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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: playground on Wed, 13 November 2013, 07:55:08

Title: Help with keyword project.
Post by: playground on Wed, 13 November 2013, 07:55:08: Hello keyboard lovers., I would really appreciate your input on my project.

I’m working on a prototype of a interactive kiosk and want to have a keyboard looking something like this:

(http://i.imgur.com/CVO19iO.png)

My idea is to make the keyboard in wood (birch or ash) and router out the holes in the wood board. I want a vintage feeling with high quality in look and feel, (a heavy old ”archivey/library” style) I plan to use cherry MX blue switches for that tactile clicky feeling and are interested in keycaps with large centered legends that will be back lit with led-diodes (it will operated in poorly lighted environment and need to be easy to see in dark) I’m thinking spherical and non-sculptured keycaps. Maybe they need to be quite tall so they don’t disappear in the thickness of the wood board (the wood maybe needs to be 4-6 mm)

Since I’m a novice in keyboarding I’m not sure how to proceed. I’ve e-mailed signature plastic for a quote on the keycaps. (are they pricey, are there any good alternative?)

Where can I turn for a customized pcb like this and is i possible to make it programmable so it can light up certain buttons in different steps in the software procedure?

Thank you for helping out!
Title: Re: Help with keyword project.
Post by: 127001 on Wed, 13 November 2013, 08:05:04: Why is the space like that :'(
Title: Re: Help with keyword project.
Post by: Signature on Wed, 13 November 2013, 14:38:47: Quote from: playground on Wed, 13 November 2013, 07:55:08
Hello keyboard lovers., I would really appreciate your input on my project.

I’m working on a prototype of a interactive kiosk and want to have a keyboard looking something like this:

Show Image
(http://i.imgur.com/CVO19iO.png)

My idea is to make the keyboard in wood (birch or ash) and router out the holes in the wood board. I want a vintage feeling with high quality in look and feel, (a heavy old ”archivey/library” style) I plan to use cherry MX blue switches for that tactile clicky feeling and are interested in keycaps with large centered legends that will be back lit with led-diodes (it will operated in poorly lighted environment and need to be easy to see in dark) I’m thinking spherical and non-sculptured keycaps. Maybe they need to be quite tall so they don’t disappear in the thickness of the wood board (the wood maybe needs to be 4-6 mm)

Since I’m a novice in keyboarding I’m not sure how to proceed. I’ve e-mailed signature plastic for a quote on the keycaps. (are they pricey, are there any good alternative?)

Where can I turn for a customized pcb like this and is i possible to make it programmable so it can light up certain buttons in different steps in the software procedure?

Thank you for helping out!
You could customize your own PCB there is several threads on the programs used on this forum! Otherwise i would recommend a 60% pcb!
Title: Re: Help with keyword project.
Post by: dorkvader on Wed, 13 November 2013, 15:22:53: probably the easiest for a one-off is to do direct-wire and get a custom plate made. Either that or just have a custom PCB and use PCB mount switches.

Those big square buttons will be pretty heavy. You can get lighter springs if it's an issue.

Otherwise, looks better than most of the other kiosk keyboards I've seen.
Title: Re: Help with keyword project.
Post by: Daniel Beardsmore on Wed, 13 November 2013, 15:27:21: There are definitely quad keycaps out there — I've seen them on one of the POS boards. Here are quad (and 1 and 2 unit) relegendables:

http://www.umd.com.au/itd/products/kt_keycaps.html

Though from the looks of it (with that spacing) you're going to need other sizes besides single, dual (2x1) and quad (2x2).
Title: Re: Help with keyword project.
Post by: Linkbane on Wed, 13 November 2013, 16:42:31: I wonder if this will require a microprocessor like Shine boards.
The only thing I have to say is that you might not want spherical caps, they're generally less natural to type on than sculptured. However, if the case is extremely tall, that might be your only option. But it wouldn't matter if it stuck out or not, because it's in bright lighting, correct?
Title: Re: Help with keyword project.
Post by: dorkvader on Wed, 13 November 2013, 21:44:15: Quote from: Linkbane on Wed, 13 November 2013, 16:42:31
I wonder if this will require a microprocessor like Shine boards.
The only thing I have to say is that you might not want spherical caps, they're generally less natural to type on than sculptured. However, if the case is extremely tall, that might be your only option. But it wouldn't matter if it stuck out or not, because it's in bright lighting, correct?
Spherical/cylindrical and sculpted/flat are independant quantities.

For example, TG3 uses a flat profile cylindrical keycaps (same profile as SP's function row) on their BL82. Most keyboards are cylindrical and sculpted.
I am currently typing this on a set of retro DSA keycaps that are flat profile and spherical. Many vintage keyboards (like that on my selectric II) are sculpted profile spherical keycaps.

Sculpted really just means they use different profiles for the rows to better "sculpt" it for typing.

As far as microprocessors, Not sure what you mean here: most keyboards have some sort of microcontroller controlling them and converting keystrokes to scancodes. Microcontrollers can be thought of as similar to processors, though the word "processor" has arguably changed throughout the history of computing.
---
@OP: Blues are an excellent choice, though you may want to consider a spring swap to make them heavier. For some reason, heavier switches have more of an old-timey feeling that the light and clicky blues.
Title: Re: Help with keyword project.
Post by: playground on Thu, 14 November 2013, 08:54:46: This keyboard will be used only for short entries so I prioritize looks before writing comfort and therefore spherical and non sculptured and not cylindrical/sculptured simply because I find that the most esthetic alternative. I like the old honeywell keyboards and today I saw this old cash register with beautiful keys that almost felt like porcelain, super hard and glossy. that would be cool to use but probably har do combine with back light…

(http://i.imgur.com/eWBocu2.png)
(http://i.imgur.com/4964FDC.jpg) (http://imgur.com/4964FDC)

…Well, I got answer from signature plastic and the told me that it’s not a good idea to place the legends in center because of the mounting post on mx switches. so I maybe need to re-think this, smaller font in the top corner, another switch or make the entire cap in a translucent material and just have painted the letters? what do you think?

Anyone have a link to a company that could help me make pcb like I described?

thanx.