Author Topic: Typewriter-Style Steampunk-Inspired Laser-Cut Keycaps?  (Read 2542 times)

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Offline vim_commando

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Typewriter-Style Steampunk-Inspired Laser-Cut Keycaps?
« on: Sun, 09 April 2017, 13:22:20 »
Yeah, so my wife and I bought a laser cutter a couple months ago and I've had an idea rolling around in my head... laser cut keycaps! I searched around and I only found the ones Moz made a few years back.

I think mine came out looking pretty good. It has taken several prototypes and a lot of tweaking to get to this point, but the end results are worth it  :D

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Here are some Victorian-era engravings in silver and gold. Poker keycaps anyone? The watch has a bronze border instead of gold.

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I always see WASD clusters, but as an avid Vim user, I couldn't help myself. I needed an HJKL cluster.  :cool:

I threw on some danger symbol modifiers for fun.

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Ok, ok, I made some WASD clusters too. Here is one in gold and bronze.

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These should fit most MX-compatible keys. Laser cutting the stems makes it a little tricky to keep the tolerances just right so the caps both fit and stay secure.

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Moving a little away from the steampunk feel, WASD in silver and blue.


I've got more ideas running around in my head, and unrestricted access to a laser, so I'm certifiably dangerous  :))

Let me know what you think!
« Last Edit: Sun, 09 April 2017, 13:30:21 by vim_commando »



Offline OldIsNew

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Re: Typewriter-Style Steampunk-Inspired Laser-Cut Keycaps?
« Reply #1 on: Sun, 09 April 2017, 15:21:02 »
Yeah, so my wife and I bought a laser cutter a couple months ago ...

Nice! I'm planning on picking up a Mr. Fusion next time I go to Target.
Seriously though those are very cool! I've seen some ads for "hobbist" CO2 laser cutters (not cheap) - is that something like what you're using?


Offline vim_commando

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  • Location: USA, Hawai'i
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Re: Typewriter-Style Steampunk-Inspired Laser-Cut Keycaps?
« Reply #2 on: Sun, 09 April 2017, 20:32:33 »
Yes, we got the ~$2,000 eBay special. It definitely won't win any awards for ease of use or reliability, but it can produce some good results once you've figured it out.