Customize your keycaps, at home!

[garage_logician]

I am not sure if the glowforge works with keycaps, but I can't see why it would not.  You should be able to make plates on demand too.  The uses for this are endless!

http://glowforge.com/

Glowforge is a desktop 3d laser printer.

(guess it would help if I included the url!)

[njbair]

Wow, $2K isn't that bad, really. But I'm old enough nowadays that I never buy the first anything. Let others work out the bugs for me, and buy it cheaper in a few years.

[Wuzadi]

Wow this is pretty neat. I have literally no experience in 3d printing, but want to eventually learn one of these days.

[blueangel2323]

It's basically just a CNC router, except it uses a laser instead of a spindle and it's smarter (automatically recognizes materials). The price isn't bad, but I bet the resolution/accuracy is nowhere near a good CNC mill.

It is not a 3D printer in that it uses a subtractive method (carving the shape out of a larger block of material).

I'd be curious to know how it actually performs though. The user friendliness and "smart" aspect of it is very promising. CNC mills are not user friendly and have a pretty steep learning curve.

[Niomosy]

A subtractive method might work for one off artisan style novelties but yeah, you wouldn't be working on an entire set via this tool.  I'm also questioning the accuracy versus a good CNC mill.  I'm sure they can make one that's as accurate but not sure that this is such a unit.

I'm waiting to see how 3d printers improve in the coming years.  Perhaps in the future, I'll just be able to print out whatever set I want.

[blueangel2323]

SLA printers like the Form Labs ones are pretty good. The pricing is still too high for mainstream though ($3500). I don't know how well the regular resin would fair as a keycap material, and the tough resin is limited to just one colour right now.

[Ralph Furley]

The appeal to emotion and Apple aesthetic of the promotional video, and the product itself, elicit hot panic that I am getting ripped off just by watching. Not that drawing more attention to your MacBook, engraving design into California Rolls or making Williamsburg chic Etsy trinkets isn't the salvation of humanity.

I'll never be able to design with 3D Printers or CNC Mills until there's an interface in Photoshop. So ... I'm just jealous.

[Oobly]

This is a laser cutter / engraver, it's not a 3D printer. It cannot be used to make keycaps, but it could be used to laser etch legends on blanks. The best use I can think of for keyboard enthusiasts is to cut wood or acrylic parts for plates and cases, but it's limited to relatively thin sections. Can't cut metal.

As I've said before, a good CNC router can make far more (and far more useful) objects for keyboards.

[Niomosy]

This is a laser cutter / engraver, it's not a 3D printer. It cannot be used to make keycaps, but it could be used to laser etch legends on blanks. The best use I can think of for keyboard enthusiasts is to cut wood or acrylic parts for plates and cases, but it's limited to relatively thin sections. Can't cut metal.

As I've said before, a good CNC router can make far more (and far more useful) objects for keyboards.

It's basically a CNC router alternative.  You could make keycaps via this.  You'd be starting with a block and removing plastic / metal / wood until what remained was a cap.  That is, assuming it can cut fine enough to handle Cherry switch compatible stems.

If it can at least handle aluminum, you might also be able to create keycap molds with this.  Though I'm not sure how well it can handle metal.

[Oobly]

This is a laser cutter / engraver, it's not a 3D printer. It cannot be used to make keycaps, but it could be used to laser etch legends on blanks. The best use I can think of for keyboard enthusiasts is to cut wood or acrylic parts for plates and cases, but it's limited to relatively thin sections. Can't cut metal.

As I've said before, a good CNC router can make far more (and far more useful) objects for keyboards.

It's basically a CNC router alternative.  You could make keycaps via this.  You'd be starting with a block and removing plastic / metal / wood until what remained was a cap.  That is, assuming it can cut fine enough to handle Cherry switch compatible stems.

If it can at least handle aluminum, you might also be able to create keycap molds with this.  Though I'm not sure how well it can handle metal.

Well, no, not really. It's only got 2 axes, so you can use it to cut 2D shapes or engrave. It can be used to "engrave" away material to make a semi-3D shape, but it's not designed for that and it would not be accurate and would take a LONG time and many, many passes to do. It can't cut metal, but it can engrave onto the surface of aluminium.

It's a laser cutter / engraver, nothing more. It can be used to cut acrylic or wood plates and case parts up to 6mm thick. They're trying to take advantage of the buzz around 3D printing and using the words "3D" and "printer" to sell more, but it's not a 3D printer.

[Niomosy]

Oh I fully agree it's not a 3d printer.  A 3d printer is an additive method, this is clearly subtractive.

I hadn't given a full read on what this thing can handle so it seems like an eh product given the limitations on it.  I don't see myself having much use for it.  A CNC router would be much more useful here.  A 3d printer much more useful for lots of other things.

[Kad]

There are pros and cons for both CNC and 3D Printers. CNC is slightly more wasteful assuming you don't make use of the waste plastic thats shaved off but I would assume the edges of the caps look a bit better than 3D printed caps which have most often that kind of layered look and texture which ruins the look.

[Kola93]

The material that 3D printers use probably wouldn't be the best feeling material for keycaps, but it is a very cool idea.