geekhack
geekhack Community => Keyboard Keycaps => Topic started by: Firebolt1914 on Sun, 11 January 2015, 10:24:11
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Hey guys, I currently have an idea that I want to make a reality, and I have no clue where to start. I've had the idea of glass keycaps, which have been thought of before, but usually never done. What I found to be the main failing point is the stem, which I've made a solution for: having a hole in the keycap for a plastic stem. The only problem is, I have no idea how I'm going to make a mold for that. If anyone has any pointers or tips, please post them here; I would really love to be able to make glass keycaps.
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Hey guys, I currently have an idea that I want to make a reality, and I have no clue where to start. I've had the idea of glass keycaps, which have been thought of before, but usually never done. What I found to be the main failing point is the stem, which I've made a solution for: having a hole in the keycap for a plastic stem. The only problem is, I have no idea how I'm going to make a mold for that. If anyone has any pointers or tips, please post them here; I would really love to be able to make glass keycaps.
You're going to mould your own glass, or what?
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I'm most likely going to cast glass, and I need a mold for that. The problem with that is, is that the stem is really fragile if made out of glass.
Therefore I will need to have a hole where the stem usually is, and put a plastic stem there.
I have no clue how I'm going to make a mold for a keycap with a hole instead of a stem.
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There was a thread about this earlier but the guy never made the caps afaik. I'm so excited to see these if you follow through. Good luck!
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iirc it was noisyturtle, and he said it didn't work out so well because it exploded :P
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Here's a picture of what I'm thinking of: http://imgur.com/adi27MM
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Buy small little squares of glass and use hand glass cutting tools?
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Neat.
Sounds like you need 2 molds: 1 for the glass "cap" and 1 for the plastic stem insert.
Also, it seems rubber o-rings might be highly suggested for use with glass key caps. Nobody wants to shatter his key caps (and fingers!) from bottoming out too hard on a keystroke. :p
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Alright this thread is pretty much useless, secret plans are being formulated, thanks for the help guys :)
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I would say make the stems in a way that they snap into the glass part, and that they cant be rotated at all. Those are the first issues I see. Also, make sure the stems are not too long or short. Perhaps make the plastic stem and a base insert for the bottom as well, so when the key is bottomed out, it wont be glass on plastic, I dont think that would sound too pleasant. Or, you could use permanent o-rings, and make the stem a little longer?
I dont know what you wanted out of this thread, so I am giving you as much advice as I can :D