geekhack
geekhack Projects => Making Stuff Together! => Topic started by: Vozella on Wed, 23 September 2015, 23:19:58
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So I was thinking of how custom keyboards usually have MX Cherry switches because you can buy the switches seperatly.
What if I tried to create my own $10 keyboard but with my own layout but with membrane switches or scissor switches? I would cost more, but 5 times more would just be $50. I'd probably make it out of cheap materials too.
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Membranes are a pretty much a no-go, since you'd need to make a full custom sheet for the keyboard.
Scissor boards on the other hand can have separate switches, so if you make a custom pcb you could do it.
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Membranes are a pretty much a no-go, since you'd need to make a full custom sheet for the keyboard.
???
I guess there's some confusion around the definition of rubber domes and membranes. See Deskthority wiki (http://deskthority.net/wiki/Membrane_vs_rubber_dome).
Circuits can be put on both a membrane and a board (PCB). The problem is keys… keycaps, domes and the stuff between the two, i.e., sliders or some other kind of stabilization mechanism (e.g., scissor switches). 3D printing might be an option, but not without its pitfalls.
At last but not least, see dumblob's open-source ergonomic design (https://github.com/dumblob/hw_kbd).
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Membranes are a pretty much a no-go, since you'd need to make a full custom sheet for the keyboard.
Scissor boards on the other hand can have separate switches, so if you make a custom pcb you could do it.
Nope. Scissor switches still use a contact sheet
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Each scissor mechanism needs to be clipped to a base. That base is usually a stamped and pressed piece of sheet metal or a precision injection-moulded piece of plastic. Neither is particularly easy to build at home.
If you want to build a low-profile keyboard, it might be easier to get a Cherry G84 series (http://deskthority.net/wiki/Cherry_G84_series) keyboard with Cherry ML switches. Those switches are low-profile, PCB-mounted and feel a bit like scissor switches, but they do however bind on off-centre key presses and the G84 series' keycaps are smaller than regular.