Hi! I'm relatively new to the keyboard community, love working with my hands, and enjoy making my own things. A while ago I purchased my first mechanical keyboard, an MX Blue Quickfire Rapid. After awhile on Geek Hack and r/mechanicalkeyboards, I saw a lot of custom keyboards that I though were awesome (specifically Photekq's TEK-80). Novelty keycaps, full metal cases, I just really love that uniqueness factor. I really wanted to make a cool keyboard that I could really call my own, so I what I did is I did a bunch of research on what I wanted and how I wanted to make it. Eventually after reading a bunch of posts and articles, I had my heart set on an ErgoDox. Being as impatient as I am and wanting something unique, I didn't want to buy the $200 MassDrop kit and instead sourced out all of the parts myself. I bought the PCB, 100 MX Green Switches, and a Teensy 2.0 from mechanicalkeyboards.com, I bought the electronics from Mouser and Digikey, and I ordered some PCB mount stabilizers from berzerkfan (haven't arrived yet).
The highlight of this project (I hope) is the case. The only thing I couldn't really buy from anywhere without spending too much is the case. After some digging, I found
czarek's github page for his ErgoDox cases and found vectors for a really cool unibody aluminum case. After some searching I couldn't find any pictures, so I thought it would be cool to put my own spin on it and machine one for myself using my school's ShopBot.
The case design is relatively simple.
One side gets machined, and then the material is flipped over and then the other cuts get machined. Everything gets cut out with an 1/8" Up Cut tool and only PCB mount stabilizers are supported (still debating over this).
Here's a quick render in the tool I'm using (called VCarve) of what the cuts should look like after it all gets machined.
You'll have to use your imagination since I wasn't able to model anything in solid works. Sorry,
I just finished a call with my local metal place to see how much the materials would cost (a 3/4" plate) and am expecting a call back shortly.
The bottom of the case is open and is sealed with an acrylic (or aluminum or brass) dust cover that's flush with the bottom. It screws into the two standoffs that you can see in the render above. There is a hole on top in the upper right hand corner that lets you press the button on the Teensy, it can be covered by a rounded square badge that rests in that pocket. I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts on this and would be delighted to get any suggestions or criticisms.
