Ergodox skin?

[Misterorjoe]

I would like to put a protective cover over my Ergodox, something similar to the keyboard skins that Typematrix has available. Has anyone done anything like this before? I would rather not just cover it in saran wrap..

[tricheboars]

what are you doing that makes you feel you need one of these?  wouldnt a skin like this change the way the board feels? what profile caps are you using? i would imagine that a skin like this would only work with OEM caps.

nothing like this exists for the ergodox that i am aware of. 

[davkol]

There's no such thing, due to non-standard vertical staggering, unusual shape of the case itself and long travel of Cherry MX switches. I'd love to have a TM2030-like skin though, because it dampens noise (especially upstroke) and prevents dust, water and snacks from entering the board... I don't type all the time.

However, special thin (PE) foils w/ a rubber band on the perimeter do exist and are meant for use with keyboards in the health-care industry. They're designed to be placed on full-size keyboards though... You'd have to make your own ghetto one (two, actually) for the ergodox.

[Misterorjoe]

what are you doing that makes you feel you need one of these?  wouldnt a skin like this change the way the board feels?

Using the Doxen in any kind of a hostile environment. Outdoors, in the food service industry, etc. And yes, it would change the feel of the board, but I would only have it on when it is absolutely needed.

There's no such thing, due to non-standard vertical staggering, unusual shape of the case itself and long travel of Cherry MX switches. I'd love to have a TM2030-like skin though, because it dampens noise (especially upstroke) and prevents dust, water and snacks from entering the board... I don't type all the time.

However, special thin (PE) foils w/ a rubber band on the perimeter do exist and are meant for use with keyboards in the health-care industry. They're designed to be placed on full-size keyboards though... You'd have to make your own ghetto one (two, actually) for the ergodox.

That sounds really good actually. I will have to look into it.

[davkol]

For the record, it usually looks like this:

[Findecanor]

Cherry MX has more key travel than TypeMatrix's scissor switches ... so I don't think it would work as well.

There have been mass-produced water-proof keyboards with Cherry MX-switches (and clones) for environments such as police cars, military etc. TG3 made one that I have seen several times on Geekhack.
These have had skins underneath the keycaps, over the switches, with holes in them for the keycaps' round stems.
The skin changes the key feel substantially. I had one such keyboard with a rubber sheet instead of plate - it had clicky switches but it felt like typing on a bad rubber dome keyboard, well.. because it did have a rubber dome for each key. The rubber skin reduced the key travel, gave it a mushy landing and delayed rebound.

Maybe you could mould rubber and cut the holes with a hole-punch or laser. The rubber sheet could be sandwiched between the plate and the top layer of a layered ErgoDox case. There are different types of rubber: silicone, urethane and latex that can all be cast at home.

... or just put each keyboard half in a plastic bag and tie the opening around the cables. That would be simpler and keep more key feel.

[davkol]

More like a food wrap.