Author Topic: Custom Topre Caps (Read 10220 times)

nubbinator · « **on:** Mon, 24 October 2016, 20:58:52 »

It's been a while since I've posted anything in here, but this is my latest project.

I've been wanting a stepped Control key for my HHKB for a while, not necessarily for utility's sake, but for aesthetics and ****s and giggles. I figured I might as well make a WASD cluster and Enter key while I was at it.

With a lot of patience, calipers, Autodesk 123D Design, and 3DHub (PM me if you want a referral link that gets you a $10 discount for your first purchase), I cranked out these:

I had a couple of goals in mind when I made them. I wanted to make them as thick as possible, so they're almost twice as thick as standard caps and I wanted them to snap fit, which they do. It took them a fair bit of sanding and finishing to get them to where they are from the caps full of striation lines.

I still have to mold and cast them, but I'm stoked on how the masters came out.

skcheng · « **Reply #1 on:** Mon, 24 October 2016, 21:04:40 »

Awesome looking caps!!!

widdlekitty · « **Reply #2 on:** Mon, 24 October 2016, 21:55:40 »

Quote from: nubbinator on Mon, 24 October 2016, 20:58:52

It's been a while since I've posted anything in here, but this is my latest project.

I've been wanting a stepped Control key for my HHKB for a while, not necessarily for utility's sake, but for aesthetics and ****s and giggles. I figured I might as well make a WASD cluster and Enter key while I was at it.

With a lot of patience, calipers, Autodesk 123D Design, and 3DHub (PM me if you want a referral link that gets you a $10 discount for your first purchase), I cranked out these:

Show Image

Show Image

Show Image

Show Image

I had a couple of goals in mind when I made them. I wanted to make them as thick as possible, so they're almost twice as thick as standard caps and I wanted them to snap fit, which they do. It took them a fair bit of sanding and finishing to get them to where they are from the caps full of striation lines.

I still have to mold and cast them, but I'm stoked on how the masters came out.

Quote from: nubbinator on Mon, 24 October 2016, 20:58:52

It's been a while since I've posted anything in here, but this is my latest project.

I've been wanting a stepped Control key for my HHKB for a while, not necessarily for utility's sake, but for aesthetics and ****s and giggles. I figured I might as well make a WASD cluster and Enter key while I was at it.

With a lot of patience, calipers, Autodesk 123D Design, and 3DHub (PM me if you want a referral link that gets you a $10 discount for your first purchase), I cranked out these:

Show Image

Show Image

Show Image

Show Image

I had a couple of goals in mind when I made them. I wanted to make them as thick as possible, so they're almost twice as thick as standard caps and I wanted them to snap fit, which they do. It took them a fair bit of sanding and finishing to get them to where they are from the caps full of striation lines.

I still have to mold and cast them, but I'm stoked on how the masters came out.

Ooh, very cool. Very thick! I'd be curious to see how such a dense cap would feel on the board.

Can't wait to see more!

Sneaky Potato · « **Reply #3 on:** Mon, 24 October 2016, 23:40:53 »

This is incredible. Very interested in these.

nubbinator · « **Reply #4 on:** Tue, 25 October 2016, 23:46:18 »

Rough first cast:

I like the texture, but it's almost too textured compared to the rest of the caps. I may do a "coarse" and "fine" textured version.

I need to rework the sprues for the Enter, hence it not being posted, and I wasn't stoked on the WASD, so I'll have to revisit them. They had a little too much play and I think the stem had a slight twist from the printing.

romevi · « **Reply #5 on:** Wed, 26 October 2016, 00:03:42 »

I'm assuming this is for those who don't (properly) use full-touch left Control.

nubbinator · « **Reply #6 on:** Wed, 26 October 2016, 00:06:29 »

Quote from: romevi on Wed, 26 October 2016, 00:03:42

I'm assuming this is for those who don't (properly) use full-touch left Control.

Quote from: nubbinator on Mon, 24 October 2016, 20:58:52

I've been wanting a stepped Control key for my HHKB for a while, not necessarily for utility's sake, but for aesthetics and ****s and giggles.

romevi · « **Reply #7 on:** Wed, 26 October 2016, 00:09:38 »

Knock and the door will be opened...

Badwrench · « **Reply #8 on:** Wed, 26 October 2016, 11:43:52 »

I am so in on this. Love the look of a stepped caps (control).

Sent from my LG-H811 using Tapatalk

ReverbSlush · « **Reply #9 on:** Wed, 26 October 2016, 11:46:57 »

Stepped topre goodness... we live in the future

iamtootallforthis · « **Reply #10 on:** Wed, 26 October 2016, 11:56:51 »

Love the stepped control key! I would be interested in getting my hands on one or two of them.

romevi · « **Reply #11 on:** Wed, 26 October 2016, 12:01:40 »

Stop it, you zealots.

kenmai9 · « **Reply #12 on:** Wed, 26 October 2016, 12:16:26 »

Quote from: romevi on Wed, 26 October 2016, 12:01:40

Stop it, you zealots.

I too use Stepped Control key.

Would also be interested, nubbers.

Bromono · « **Reply #13 on:** Wed, 26 October 2016, 12:30:06 »

I like this a lot.

How is the WASD profile compared to the stock caps?

nubbinator · « **Reply #14 on:** Wed, 26 October 2016, 13:23:20 »

Quote from: Bromono on Wed, 26 October 2016, 12:30:06

I like this a lot.

How is the WASD profile compared to the stock caps?

It's pretty close, but the stems had a little too much play (they could twist a bit) on the cast, so I think I need to make some adjustments or use a different printer. They were done on a Form 1 and I'm not entirely sure the printer knew how to use it, especially since my first batch had some major warping issues.

I'll probably do a small stepped control/caps and enter sale soon, but I really want to do a control, enter, WASD, and USB blockers set. I've got a few small tweaks I want to do to make it "perfect" (like make the back of the control a hair shorter), but it's pretty solid as is right now.

Bromono · « **Reply #15 on:** Wed, 26 October 2016, 14:03:05 »

Quote from: nubbinator on Wed, 26 October 2016, 13:23:20

Quote from: Bromono on Wed, 26 October 2016, 12:30:06
I like this a lot.

How is the WASD profile compared to the stock caps?

It's pretty close, but the stems had a little too much play (they could twist a bit) on the cast, so I think I need to make some adjustments or use a different printer. They were done on a Form 1 and I'm not entirely sure the printer knew how to use it, especially since my first batch had some major warping issues.

I'll probably do a small stepped control/caps and enter sale soon, but I really want to do a control, enter, WASD, and USB blockers set. I've got a few small tweaks I want to do to make it "perfect" (like make the back of the control a hair shorter), but it's pretty solid as is right now.

I forgot you did USB blockers.

Are you saying you are going to cast that in resin with the same colors?

You actualy made a resin cast for that o.o

dgneo · « **Reply #16 on:** Wed, 26 October 2016, 14:04:47 »

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

This is so dope, would LOVE a stepped CTRL for HHKB

nubbinator · « **Reply #17 on:** Wed, 26 October 2016, 14:48:16 »

Quote from: Bromono on Wed, 26 October 2016, 14:03:05

I forgot you did USB blockers.

Are you saying you are going to cast that in resin with the same colors?

You actualy made a resin cast for that o.o

The plan is to do matched sets. I'll probably put them out in small batches in phases as I still need to tweak the blockers.

funderburker · « **Reply #18 on:** Wed, 26 October 2016, 14:50:38 »

Wow, can't wait for more pictures. Keep up the good work.

The Caps Lock original is 3D printed, right?

nubbinator · « **Reply #19 on:** Wed, 26 October 2016, 15:08:12 »

Quote from: funderburker on Wed, 26 October 2016, 14:50:38

Wow, can't wait for more pictures. Keep up the good work. The Caps Lock original is 3D printed, right?

It's printed with a lot of finish work to smooth it out and then add texture.

Halverson · « **Reply #20 on:** Wed, 26 October 2016, 16:44:26 »

Nubs, you so badass. Way awesome

Puddsy · « **Reply #21 on:** Wed, 26 October 2016, 16:58:03 »

How long did it take you to make these, start to finish?

nubbinator · « **Reply #22 on:** Wed, 26 October 2016, 19:55:57 »

Even though the Control isn't perfect (the cant is a little forward instead of back), would anyone want one in the current shape or do people want to wait for the more refined one to come out?

Quote from: Bromono on Wed, 26 October 2016, 12:30:06

How is the WASD profile compared to the stock caps?

Just eyeballed them again when I got home, it's almost identical. Same with the Enter key. The Control is a little off on the backside (a little too tall) and I need to adjust it a little to make it perfect. I tried to match the standard Topre profile as closely as possible and I got pretty damn close. It wasn't easy since I had to use calipers that are in millimeters/inches, but I have to convert any fraction of a mm from inches to mm.

The friction fit WASD caps don't have any wiggle issue, so I think I found my problem and how to fix it.

Quote from: TacticalStache on Wed, 26 October 2016, 16:58:03

How long did it take you to make these, start to finish?

I couldn't tell you since I have no clue how long the modeling took me. I know that the finishing took a couple of hours since I sanded down to 1500 grit (kind of unnecessary) to get nice and smooth and remove any lines. Then I hit them with several coats of matte finish. After that, I masked off rejects and experimented with different means of texturizing and how adding finish on top of the texture affected the look and feel. Then I finally did the first set of test casts.

Badwrench · « **Reply #23 on:** Wed, 26 October 2016, 20:03:15 »

Quote from: nubbinator on Wed, 26 October 2016, 14:48:16

Quote from: Bromono on Wed, 26 October 2016, 14:03:05
I forgot you did USB blockers.

Are you saying you are going to cast that in resin with the same colors?

You actualy made a resin cast for that o.o

The plan is to do matched sets. I'll probably put them out in small batches in phases as I still need to tweak the blockers.

This is so awesome. Please tell me you will be doing them in your color palette.

Sent from my LG-H811 using Tapatalk

rowdy · « **Reply #24 on:** Wed, 26 October 2016, 20:35:15 »

It's certainly a step in the right direction!

romevi · « **Reply #25 on:** Wed, 26 October 2016, 20:41:29 »

Quote from: rowdy on Wed, 26 October 2016, 20:35:15

It's certainly a step in the right direction!

Bromono · « **Reply #26 on:** Wed, 26 October 2016, 21:00:00 »

Quote from: nubbinator on Wed, 26 October 2016, 19:55:57

Even though the Control isn't perfect (the cant is a little forward instead of back), would anyone want one in the current shape or do people want to wait for the more refined one to come out?

Quote from: Bromono on Wed, 26 October 2016, 12:30:06
How is the WASD profile compared to the stock caps?

Just eyeballed them again when I got home, it's almost identical. Same with the Enter key. The Control is a little off on the backside (a little too tall) and I need to adjust it a little to make it perfect. I tried to match the standard Topre profile as closely as possible and I got pretty damn close. It wasn't easy since I had to use calipers that are in millimeters/inches, but I have to convert any fraction of a mm from inches to mm.

The friction fit WASD caps don't have any wiggle issue, so I think I found my problem and how to fix it.

Quote from: TacticalStache on Wed, 26 October 2016, 16:58:03
How long did it take you to make these, start to finish?

I couldn't tell you since I have no clue how long the modeling took me. I know that the finishing took a couple of hours since I sanded down to 1500 grit (kind of unnecessary) to get nice and smooth and remove any lines. Then I hit them with several coats of matte finish. After that, I masked off rejects and experimented with different means of texturizing and how adding finish on top of the texture affected the look and feel. Then I finally did the first set of test casts.

Great news! Do you have a picture of the underside of one of the wasd ones?

nubbinator · « **Reply #27 on:** Wed, 26 October 2016, 21:30:24 »

I just re-measured and now I remember why I made the back taller on the control. If I go the "proper" height, the resin on the stepped portion would only be .5mm in parts, which is far too thin. I'll get it out to a few people and see feedback on it and decide if it's good to go as is or if I need to re-model it and figure something new out.

Quote from: Badwrench on Wed, 26 October 2016, 20:03:15

This is so awesome. Please tell me you will be doing them in your color palette.

That's the plan.

Quote from: Bromono on Wed, 26 October 2016, 21:00:00

Great news! Do you have a picture of the underside of one of the wasd ones?

Here's a side by side. It's kind of hard to tell but the Topre cap is 0.035" thick and mine is 0.060" thick. I may be able to get to 0.070", but it'd run the risk of rubbing the housing or not having enough room between caps to pull them.

And here's a profile comparison:

Halverson · « **Reply #28 on:** Wed, 26 October 2016, 21:31:08 »

Can you cast some to match my HOs?

nubbinator · « **Reply #29 on:** Wed, 26 October 2016, 21:33:10 »

Quote from: Halverson on Wed, 26 October 2016, 21:31:08

Can you cast some to match my HOs?

I can always try. I may need a HO for reference.

romevi · « **Reply #30 on:** Wed, 26 October 2016, 21:46:52 »

I do love that juicy thickness, however.

Halverson · « **Reply #31 on:** Wed, 26 October 2016, 21:56:03 »

Quote from: nubbinator on Wed, 26 October 2016, 21:33:10

Quote from: Halverson on Wed, 26 October 2016, 21:31:08
Can you cast some to match my HOs?

I can always try. I may need a HO for reference.

Why do I gotta live so far away

Bromono · « **Reply #32 on:** Thu, 27 October 2016, 06:19:49 »

That is plenty thick.

How do the grooves feel. Is it similar feeling to GMK's scooped keys?

None the less, I love how they look.

Have you ever thought of doing the home arrow keys on the hhkb?

nubbinator · « **Reply #33 on:** Thu, 27 October 2016, 09:12:06 »

They're a little more pronounced than GMK, but not uncomfortable. I wanted something your fingers could find and fall into and be cupped just a little so they wouldn't slip of if you were gaming.

I was actually debating doing that and doing control/enter and WASD/arrow kits instead of a mega kit.

absyrd · « **Reply #34 on:** Thu, 27 October 2016, 09:36:47 »

I can rest my lil pinky in that recessed part of the stepped ctrl. Hook it up. Good ****.

xtrafrood · « **Reply #35 on:** Thu, 27 October 2016, 10:28:57 »

Looks pretty good. Can't wait to see more of your work

atlas3686 · « **Reply #36 on:** Sun, 06 November 2016, 16:51:52 »

Looks so cool, what a great idea, can't wait to see more. Would love to help you test but I might be a bit far away for it to be worth while.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Bromono · « **Reply #37 on:** Thu, 01 December 2016, 07:35:07 »

Please tell me this is still happening.

funderburker · « **Reply #38 on:** Thu, 01 December 2016, 13:42:47 »

Yeah, are you thinking about making a sale for this maybe?

romevi · « **Reply #39 on:** Mon, 19 December 2016, 23:03:32 »

Seeing the colors these have been cranked out as makes me hot for a sale. For those that have them: Have you tried posting them upside-down? I know you can't do that with regular stepped keys, but since this is center-stemmed it'd be interesting to see how it would look upside-down; I'd imagine it'd appear quite jarring, what with the reversed profile, but wonder how it would affect tactility.

atlas3686 · « **Reply #40 on:** Thu, 02 March 2017, 01:52:34 »

Anymore news on these nubs? I need some stepped control in my life

nubbinator · « **Reply #41 on:** Mon, 31 July 2017, 20:25:16 »

Quote from: atlas3686 on Thu, 02 March 2017, 01:52:34

Anymore news on these nubs? I need some stepped control in my life

I took a break from GH. Looks like someone took the work I did and ran with it though. I do have a V2 I have to make a mold of, but I'm not sure if I'm going to move forward with it.

Elth · « **Reply #42 on:** Tue, 01 August 2017, 12:47:42 »

Quote from: nubbinator on Mon, 31 July 2017, 20:25:16

Quote from: atlas3686 on Thu, 02 March 2017, 01:52:34
Anymore news on these nubs? I need some stepped control in my life

I took a break from GH. Looks like someone took the work I did and ran with it though. I do have a V2 I have to make a mold of, but I'm not sure if I'm going to move forward with it.

Well that somewhat answers my question that I PM'd you some time last week

News:

Author Topic: Custom Topre Caps (Read 10220 times)