MX to Alps adaptor

[nubbinator]

Back when I made some angled adapters, I found it cheaper if I linked all the parts with a very thin link, so that it was considered a single part. Then they could be cut apart on arrival. I'm not sure if this is still valid since they changed their pricing model. Have you considered this?

They're slightly more expensive.  I just tried it out.

[engicoder]

Good to know. I re-quoted mine with want without the connections and it comes out as you said, slightly higher for the connected model (but cheaper than I paid early last year), so it looks like they fixed their pricing, for the better.

[nubbinator]

I got my Alps revisions in to day and Alps are all good to go on everything.  The MX to MX are solid for Costar and Cherry stabilizers and the Alps adapters all work and the minor size reduction of 0.02mm made them perfect.

I didn't tell anyone I was working on these, but I also made some MX to old school Alps stabilizers.  They work perfect, but may need to be shortened by a hair (if it's possible).  In the following photos note that I was didn't feel like pulling the stabilizers out again since it's a tight fit, so they're not pressed in all the way.






And video of the goods in action:

[zombimuncha]

I'm thinking the Alps stab wire wont reach the insert on a MX right-shift. Other stabilized keys should all be fine.
Maybe you could compensate for narrower mount-points on the MX rShift with a specially designed inset that relocates the mountpoint horizontally as well as vertically?

(sorry I don't have a 2.75u MX keycap handy - the mountpoint positions are the same as on the MX 2.25u tho)

[dante]

Very interested to hear if these work on a KBP V60MTS.

I'm going to imagine that DSA is going to be the optimum keycap height for these?

[zombimuncha]

Based on current evidence I'm thinking they'll work great for every key on the v60mts except the right shift. I'd also love to see video of these in operation on a full keyboard, rather than just a single key.
Mainly I'm waiting for my GMK-Triumph Adler set to arrive before I splurge on a set of these.

Edit: you may just be able to bend the stab wire in a bit so it reaches the inserts on the right-shift.

[CPTBadAss]

I got my Alps revisions in to day and Alps are all good to go on everything.  The MX to MX are solid for Costar and Cherry stabilizers and the Alps adapters all work and the minor size reduction of 0.02mm made them perfect.

I didn't tell anyone I was working on these, but I also made some MX to old school Alps stabilizers.  They work perfect, but may need to be shortened by a hair (if it's possible).  In the following photos note that I was didn't feel like pulling the stabilizers out again since it's a tight fit, so they're not pressed in all the way.

Show Image

Show Image

And video of the goods in action:

Oooo these are looking good

[nubbinator]

I can look at making a special one for the right shift since I hadn't tried it yet there.  I'll also need to thicken up the walls a little and make the insert hole 0.02mm bigger or so as the frosted detail plastic can get brittle and break easily.   

[zombimuncha]

Did anyone try these out yet? I'd love to see a slightly more thorough video than the one above.

[nubbinator]

I'm actually looking about small number production with epoxy injection molds since I'm not 100% sure of the durability of the stems. 

[dante]

If you used DSA caps with this adapter what height would that be like? Cherry? OEM? SP SA?

[micr0n]

I'm kind of excited if this option works as planned.  I don't really want to source out used keycaps all the while I have tones of pretty MX keycaps I can use while they are in idle state.

[Blaise170]

I'm actually looking about small number production with epoxy injection molds since I'm not 100% sure of the durability of the stems.

Have you considered one of the cheap metals? Polished bronze steel isn't too much more than frosted ultra on Shapeways and actually cheaper on some of the models I've seen.

[nubbinator]

I'm actually looking about small number production with epoxy injection molds since I'm not 100% sure of the durability of the stems.

Have you considered one of the cheap metals? Stainless steel isn't too much more than frosted ultra on Shapeways.

Tolerances are too loose, price is too high (from what I've seen), and I seem to remember the parts being too small to print in that material.

[Blaise170]

Ah I se. I'm definitely going to keep my eye on these. Thanks for all the work nubb. 

[Texchappy]

When I asked a question over on Reddit finding out what ever happened to these someone linked the shapeways purchase portal.  As much as I've spent on a keyboard and various keycap sets I don't have a lot to spend on anything keyboard related.  These could help me solve the issue of having a few MX sets and only one Alps set.  How have they been working over the longer term?

[nubbinator]

I've only made test samples, I haven't been using them regularly, so I can't say.  I do want to try and get then injection molded in POM, but I've had no luck there.

[Scalarmotion]

Hey, I ordered a pack of adapters off shapeways (http://www.shapeways.com/product/45JMHRP2K/alps-to-mx-70-stems-5) and I'm afraid they don't fit my Matias V60.


^ a photo of a stock Matias keycap stem side by side with the adapter's Alps stem, which is noticeably larger and doesn't fit the Matias sliders. The MX side fits just fine, so I'm inclined to put this down to a design mistake rather than printing imperfections. Any chance of a fix?

[nubbinator]

What did you print them in?  It should only be the frosted detail.  I've tried them on Orange, White, Blue, and both Green Alps, so there's no reason it should not work with Matias Alps.

[Scalarmotion]

Frosted ultra detail was the only option so I don't think that's the issue. I feel like trying my luck with another batch but the $20 shipping is a bit too inhibitive for me.

[shadowdude777]

Just wanna confirm that I also printed out a set (that exact one on Shapeways) and mine are working great! Got them on my Infinity right now and I'm using DSA Granite with them. They do feel noticeably higher than DSA does without the adapters, but I usually use SA, so this is not so bad.

Pics:

From top: http://i.imgur.com/OEHEt49.jpg
From side (shows how the adapter sits): http://i.imgur.com/HeggUHY.jpg

[ipreferpie]

Just wanna confirm that I also printed out a set (that exact one on Shapeways) and mine are working great! Got them on my Infinity right now and I'm using DSA Granite with them. They do feel noticeably higher than DSA does without the adapters, but I usually use SA, so this is not so bad.

Pics:

From top: http://i.imgur.com/OEHEt49.jpg
From side (shows how the adapter sits): http://i.imgur.com/HeggUHY.jpg

I too tried it and printed out a set. But I'm quite worried about now tight the adapters are. I frequently change caps (1/wk) and worried about snapped adapter stems. I tested on some spare keys and tried removing it with my fingers. I can pull it off the switch relatively easy, but pulling it off MX caps is a problem. I needed Leatherman pliers for that -- and 50% of the time, I snapped the adapter. I then shaved the MX side and lubed it (very time consuming) and still resulted in snapped stems 1:4 times. Am I doing anything wrong?

[shadowdude777]

Just wanna confirm that I also printed out a set (that exact one on Shapeways) and mine are working great! Got them on my Infinity right now and I'm using DSA Granite with them. They do feel noticeably higher than DSA does without the adapters, but I usually use SA, so this is not so bad.

Pics:

From top: http://i.imgur.com/OEHEt49.jpg
From side (shows how the adapter sits): http://i.imgur.com/HeggUHY.jpg

I too tried it and printed out a set. But I'm quite worried about now tight the adapters are. I frequently change caps (1/wk) and worried about snapped adapter stems. I tested on some spare keys and tried removing it with my fingers. I can pull it off the switch relatively easy, but pulling it off MX caps is a problem. I needed Leatherman pliers for that -- and 50% of the time, I snapped the adapter. I then shaved the MX side and lubed it (very time consuming) and still resulted in snapped stems 1:4 times. Am I doing anything wrong?

My recommendation is honestly... don't switch your caps that often.

I was switching my Granites to the mono legends the other day and snapped a few, too, because I was trying to pry between the flange on the adapter and the keycap. Eventually I learned how to do it without snapping them but it still gets me nervous. Pulling it off the MX caps I found was easiest with small pliers, as you said (I used the ones on my Swiss Army Knife, I'm sure a Leatherman's plier will be good too). I just used it to get a firm grip on the Alps-stem part and pulled straight outwards. I never snapped one trying to pull them off like that. But still, I wouldn't do it every week or anything. I'm worried about ruining my nice Granite caps by doing this, which is why I didn't use even harder-to-find caps with these adapters!

We really need to get some of these injection-molded. Better yet, is there a way to make replacements for the Alps stem itself that fit inside the Alps switch (like Novatouch sliders do for Topre)? Then we also don't have to have the keycaps sit higher because of the adapter's added height.

[nubbinator]

We really need to get some of these injection-molded. Better yet, is there a way to make replacements for the Alps stem itself that fit inside the Alps switch (like Novatouch sliders do for Topre)? Then we also don't have to have the keycaps sit higher because of the adapter's added height.

That was the plan to do injection molding, but I don't have the money for it and I can't seem to get anyone on board.  I know there does exist a mold from way back when somewhere that did the same thing for some TTY phones, but I can't get in touch with anyone about it.

The stem replacement would not work.  It was something I considered, but the dimensions don't play well.

[ipreferpie]

We really need to get some of these injection-molded. Better yet, is there a way to make replacements for the Alps stem itself that fit inside the Alps switch (like Novatouch sliders do for Topre)? Then we also don't have to have the keycaps sit higher because of the adapter's added height.

That was the plan to do injection molding, but I don't have the money for it and I can't seem to get anyone on board.  I know there does exist a mold from way back when somewhere that did the same thing for some TTY phones, but I can't get in touch with anyone about it.

The stem replacement would not work.  It was something I considered, but the dimensions don't play well.

Injection molded adapters would be wonderful. The printed ones are so brittle and rough. It's either using them as is and risk broken stems. Or filing them down but with loose or twisted seating of the keys. I spent hours manually filing them but not with 100% satisfactory results. If there's a GB on better ones, I'm down for at least 300.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[MOZ]

Someone on DT was working on injection molded version, but haven't been online for a while.

[NadavCE]

I made an account here solely because of this thread (even though I've lurked here for a while).

I'd love to order a set of these adapters, but I need to confirm that they're compatible with Matias switches (Scalarmotion's post discouraged me a bit). Are there any Matias owners who've tried these out?

[menuhin]

I made an account here solely because of this thread (even though I've lurked here for a while).

I'd love to order a set of these adapters, but I need to confirm that they're compatible with Matias switches (Scalarmotion's post discouraged me a bit). Are there any Matias owners who've tried these out?

It seems like everyone involved in this project has been busy working on something else.

[dilbertprogrammer]

A friend of mine and I were looking at the 65-count offering of adapters on shapeways: http://www.shapeways.com/product/LPA7AYPYV/alps-to-mx-65-stems-4?optionId=56261661

Is this the latest revision of these?

Thanks!

[nubbinator]

I haven't done any new revisions.

[menuhin]

The member from the thread "Cherry to Alps adapters" at DT holding an work-in-progress adapter injection mold didn't log in since November 2015.

There are some antique injection molded adapter from the old days:

https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=49639.0

To harvest 40 adapters, one can mutilate the whole TTY Ultratec hearing impaired phone.

[dilbertprogrammer]

I haven't done any new revisions.

Thanks!  Will recommend he purchase these then!