Exact distance betweek keys?

[Kacee]

I looked up and found out that key-to-key distance is around 0.75inch...

Do you know the exact number? I'm trying to draw a mounting plate cutout to mod my Filco, which use the mounting plate as the top casing piece.

[db_Iodine]

It's pretty damn close to 0.75 inches. I just got 19.32mm +-0.05mm with my tools and that would bring it up to about 0.756 inches.

[bpiphany]

I think it is "supposed" to be 0.75". Of course this could theoretically be slightly tweaked but I don't think they do that.

[bpiphany]

Wasn't it here on GH I first saw this?..

[Findecanor]

Do you know the exact number? I'm trying to draw a mounting plate cutout to mod my Filco, which use the mounting plate as the top casing piece.

I thought it was the member Intealls here who did a dampening mod using a paper printout. He had to adjust his drawing because his printer did not print correctly.

If you do use a printer to create the template then I suggest that you do a cheap test print and measure that against the keyboard before using the expensive stuff.

[Findecanor]

There are CNC milling shops here and there in the US ... but I suppose that they are a whole magnitude more expensive.

[woody]

Koreans learn milFing in middle school and we have to take SpanKish.

Fixed for ya.

[Konrad]

What's with the French hating, Rip? At least British and anglophone Canadians have earned the right to demean Frenchies ... what real claim have the Americans beyond the fact that the frogs once dared to defy George W, lol?
 
'Twas the movie Beerfest, I think, in which was asked "what have the French ever done for America?" and the response (by the Frenchy) was "we invented democracy, gunpowder, and blowjobs." Can't argue with that, even if the facts are a little skewed.

[Kacee]

Thanks a lot, I'm going to draw the cutout diagram using a CAD tool and have a milling shop machine the plate...

Still, on Cherry site, they says the plate should be 0.06" (or 1.5mm) thick, I'm not sure it will be strong enough to use as the top casing.

Did anyone here try this before, can you make the plate thicker, I'm thinking about 3mm thick, still leave about 2.2mm under it for stuff on the PCB if there's any.

[bpiphany]

The plate needs to be 1.5mm for the switches to grab hold of it. Perhaps you can use a thicker plate and mill away some material down to the right thickness only where the grippers are. What cutting method are you planning on using? Keep in mind that the maximum radius on the hole corners is pretty sharp.

[Kacee]

If I make the plate thicker and only thinning down where it's needed, it has to be CNC milled, I'm planning to have it laser cutted.

Of course I don't know nothing about this, I will have to ask, but I guess doing like you said will be much more complicate.

[bpiphany]

How horribly flexy can 1.5mm of some good quality stainless steel get?.. There will be a lot of holes of course. I had the same idea to use the mounting plate as the casing so I would like to see it work myself =)

[Konrad]

Ordering such a piece to be milled might be costly if you don't have some other access to a metalshop.
 
I'd opt for dies and punches.  Perhaps circle cuts would work.  Or a few hours of dremel work.  Assuming that absolute precision isn't required, of course.  This piece will be internal and invisible, yes?