24:01 by emdude »
Current drivers: IBM Model M SSK

Offline alienman82

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Re: Open Source 60% Alps Plates
« Reply #94 on: Tue, 01 November 2016, 22:56:09 »
removed.
« Last Edit: Thu, 01 March 2018, 13:47:14 by alienman82 »

Offline duynguyenle

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Re: Open Source 60% Alps Plates
« Reply #95 on: Sun, 06 November 2016, 19:24:07 »
Hi emdude,

I am unable to open the Dell AT101W file in AutoCAD 2017 (or any of the direct .dxf files for that matter). Upon opening the files as plaintext, I noticed a section at the end of the file named Thumbnail_Data, could this be what's causing the failure to open the file? I don't know enough about the actual file structure of .dxf to comment about this or how to fix these files.
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Offline alienman82

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Re: Open Source 60% Alps Plates
« Reply #96 on: Sun, 06 November 2016, 19:30:08 »
removed.
« Last Edit: Thu, 01 March 2018, 13:44:08 by alienman82 »

Offline hasu

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Re: Open Source 60% Alps Plates
« Reply #97 on: Sun, 06 November 2016, 20:21:01 »
Hi emdude,

I am unable to open the Dell AT101W file in AutoCAD 2017 (or any of the direct .dxf files for that matter). Upon opening the files as plaintext, I noticed a section at the end of the file named Thumbnail_Data, could this be what's causing the failure to open the file? I don't know enough about the actual file structure of .dxf to comment about this or how to fix these files.

AT101W.dxf seems to has two excess lines, remove them at the beginning and end of the file.
Code: [Select]
<<<<<<< HEAD
...
>>>>>>> cbbad0bf702589c60d733f9f0721427f232183cc

Offline emdude

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Re: Open Source 60% Alps Plates
« Reply #98 on: Sun, 06 November 2016, 20:25:32 »
Hi emdude,

I am unable to open the Dell AT101W file in AutoCAD 2017 (or any of the direct .dxf files for that matter). Upon opening the files as plaintext, I noticed a section at the end of the file named Thumbnail_Data, could this be what's causing the failure to open the file? I don't know enough about the actual file structure of .dxf to comment about this or how to fix these files.

Hi emdude,

I am unable to open the Dell AT101W file in AutoCAD 2017 (or any of the direct .dxf files for that matter). Upon opening the files as plaintext, I noticed a section at the end of the file named Thumbnail_Data, could this be what's causing the failure to open the file? I don't know enough about the actual file structure of .dxf to comment about this or how to fix these files.

AT101W.dxf seems to has two excess lines, remove them at the beginning and end of the file.
Code: [Select]
<<<<<<< HEAD
...
>>>>>>> cbbad0bf702589c60d733f9f0721427f232183cc

Thanks a ton, hasu, and sorry about the issue, duynguyenle.  I'll go ahead and fix this.  AutoCAD is really picky when it comes to .dxf files, but a program like FreeCAD should work too.

EDIT:  It is fixed.  It appears that only the standard AT101W had those extraneous lines so everything else should work.  Please let me know if you run into any other issues.

Those seem to be conflict markers generated by git, I suppose AutoCAD wouldn't have any of it.
« Last Edit: Sun, 06 November 2016, 20:43:49 by emdude »
Current drivers: IBM Model M SSK

Offline duynguyenle

  • Posts: 1388
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Re: Open Source 60% Alps Plates
« Reply #99 on: Wed, 09 November 2016, 14:59:14 »
Hi emdude,

I am unable to open the Dell AT101W file in AutoCAD 2017 (or any of the direct .dxf files for that matter). Upon opening the files as plaintext, I noticed a section at the end of the file named Thumbnail_Data, could this be what's causing the failure to open the file? I don't know enough about the actual file structure of .dxf to comment about this or how to fix these files.

Hi emdude,

I am unable to open the Dell AT101W file in AutoCAD 2017 (or any of the direct .dxf files for that matter). Upon opening the files as plaintext, I noticed a section at the end of the file named Thumbnail_Data, could this be what's causing the failure to open the file? I don't know enough about the actual file structure of .dxf to comment about this or how to fix these files.

AT101W.dxf seems to has two excess lines, remove them at the beginning and end of the file.
Code: [Select]
<<<<<<< HEAD
...
>>>>>>> cbbad0bf702589c60d733f9f0721427f232183cc

Thanks a ton, hasu, and sorry about the issue, duynguyenle.  I'll go ahead and fix this.  AutoCAD is really picky when it comes to .dxf files, but a program like FreeCAD should work too.

EDIT:  It is fixed.  It appears that only the standard AT101W had those extraneous lines so everything else should work.  Please let me know if you run into any other issues.

Those seem to be conflict markers generated by git, I suppose AutoCAD wouldn't have any of it.

Thanks for your efforts :)
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