geekhack
geekhack Community => Keyboard Keycaps => Topic started by: Firefly303 on Sat, 29 December 2012, 23:02:56
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I dont know how plausible this is. But could something like a 3D printer make custom keycaps?
http://printrbot.com/shop/printrbot-jr/ (http://printrbot.com/shop/printrbot-jr/)
Maybe not for mass production, but as a hobby :P
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At the affordable 3d printer end of things it would require a lot of post-print finishing to make a nice looking cap. Feel wise, no idea.
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I could be totally off on this subject but my friend has one of these and a lot of the things he makes is pretty mediocre quality. Inaccurate edges/dimensions. Sloppy looking. I think there is a lot of skill that goes into designing, calibrating, and setting/using a 3d printer. Perhaps you could do it but you might have to spend a lot of time fiddle f*&(ing around with the thing. Also it is not great at small scale stuff. So I think you will have trouble with the routing for the inside of the keycap. It could be fun but I wouldn't expect a decent finished product but please prove me wrong so I can build my own too.
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I dont know how plausible this is. But could something like a 3D printer make custom keycaps?
I have seen pics of keycaps printed on a 3D printer and they were quite gross looking and I am sure the mount was unusable. Of course it might have been done on a "low end" printer. The printing is just very inaccurate. Please wait 20 more years. :D
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I dont know how plausible this is. But could something like a 3D printer make custom keycaps?
I have seen pics of keycaps printed on a 3D printer and they were quite gross looking and I am sure the mount was unusable. Of course it might have been done on a "low end" printer. The printing is just very inaccurate. Please wait 20 more years. :D
that was my fear lol. i know the insanely expensive ones could most definitely print something as simple as a key cap.
sanding the final product would get rid of the messy edges. Not sure it'd be worth the effort though.
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If u want to make ur own keycaps just make ur own mold and pour something in. wait. Break mold. Voila!
Another guy on GH did it. Why not u 2?
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http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=35572.0
there you go
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I dont know how plausible this is. But could something like a 3D printer make custom keycaps?
I have seen pics of keycaps printed on a 3D printer and they were quite gross looking and I am sure the mount was unusable. Of course it might have been done on a "low end" printer. The printing is just very inaccurate. Please wait 20 more years. :D
Well, I don't know about 20 years. I mean, just comparing cheap 3D printers from 5 years back to what we have now, it's not too terribly bad. I'm sure a low-end stereolithography machine will be made (if it hasn't already: Check kickstarter) that will provide better performance than these reprap-like ones. Maybe I'm just biased, but I really don't think these additive rapid prototyping machines are good enough, especially at the extreme low end.
Ideally (In my mind) we'd be able to get a decent SLS one (Where it sinters it together with a laser) or something, where we can fuse plastic granules directly, then pop it in a sintering oven for a few hours. I'm somewhat well up on powder processing, but that was mainly geared towards metal/ceramic. Maybe it's just the materials side of me, but I think ceramic keycaps would be awesome. Unfortunately, you need a lot more energy density to SLS ceramic (Like Alumina) than you need for black ABS, or other polymers.
Currently, the best method for direct keycap DIY seems to be casting. There's a lot of good information at the link precarious posted, above.
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20 years is a bloody long time lol. I'd give it just 5 years before we get to an acceptable quality. The technology is advancing super fast, and we all know technology develops exponentially over time.