Marble?
It seems like everything is either plastic, acrylic or aluminum.
Ceramic would be awesome. I think a powder injection moulded case / keycaps are easily possible, but they need to sinter and not everyone has access to a sintering oven. Other powder process methods are easier or harder.
I hate to be that guy, but there are tons of different plastics that could be used but are not. So there are many non-standard options in that category too.It seems like everything is either plastic, acrylic or aluminum.
It's like if this statement read "It seems like everything is either plastic or metal". There are tons of types of plastic, just as there are tons of types of metal.
Anyway, that aside, AFAIK most plastic cases are injection moulded ABS or CNCed acrylic. It would be interesting to see how some other polymers handle being moulded into keyboard cases... Like HIPS, or PET... That would be fun.
Ceramic is a possibility, at least for keypads. I am considering making a 3d printed ceramic one for my GHpad.
Uranium ore :blank:
Copper anyone?See, I'd purposely oxidize the copper to let the verdigris out. It's make a sick matte green case, imo.
You'd have to insulate it but it would look brilliant!
There's a good chance I have access to a sintering oven, I should check.
Does titanium really do anything that much better than aluminum, for keyboards? It's not like we need super strong boards.
Marble would be awesome, though definitely not portable.
Copper anyone?See, I'd purposely oxidize the copper to let the verdigris out. It's make a sick matte green case, imo.
You'd have to insulate it but it would look brilliant!
Copper anyone?See, I'd purposely oxidize the copper to let the verdigris out. It's make a sick matte green case, imo.
You'd have to insulate it but it would look brilliant!
We should do this and make a Statue of Liberty click clack for maximum freedom..
Statue of Liberty that can store a bit of lamp oil inside, with an actually burning torch?Or just make it from transparent plastic and paint everything but the torch to make the key's LED light it.
Statue of Liberty that can store a bit of lamp oil inside, with an actually burning torch?Or just make it from transparent plastic and paint everything but the torch to make the key's LED light it.
Statue of Liberty that can store a bit of lamp oil inside, with an actually burning torch?oh my gosh, this could actually work. You'd have to engineer it a bit, but oil burning lamps have been made out of copper in the past and are not too difficult to actually make.
I... if I had the tools on hand I would go make that right now.
Statue of Liberty that can store a bit of lamp oil inside, with an actually burning torch?oh my gosh, this could actually work. You'd have to engineer it a bit, but oil burning lamps have been made out of copper in the past and are not too difficult to actually make.
I... if I had the tools on hand I would go make that right now.
BTW, Maltron has always used vacuuformed ABS. I have not seen anyone else do that.Yeah, vacuum forming should be a pretty good way to prototype different designs. For any larger scale production, I’d expect injection molding to result in a cheaper and sturdier case. I find the Maltron feels very flimsy.
A single sheet of plastic is heated and draped over a mould using air pressure, producing an imprint in the plastic of the mould. The big drawback is that the edges are a bit soft, and there can be variance between different "pulls".
The Beast's 60% wooden case project looks amazing.
Marble?Actually... someone here once posted pictures of a keyboard where the top was a slab of polished stone.
The Beast's 60% wooden case project looks amazing.
Link?
But if they're labor intensive they shouldn't be too expensive to self make. Just get netflix going. What's the material like though? I wouldn't want a board that's just unique, I'd want the best possible material for my use.
But if they're labor intensive they shouldn't be too expensive to self make. Just get netflix going. What's the material like though? I wouldn't want a board that's just unique, I'd want the best possible material for my use.
Trust me, you don't want to lacquer your own case. It's really, really, REALLY hard.
But if they're labor intensive they shouldn't be too expensive to self make. Just get netflix going. What's the material like though? I wouldn't want a board that's just unique, I'd want the best possible material for my use.
Trust me, you don't want to lacquer your own case. It's really, really, REALLY hard.
All my googling keeps finding me stuff on laquering wood. What's the process to laquer-make a case?
Also, what's it like to have a laquer finished wood case?
Lacquer is illegal here in CA, ...AFAIK, it is not lacquer itself but some types of organic solvents that are often used in lacquer. There should be alternatives that use other solvents.
I'm told that glass is hard to machine, and investing in moulds to make it is sorta expensive.
Carbon fiber is dangerous to machine, but people have wrapped things in it I think
Ceramic would be awesome. I think a powder injection moulded case / keycaps are easily possible, but they need to sinter and not everyone has access to a sintering oven. Other powder process methods are easier or harder.
Powder SLS 3D printed titanium keycaps exist. The only thing barring someone from making a case out of it is the cost.
many materials are too brittle to be used as an effective plate. Glass / ceramic / etc. I'm not sure if it'd work out.
I was thinking about cement recently. It beats adding lead weights to your keyboard....
For smaller keyboards you could use Shapeways to get a ceramic keyboard case. I'm not sure if you could do so with a full 104 keyboard as you need to fit the case in their bounding box for ceramic of:
340 × 240 × 170 mm and X + Y + Z ≤ 400 mm
For smaller keyboards you could use Shapeways to get a ceramic keyboard case. I'm not sure if you could do so with a full 104 keyboard as you need to fit the case in their bounding box for ceramic of:
340 × 240 × 170 mm and X + Y + Z ≤ 400 mm
I was thinking of getting some ceramic keycaps made via them, but I am not sure they'll come out well.
Fortunately it's very easy to make keycaps for hall effect :p
But actually though POM blanks for main keycaps + cermaic spacebar for that nice different sound... mmmm. Have you tried actually ordering it? $7 seems incredibly affordable.
Full case is I think slightly over that dimensions limit. Could work for a 40% though.
For smaller keyboards you could use Shapeways to get a ceramic keyboard case. I'm not sure if you could do so with a full 104 keyboard as you need to fit the case in their bounding box for ceramic of:
340 × 240 × 170 mm and X + Y + Z ≤ 400 mm
I was thinking of getting some ceramic keycaps made via them, but I am not sure they'll come out well.
Fortunately it's very easy to make keycaps for hall effect :p
But actually though POM blanks for main keycaps + cermaic spacebar for that nice different sound... mmmm. Have you tried actually ordering it? $7 seems incredibly affordable.
There's actually a minimum size for their ceramics I think. Out of all the keys I had designed for my flat key cap set I was only given the option to do ceramics for my spacebar.
(https://www.shapeways.com/model/2221931/spacebar.html?modelId=2221931&materialId=6)
What if the body of the cap was ceramic, with a notch to attach the stem inside?
I think there's barely enough room. A key is 19mm wide. I guess the top width is a little too skinny. Perhaps wider tops than usual?
Card board. ^_^
Czarek makes CNC-machined PVC cases.
Brass.Uhm. Steampunk.
I think there's barely enough room. A key is 19mm wide. I guess the top width is a little too skinny. Perhaps wider tops than usual?
Ok, I don't seem to be getting through here. It is not even close to working with 6mm
Pictures might better illustrate it. This model has been split in half for illustrative purposes:Show Image(http://i.imgur.com/05Ts60d.png)Show Image(http://i.imgur.com/dszhg4c.png)
The above cap is about 1mm thick. Now imagine a cap which is 6 times as thick on all sides, and which can't expand outwards either since the distance from switch to switch is 19.05mm. Even if the stem is made of something else, a 6mm thick cap will leave you with 6mm from one side to the other on the inside of the cap. That isn't even enough for the stem, let alone the entire switch.
Edit: Hopefully that will clarify things. Their requirement of 6mm minimum wall thickness just renders it impossible to make a reasonable key cap in ceramic with their machine.