geekhack
geekhack Projects => Making Stuff Together! => Topic started by: AGmurdercore on Fri, 30 August 2013, 13:24:12
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Soooo long story short I really would like to make a custom keyboard but i have like 0 exp in making keyboards from scratch so i will need some help from guys if any of you can/are willing to help me.
So the things that i will need help with are the following for now:
1. A program that i can use to design the PCB so i will be able to give it to any PCB making company.
2. guide on how to wire the whole thing because i am not really sure how will be the right way.
3. list of the parts that i need to make the board programmable (aka what controller should i use to be able to make the board programmable).
The big problem that i see in making this is the ofc the money as i am really short on cash so this project might take super long time to make but i will make it some day (i hope :D)
I already have the layout in my head and is something that i have never seen anyone do before so until i have everything figured out about it i will keep it for myself just to make sure that all the stuff that i want is possible to make.
So for a start i think that this is enough i will REALLY appreciate any help with this project because as i said above i have 0 exp doing this and i wont be able to do it alone. Thanks to everybody that will join this and for all the inspirations i have in this forum. You are all super duper awesome guys!
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- Reserved if needed by any chance -
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You might wanna go learn about some basic electronics and designing a PCB before taking on a large project like a keyboard.
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1. Kicad is a programm with which you can desing pcb. It's not easy to make one so...
2. So what are you going to do? Make a pcb or hand wire it? Anyways if you need help with hand wiring just PM matt3o.
http://deskthority.net/matt3o-u2619/
3. You need:
a good controller like teensy or something fancier
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You might wanna go learn about some basic electronics and designing a PCB before taking on a large project like a keyboard.
I have some basic skills that i learned in school and i work in a PC service where i can learn ****loads of stuff from my colleagues so this wont be a problem, my real worries come from the fact that i don't feel confident in the way that the switches should be wired (the way in which one should be wired to another one) and that is why i ask for help from you guys, which have ****loads more exp then me. Also i have 1 yeah and a half in school using OrCAD so i think that i will be able to do it (keep your fingers crossed :D)
1. Kicad is a programm with which you can desing pcb. It's not easy to make one so...
2. So what are you going to do? Make a pcb or hand wire it? Anyways if you need help with hand wiring just PM matt3o.
http://deskthority.net/matt3o-u2619/
3. You need:
a good controller like teensy or something fancier
Awesome answer, just what i needed, thank you alot! And btw i am going to make a PCB i want it to be a legit keyboard, not with some hand wiring done incorrect by my shaking hands :D
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Yes, use KiCAD.
Also, as llovro said, the Teensy is a good controller to use if you want thru-hole components. If you want to make it with SMT, use the ATmega32U4. :)
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Yes, use KiCAD.
Also, as llovro said, the Teensy is a good controller to use if you want thru-hole components. If you want to make it with SMT, use the ATmega32U4. :)
Thanks alot! I will download KiCAD and look for some tutorials for the basic stuff for this program.
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Btw guys can you give me some articles or guides or w/e to to look what is the proper way in wiring the switches? Thanks a ton!
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MOZ has started a collection resources you might find useful here: http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=47744.0
As for specifics, this "making stuff together!" forum has plenty of useful threads, you just need to poke around a bit to find what you might be looking for.
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MOZ has started a collection resources you might find useful here: http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=47744.0
As for specifics, this "making stuff together!" forum has plenty of useful threads, you just need to poke around a bit to find what you might be looking for.
Yeah i am reading most of the stuff here for a few days now, this was my inspiration to start this project. Thanks for the link btw ^^
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Go through the many threads on this subforum, it is a treasure cove of knowledge.
As mentioned before, I would also suggest you use KiCad for PCB designing, however first do a hand-wired, this should be the first step, acrylic plates can be had easily via pololu or even AcidFire, get your plate right, then accordingly design a PCB.
Teensy is a great place to start for controllers, you can look a the ErgoDox resources and and see the firmware as well as the PCB to get ideas on how to go about it.
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Also, Matt3o has a great thread on Deskthority, entitled "BrownFox step by step" (http://deskthority.net/workshop-f7/brownfox-step-by-step-t6050.html)
You can check out his earlier thread, "Building a custom keyboard from the ground up" (http://deskthority.net/workshop-f7/building-a-custom-keyboard-from-the-ground-up-t5761.html)
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Thanks for all the positive feedback and for the support guys! You make me feel like i can do it in the end, thanks again!
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Check out the Longcat (http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=43788.msg1025776#msg1025776) keyboard that TheFlyingRaccoon is building. He just went through the same learning process that you're asking about (matrix wiring). Also check out jdcarpe's direct wired keyboard prototyping (http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=40567.0) thread.
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Check out the Longcat (http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=43788.msg1025776#msg1025776) keyboard that TheFlyingRaccoon is building. He just went through the same learning process that you're asking about (matrix wiring). Also check out jdcarpe's direct wired keyboard prototyping (http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=40567.0) thread.
Thanks for this i just checked the project of TheFlyingRaccoon and it will really be helpful as well as jdcarpe's project.
Just to keep you all updated i have started with the plate prototyping so there might be some pictures and stuff soon. Also i wanna thank Photekq for the help he is giving me to learn the CAD program.
Thank you all! <3
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Hey guys! I just wanted to let all of you know that this project is not dead. I am just super busy in my work and after work i am doing stuff for the gaming team that i am managing and i have hardly any spare time ;(
On a positive note i got my teensy last week so i can freely start with the plate design and proceed with the tests if the layout after that. Thank you for your time :)
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Do you want a phantom pcb and ansi 150 plate?
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Do you want a phantom pcb and ansi 150 plate?
No idea how i missed this... I will PM you anyway to see if this is still up although i am pretty sure that you already sold it ;(
Anyways guys i need some more help from you! Can anybody tell me how is the ergo dox working or said in other words how can i make a keyboard build on 2 separate plates or said in even other words how will be the best way to make a removable expansion?
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Anyways guys i need some more help from you! Can anybody tell me how is the ergo dox working or said in other words how can i make a keyboard build on 2 separate plates or said in even other words how will be the best way to make a removable expansion?
Please guys can anybody help me on this? :(
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Ok guys i have some nasty idea about the board i will attempt to make and i hope that i will have the time to share them with your soon. I am excited lol ;D
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Can anybody tell me how is the ergo dox working or said in other words how can i make a keyboard build on 2 separate plates or said in even other words how will be the best way to make a removable expansion?
Woops, missed this.
The ergodox uses a teensy on one side, hardwired to the matrix for that side of the keyboard, and the other side is handled by an MCP23018 i2c I/O expander. This enables the connection from one side to the other to be "small" (ergodox uses a 4-conductor TRRS cable to join the two halves)
Oobly's board uses, again, a teensy, but rather than using an I/O expander he uses a larger (10 conductor, from memory) cable to join the two halves, and hardwires both direct to the matrix (which is a pair of 6x4 matrices, one for each half, making a 6x8 matrix in total).
There's other ways of doing it, of course - you could take a sledgehammer to the walnut and put a teensy in both sides, for example.
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Can anybody tell me how is the ergo dox working or said in other words how can i make a keyboard build on 2 separate plates or said in even other words how will be the best way to make a removable expansion?
Woops, missed this.
The ergodox uses a teensy on one side, hardwired to the matrix for that side of the keyboard, and the other side is handled by an MCP23018 i2c I/O expander. This enables the connection from one side to the other to be "small" (ergodox uses a 4-conductor TRRS cable to join the two halves)
Oobly's board uses, again, a teensy, but rather than using an I/O expander he uses a larger (10 conductor, from memory) cable to join the two halves, and hardwires both direct to the matrix (which is a pair of 6x4 matrices, one for each half, making a 6x8 matrix in total).
There's other ways of doing it, of course - you could take a sledgehammer to the walnut and put a teensy in both sides, for example.
Thanks for the answer! For now i think that i will go with hardwires between the parts that plan to make on the board to be as simple as possible. Might do something more complex with control some time later :D
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So i am digging this thread from the grave because i am in need of a small (60% or so) keyboard and i decided that i might just build it myself. Does anyone have some blueprints of 60% plates that i can use for the lasercutting of the plate?
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So i am digging this thread from the grave because i am in need of a small (60% or so) keyboard and i decided that i might just build it myself. Does anyone have some blueprints of 60% plates that i can use for the lasercutting of the plate?
I haven't used it for having anything made, but I would suggest using Swill's plate layout editor (http://builder.swillkb.com/) which imports from the keyboard layout editor (http://www.keyboard-layout-editor.com/). You can download the CAD file from Swill's tool after you put your layout together, then use something like QCAD (https://www.google.com/search?q=QCAD&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8) to tweak it, if need be.
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So i am digging this thread from the grave because i am in need of a small (60% or so) keyboard and i decided that i might just build it myself. Does anyone have some blueprints of 60% plates that i can use for the lasercutting of the plate?
I haven't used it for having anything made, but I would suggest using Swill's plate layout editor (http://builder.swillkb.com/) which imports from the keyboard layout editor (http://www.keyboard-layout-editor.com/). You can download the CAD file from Swill's tool after you put your layout together, then use something like QCAD (https://www.google.com/search?q=QCAD&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8) to tweak it, if need be.
Thank you! I will check this out as soon as i go home from work to see what i can do with. Lets hope that i will manage to handle the CAD program with my non existent skills ;D
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So i am digging this thread from the grave because i am in need of a small (60% or so) keyboard and i decided that i might just build it myself. Does anyone have some blueprints of 60% plates that i can use for the lasercutting of the plate?
I haven't used it for having anything made, but I would suggest using Swill's plate layout editor (http://builder.swillkb.com/) which imports from the keyboard layout editor (http://www.keyboard-layout-editor.com/). You can download the CAD file from Swill's tool after you put your layout together, then use something like QCAD (https://www.google.com/search?q=QCAD&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8) to tweak it, if need be.
I've used Swill's tool to get a plate made, would definitely recommend.
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welcome to the rabbit hole
http://www.keyboard-layout-editor.com/
http://builder.swillkb.com/
those will get you started with the design of the layout. i did my first keyboard hand wired. its not as cool as a PCB but you'll get faster results for your first project ;) the PCB part will take you awhile on the design and prototypes more than likely. trust me i'm there right now.
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This is so cool on GH that there is so much knowledge and experience! I hope I can eventually make my own board as well.. Would be so cool to tinker with a project, some relaxing project where it doesn't matter how quickly you proceed.
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Thank you so much for the replies guys! It turned out that i am super busy these few days but i hope that in the next few days i will be able to check everything out and make my layout. If all is good i hope that the keyboard will be mostly done until the end of the month ;)