Building the Bird of Hermes (Finished.... finaly)

[ProCarpet]

So i just got into the mechanical keyboard thing and got addicted very fast. So i decided to build my own keyboard and startet doing so 3months ago. This is a thread that show my progress i hope some like it and find it interesting or it is even a help for others in a similar situation.

First of all i started by drawing sketches by hand and then in CAD. After this first step was taken i needed to make an layout which was jet the hardest part luckily the friendly community helpt me out here "thanks to jdcarpe".

This was kind the first thing i got


Afther that i made some changes in the desing made it practicable and colored like i wanted it to. And decided which material i would use first i wanted to go with the EN AW 6060 (for its good color when anodized) but this is only aviably in the form of smale plates so i went with the EN AW 5083 which is also nice. As switches i use some Mx Blacks i bought on ebay with a diode in it. The top plate is made from alu i lasercuted it. Then for the botom i went with a big block of alu which i gona mil with a 3axis cnc. The top plate also needs some miling on it for that i gona use a old open cnc (Deckel "ca 25 years old ^^) machine. For the surface finish i let it beadblast and anodize for the nice look. The red plaket you can see on the top right is gona get a logo "black marked" on it (laser engraved) which a nice friend of mine drew.






This week i gona do the Miling on the parts and star designing the matrix and the circuit board.
Since im not the best in matrix designing nor programming i gona make it pretty similar to the phantom so that i only have to make smal adjustments in  the controller. For the contorller i gona go with a atmega32u4.

-----------------------------------Update 05.05.15-----------------------------------------------------------

So did the last bitt of milling. Just need to make 8 holes bigger because i made the tolerance to close it wont fit perfect together. This is because the top plate bendet o.1mm which is not much nor a big deal but my tolerance for the screw hole was to tight it was 3mm for a M3 screw. Gona drill it up to 3.3mm or 3.5mm. But it looks nice^^.
Also i gona lasercut another pair of the plakets. And then i can send it to get anodized like on the 8.05.14(europ writing).

Here some pics.


Yeah ****ed up this one :/


And im also designing the PCB atm i use Altium designer for this because i think its easy to use. Since im not an electrican nor any good at this im taking my time. This below is the product of the last two weeks trying to get used to altium but i think its not bad and i can use it. Let me please know what you think so far.



And here is the logo i gona lasermark on the plakete. A friend of mine drew it for me.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/55724980/.bird%20of%20hermes%20schriftzugcorrected.png
Hope you enjoyed this toppic.

[CPTBadAss]

Then for the botom i went with a big block of alu which i gona mil with a 3axis cnc. The top plate also needs some miling on it for that i gona use a old open cnc (Deckel "ca 25 years old ^^) machine. For the surface finish i let it beadblast and anodize for the nice look.

I DEMAND MACHINING PORN. Please take videos or pictures of you machining with a Mill/CNC machine

[jdcarpe]

Your project is looking great so far! Please keep us updated. This is the great stuff we love to see.

[ProCarpet]

Then for the botom i went with a big block of alu which i gona mil with a 3axis cnc. The top plate also needs some miling on it for that i gona use a old open cnc (Deckel "ca 25 years old ^^) machine. For the surface finish i let it beadblast and anodize for the nice look.

I DEMAND MACHINING PORN. Please take videos or pictures of you machining with a Mill/CNC machine

Yeah i thought of that but dind knew if that was wanted ^^. But since you are asking i gona do it.

[Lastpilot]

This looks promising!  Very curious to see the finished product!

+1 for CNC action shots/video!

[CPTBadAss]

Yeah i thought of that but dind knew if that was wanted ^^. But since you are asking i gona do it.

Thanks!! I'm always interested in watching machining. Looking forward to seeing what you make

[ProCarpet]

So short update i started the prdouction the milling but i kinda failed i destroyed the keyboard ^^'. So i need to wait until another block arives. I tried to make a special program cycle to start milling in the radius but oure crappy post procesor cant handle that :S. But the programming is done and evrything ready just need to put the new block in and press start that will be done next week here some pics of what ive done so far. And also a short vid as i promissed but dont get to exited its standart milling no hsc.


here is a device i made to be able to cute the angle because i only have a 3 axis cnc on my hand.

here is a pic of the surface afther i "scrubed" it

i only used like 30% of the capability of the mill because i didnt wanted to risk anything

[Photekq]

Really looking forward to seeing this finished. I'm amazed at how fast you were able to get it milled. How come you have access to this sort of stuff?

[metalliqaz]

What's wrong with it?

[ProCarpet]

Really looking forward to seeing this finished. I'm amazed at how fast you were able to get it milled. How come you have access to this sort of stuff?

Well im a trainee as a "polytechnician/precisionmechanican" or something like that i dont know if my proffesion exists outside of europe or my country. Im working atm in the "traniee mechanic centere" and we have there a few milling, drilling, spinning etc machines. So i aksed my boss if im allowed to do that and he agreed, the company even pays the alu.

[ProCarpet]

What's wrong with it?

right there

[metalliqaz]

oh i see.  too bad

[ProCarpet]

..

[ProCarpet]

Poke  Updatet the Post 05.05.14

[CPTBadAss]

I DEMAND MACHINING PORN. Please take videos or pictures of you machining with a Mill/CNC machine

That video made me happy . What do you think you're going to do with the case that's messed up?

[YoungMichael88]

Ohhh! Bummer! She broke!

[ProCarpet]

I DEMAND MACHINING PORN. Please take videos or pictures of you machining with a Mill/CNC machine

That video made me happy . What do you think you're going to do with the case that's messed up?

Dunno i have it still lying around. If someone wants to have it he can get it. Problem is just that i has no top plate and no pcb jet. The PCB just would cost something is not free fro me either ^^.

And if i get the chance i may can record the Lasercutting for you.

[ProCarpet]

Ohhh! Bummer! She broke!

Yeah but i mad another one

[ProCarpet]

I finaly finished milling the case and the top evrything fits together nicely Im sending it in today to get "blasted with plasticballs" and geting color anodised. The anodiseing should take about 2-3weeks they have summerholliday :/
Ill use this time to finish my Pcb about which i will creat a seperate toppic. The pcb is on a good way and nearly done so this wont take long.
The doubleshot abs keycaps which ive bought on massdrop should arrivealso this week. Cherry stabilizers are also orderd in the GB. Then i finaly can put all together and start Programming ^^.

Here some Millingvids because i know u like it.
Also a pic form me while cutting the M2.5 to mount the pcb.

[bueller]

Beautiful work, gotta try and track down a CNC place locally because I know we have a ton of metalwork shops in town. One of the benefits of having a big mining industry in Australia!

[ProCarpet]

So got it back from anodizing ^^
It looks realy good now i just need to finish the pcb and relaser the backplate.

[ProCarpet]

So i have just orderd my pcb and noticed that i forgot to properly connect one GND pad of the MC to GND.
I dont know will it still work or did i just wasted my money? Here is a link to the whole pcbhttps://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=61203.0

[VanGhost]

Dude this thread is awesome, keep it up.

[neverused]

You can just use a thin wire to reroute it

[TobiasFB]

This i such an awesome project, keep it up.

[ProCarpet]

So today i recieved the PCB i ordered. Everything is fine just the holes arent all drilled every hole in the center of the switch is closed and the one for the usb b port. I dont know how this happend since i sent them correct data i even reopened the step file in solid works to make sure the holes are there. The holes aper alos in altium. Im gona complain about this to the manufacturere ofc. Anybody an idea what happend?

[regack]

I don't know anything about Altium, but Wilba certainly does.  It may not have anything to do with that, however.  The only time I had something like this happen, it was all of the non-plated through-holes that were not drilled;  There was was a separate drill file for those, and the PCB place was expecting just 1 drill file, instead of two.  I see all of the plated holes and the mechanical mounting holes are done, however, so I really don't know.   Good luck!

[Parak]

Double check your NC drill gerber file if it shows a drill in that area. If it shows up, it doesn't matter if it was supposed to be in a separate nonplated file, it would have been at least drilled and plated. Also, combined drill files are perfectly normal, though separate ones for non-plated sometimes help when a fab is confused. Usually if drill is equal to copper size, it is assumed to be a non plated through hole.

Always double and triple check your gerbers in something like gerbv or pentalogix viewmate, and pay attention to Altium warnings and errors. Those generally are always due to some violation of the rules, which you should edit at the start to be project specific.

[Parak]

Oh, and for the missing connection, you can carefully solder some small gauge wire to it, like a magnet wire, after you put the MCU on. Connect the other end to some exposed piece of the GND net. But yeah, did I mention obeying the DRC?

[Wilba]

I don't know anything about Altium, but Wilba certainly does.  It may not have anything to do with that, however.  The only time I had something like this happen, it was all of the non-plated through-holes that were not drilled;  There was was a separate drill file for those, and the PCB place was expecting just 1 drill file, instead of two.  I see all of the plated holes and the mechanical mounting holes are done, however, so I really don't know.   Good luck!

It might be a mistake in the footprint... perhaps you used a pad on the Keepout layer with a drill hole, which I think Altium doesn't like (from memory it even disables the hole size/shape when the pad is on certain layers, but I don't know if this means they don't get exported to NC Drill files).

In Altium, run the CAMtastic tool and load up all the Gerbers/NC Drill files and see whether the holes are present.

[Wilba]

via PM:

I have ordered a PCB and it came without some holes drilled that are clearly there in altium and in solid works (step file). Some holes are drilled and some not, the ones i placed directly on the pcb where drilled but the others that are in the footprint of the cherry mx switch where not. I made both the same way: i created a circle and then made a polygon out of it and selected board cutout. I did this in on the pcb directly and in the footprint.

It's possible your problem is due to board cutouts inside a footprint not appearing in the NC files, even though they may have been visible in the STEP file.

It's not a recommended way of doing mount holes, it's certainly impractical if you want to change the size of them. For footprints like a Cherry MX, I use a Multilayer pad with the pad size equal to the hole size, give them a pin ID of 0, so they don't get associated with the electrical pins of that footprint. Thus there will be copper on the top/bottom layers, but it gets drilled out completely, and there is also an automatically produced hole in the solder mask layers. The "Plated" checkbox is unchecked.

For PCB mount holes, I create a footprint which combines a pad like this, sometimes with an overlapping pad (without hole!) on the Keepout layer, or an overlapping polygon cutout, so I can have more of a "hole" in the copper layers, so standoffs don't touch copper. To avoid the component being removed off the PCB during reconciliation with the schem, set the component's Component Type to "Mechanical" instead of "Standard".

For board outline and internal cutouts, I use the Mechanical 1 layer, I draw it up with line/arc primitives, select them all and then do Board Shape->Define from selected objects.
This defines the board shape in Altium, but the Mechanical 1 layer is generated into a Gerber file and that is what the fab can use for routing, if they don't want to use the routing in the NC Drill files.

You got lucky, you can still get this PCB to work by manually drilling those holes

[ProCarpet]

via PM:

I have ordered a PCB and it came without some holes drilled that are clearly there in altium and in solid works (step file). Some holes are drilled and some not, the ones i placed directly on the pcb where drilled but the others that are in the footprint of the cherry mx switch where not. I made both the same way: i created a circle and then made a polygon out of it and selected board cutout. I did this in on the pcb directly and in the footprint.

It's possible your problem is due to board cutouts inside a footprint not appearing in the NC files, even though they may have been visible in the STEP file.

It's not a recommended way of doing mount holes, it's certainly impractical if you want to change the size of them. For footprints like a Cherry MX, I use a Multilayer pad with the pad size equal to the hole size, give them a pin ID of 0, so they don't get associated with the electrical pins of that footprint. Thus there will be copper on the top/bottom layers, but it gets drilled out completely, and there is also an automatically produced hole in the solder mask layers. The "Plated" checkbox is unchecked.

For PCB mount holes, I create a footprint which combines a pad like this, sometimes with an overlapping pad (without hole!) on the Keepout layer, or an overlapping polygon cutout, so I can have more of a "hole" in the copper layers, so standoffs don't touch copper. To avoid the component being removed off the PCB during reconciliation with the schem, set the component's Component Type to "Mechanical" instead of "Standard".

For board outline and internal cutouts, I use the Mechanical 1 layer, I draw it up with line/arc primitives, select them all and then do Board Shape->Define from selected objects.
This defines the board shape in Altium, but the Mechanical 1 layer is generated into a Gerber file and that is what the fab can use for routing, if they don't want to use the routing in the NC Drill files.

You got lucky, you can still get this PCB to work by manually drilling those holes

So i tried what you said i checked the gerber files and the holes where drilled there as in screenshot then i went on and used the CAMtastic tool and opended the NC drill files. Suprisingly the holes where not there -.-
I'm goint to try to negotiate with the manufacturer if the can do something for me but i dont think this is gona happen since fault is on my side
As said im very new to electical design n pcb stuff so i didnt know about that option and didnt check probably (wont make that misstake again). It looks like i gona have some funn drilling holes yay :S \w/ (i mostlikely gona use a small HSS mill to not aply pressure on the pcb eventhough im screwing it onto a metal plate and position it over 2 pins that are inline with a milled surface in order to adjuste the vice on the table.

So for notice manufacutrer dont look at the gerber or step files for drilling holes? And if so for what do they even need step files?

Thank you guys for your kind help ^^

Here screenshot of ncdrill in camtastic:

And one of gerberfiles in gerbv:

[Parak]

PCB fabs generally do not need step files, only gerbers. Your drills are defined specifically in the NC (excellon) drill gerber file, and it's that one that you want to make sure has the correct drill placement and sizes. In your gerbv screenshot I see that there's just an empty hole where the drill placement is supposed to be, but it doesn't work that way - you need an actual drill layer size indicator there, instead of nothingness.

[billnye]

This is fantastic! +1 for sticking with the project.

I hope it turns out well

[ProCarpet]

So i milled the holes on wednesday and i managed pretty well.
First i took a metal plate and mounted onto a drilling machine (2 linear movment) adjusted the plate on the table and tightened it. Then i took 0 on a corner and drilled 3 holes which i made 5.99mm.
Then i mashed in 3pins these are used to make sure the pcb is placed correctly on it. Next step was it to drill threads for the mounting holes. Then i realized that im stupid and missplaced the pins :/ because i didnt take the right distance for it for what reason ever cant relay explain this myself(i was realy close to give up at this point and just order a new one, but then i had an idea and the spark catched on).
So i took a flex and cut them off since they where so tight i couldnt pull them out.
then i made the plate even again with a special grindstone.
Now then i proceeded and put new in in the correct place. After that was done i was finally able to mount the PCB to the metal plate.
For the holes i made a sketch to easily drill them all. I used a small 4mm HM mill in order to put less force on the plate. Then i noticed that the right shift key wasnt placed correctly -.- i somehow moved him in altium it seems and i dint double check all only like 10% (yeah i know i worked pretty slopy learned  from it -.-) . To fix this i milled the hole in the correct spot and drilled the small 1mm and 1.5mm hole manually.

Plate with pins in it first try

Flexing off the pins

cutting the threads manually because they are small 2.5mm

PCB mounted to plate

Holes milled

Finished PCB


Now i come to you with a question^^
I milled the holes for the misplaced footprint trough the gnd layer and it obv now has contact so i cant solder in the switch. I thought of adding a thin layer of coating but i have 0 idea what kind of coating i could use does someone have an idea?

Thank you for reading this far 
 
Ps side note: The next 2 weeks i wont have time to work on the project since i have practical finals ^^  and after that only limited time since then i have theoretical finals. 

[regack]

Finished PCB

Show Image

Now i come to you with a question^^
I milled the holes for the misplaced footprint trough the gnd layer and it obv now has contact so i cant solder in the switch. I thought of adding a thin layer of coating but i have 0 idea what kind of coating i could use does someone have an idea?

Was it just the big center post on the bottom of the switch which you had to drill out the holes for?  If it was just that, then you shouldn't have to worry about anything since it's non conductive. 

[ProCarpet]

Finished PCB

Show Image

Now i come to you with a question^^
I milled the holes for the misplaced footprint trough the gnd layer and it obv now has contact so i cant solder in the switch. I thought of adding a thin layer of coating but i have 0 idea what kind of coating i could use does someone have an idea?

Was it just the big center post on the bottom of the switch which you had to drill out the holes for?  If it was just that, then you shouldn't have to worry about anything since it's non conductive.

Yeah i know but sadly the whole footprint was misplaced so i had to redrill all holes not just the center one

[berserkfan]

Well im a trainee as a "polytechnician/precisionmechanican" or something like that i dont know if my proffesion exists outside of europe or my country. Im working atm in the "traniee mechanic centere"
[/quote]

I get the impression you're German, seeing that you are in a technical vocation, have a job description not found elsewhere, and it sticks words together to form longer words... 

[Dihedral]

This looks great! Looking forward to seeing the result.

[ProCarpet]

Well im a trainee as a "polytechnician/precisionmechanican" or something like that i dont know if my proffesion exists outside of europe or my country. Im working atm in the "traniee mechanic centere"

I get the impression you're German, seeing that you are in a technical vocation, have a job description not found elsewhere, and it sticks words together to form longer words... 
[/quote]

Im swiss ^^ Polymechaniker/Polytechnican is kinda the same thing as a Inudstriemechaniker/Industrymechanic in germany. Its kinda compareable to a CNC mechanic but wider depends on where in your factory you spend your last year this is then kinda your specialization. Im finishing in CNC tool production with milling grinding and hardening. 

[berserkfan]

And you're a Hellsing fan too, I'll care to add. You started with the ten part OVA anime rather than the manga or the 13 episode anime. Just guessing the odds.

Hurry hurry hurry! Let's get started; I just can't wait!

[metalliqaz]

This is a great thread.  I wish I had access to machines like those 

[ProCarpet]

Thank you for your help it was indeed a fail of mine. I used a layer to make the cutout which wasnt generated in the nc drill files. :/ Im going to order a new PC next week do you have any reccomondation for the J-tag should i just solder in some pins and then sodler my programmer thing to it?

And utermost importatnt! ive cut sofar 4 different Backplates which all suck 
Im using costar stabs and they jam so the key gets stuck in the lowest position eventhough the measurements are correct?`anybody has a solution to this because this is realy frustrating to alsways go cut backplates and everytime its non functional any ideas?

[Thumper_]

This is so awesome! How much does the block you CNCD costed?

[rm-rf]

now i need a big slab of aluminum

[Evo_Spec]

I DEMAND MACHINING PORN. Please take videos or pictures of you machining with a Mill/CNC machine

That video made me happy . What do you think you're going to do with the case that's messed up?

Dunno i have it still lying around. If someone wants to have it he can get it. Problem is just that i has no top plate and no pcb jet. The PCB just would cost something is not free fro me either ^^.

And if i get the chance i may can record the Lasercutting for you.

Is this still laying around? Did you end up doing something with it?
I would love to get this if possible, would be awesome if you happen to have the other parts too but who has stuff like that laying around right?

This board is awesome by the way, I'm not sure how I missed this thread for so long.

[ProCarpet]

This is so awesome! How much does the block you CNCD costed?

60CHFr with delivery mat EN AW 5083 its pretty good for the price and for a 500x1000x1.5 en aw 6083 plate with laserfoil u pay around 40Chfr

[ProCarpet]

So i've finaly finished my Keyboard, only took me like 3years ^^.
Recently i had some time on my hand and decided that it was time to finally finish my project. So i got up my lazy ass sanded down the inserts and made little adjustments to the backplate before sending them in to get anodized. Then i ordered a Teensy, since my chip on the pcb didn't respond. Redesigned the matrix to make it easier to program. After that i used the TMK-Firmware to program the teensy, (a big thank to matt3o

More

https://deskthority.net/workshop-f7/how-to-build-your-very-own-keyboard-firmware-t7177.html

for the awesome deskthority tutorial and also to hasu and a-c without their help I’d be stuck at programming the teensy. After i gathered everything and started to modify the pcb to the new matrix, continuing with soldering in some switches. I then hocked up the teensy and noticed that the diodes where in reverse. I desolderet them switched the diodes and everything worked. Next i built everything together, glued the teens on the back of the board and spent a whooping 15h to solder 15m of wire wrap cable to the back of the PCB. Its a mess but hey it works.
The struggle however doesn't end here. All modifier keys felt sticky whit enter almost not moving any more. The costar stabs where grinding because on their front part they were not correctly clipping to the backplate i grinded that grove on the front until they clipped in right and had almost no stickynes to them any more. They still do, if anyone knows something to loosen them up more let me know. (They feel nice and are perfectly usable mabey that is just how costar behave i haven't had any before.)

Specs:
Case: 2Parts CNC milled aluminium EN-AW 5083 (better colour anodizing ability) perl-blasted afterwards and anodized
Inserts: Laser  cut aluminium sheet EN-AW 6082 perl-blasted afterwards and anodized
Backplate: Laser  cut aluminium sheet EN-AW 6082 anodized but not perl-blasted because it shines better trough with the polished finish still on. Also it might bend in the process.
PCB: Designed by me and made by Würth nothing special here.
Keys: Mx-Blacks (mabey Vintage ?¿ i got them second hand from a German private vendor)
Key caps: The cheapo ABS double shots that you sometimes can get on massdrop.
Wrist rest: Noko's beautiful work.

So here are some pics / Razor why dont you make all black mouse mats

More

Album link: http://imgur.com/a/SQYr0
Ps: i don't know if you want to see it, but i've found some CNC milling vids on my old phone (more exiting ones than above). Let me know if i should post them.

[trenzafeeds]

****ing amazing dude, congratulations. The board looks really, really damn good. The contrasting colors really pop, and they're a good combination. Have you perhaps considered trying to track down a sanctuary keyset from SP? that set is the same colors as your board, and it would look really awesome I think. really really nice work!

[ProCarpet]

****ing amazing dude, congratulations. The board looks really, really damn good. The contrasting colors really pop, and they're a good combination. Have you perhaps considered trying to track down a sanctuary keyset from SP? that set is the same colors as your board, and it would look really awesome I think. really really nice work!

Thanks and that is realy nice set and would go along nicely with the colours i'll look out for one. Do you know if ther will eventually be another drop