deskthority

I made this curved prototype a couple of years ago, split capacitive has been on my todo list for a while

https://i.imgur.com/9ClSlFIh.jpeg
(click for larger)

In my mind the thumb cluster would be a separate tilted board with ~2u keys, similar to this topre project .
You could do individually ...

Nice!
I was looking at those recently, do you like the ergonomics?
I've got a SpaceExplorer with the modern puck shape and 90deg spaced homing bumps.

More recently I got a cadman for 10€ and I'm really not a fan of the grip, the flat sides provide no real grip to pull upwards and it's just too ...

Case, website, editor and keycaps all look great!

From the website:

Are the keycaps UV-stable?

The keycaps have been treated with anti-UV agent and are colored by UV-stable pigments which ensure long life and color stability under normal conditions, however, we advise to avoid direct sunlight ...

Progress update

There's not much additional case progress, I did make fixture "wedges" but discovered some rounding errors in the CAD assembly. I poked around a bit and made some changes but never completed it. Anyway, I'm planning to get back to it

https://i.imgur.com/0IT3Uqyh.jpg


Gallery ...

This is exciting!

Look out ModelFKeyboards.com
Here comes BeamSpringKeyboards.com

Interestingly that domain redirects to modelfkeyboards.com, Ellipse's next project perhaps? :)

Just in case you're unaware there's another thread related to DIY reproduction of the original switch and a ...

Any update?

There's just been a little bit of progress, I took a break when covid was starting to spread and focused on other things. I'm slowly getting back to it though.

I've got a small POM block for a 2x2 switchtester, it's cut to size but I haven't milled it yet.
There's also been some ...

Another quick update:

https://i.imgur.com/dYIMD1nh.jpg

I somehow messed up while Z probing last time, I needed to remove 0.3mm more material. Not a bad thing as I could try some things out.

I reduced stepover to 25% (1.5mm) for a much nicer surface finish and offset the first and last to match ...

Some progress:

https://i.imgur.com/0ZMxN24h.jpg

This is a test piece for the top case in the first of 8 orientations.
I didn't have time for the final 2mm operations (mounting holes, housing alignment holes and perimeter), just barely had time to fix the incorrectly set 100% stepover to ...

Amazing.
I have no useful skills in this arena, and am sorry that all I can add is that, so long as it remains a 65% (ie. arrows are part of it) then I will help you with the consumption end of the project.
Consider me an MOQ Contributor!



Thanks for the interest, initially I thought there'd ...

Thanks for your support, I have been for some time thinking about trying to cast some keycaps and this is one good opportunity so I think I will try first myself. I'm reading now some posts here and there looking for "inspiration".


Nice, it's quite fun :)

Feel free to ask if you want any tips ...

Great find and nice detailed pictures!

I've modeled , printed and resin cast beamspring caps so I could potentially help you out with that, here are some thoughts:

I assume both your shift keys have identical stem placements, is that right?
I'd happily cast a copy for you for the cost of materials ...

I wonder how the 4mm plate will be sound like. Have anyone tried 4mm plates with Model F flippers before?


I CNC'd a 2-key tester out of oak before the chyron case, just realised I never posted that.
Here's a quick sound sample: https://gfycat.com/welldocumentedsmallcusimanse

The thin acrylic ...

I got three of these a couple of years ago and made a controller board for them, it just slides on the pin header.

https://i.imgur.com/9w2iOt5h.jpg
(Click for larger)


I'd be happy to send you one for free, I appreciate your reviews!

It was a very rushed addition to a PCB order and no rushed ...

I wanted to avoid LDOs as much as possible, so 3559. LDO 4.1 -> 3V has 73% efficiency, and 3559 buck is about 85%.

With USB disconnected the USB component draws 0.3mA, so efficiency should not be a problem - but then there's ADC (1mA) and who knows what else. I fear to measure actual current on ...

t'was a joke. Like "Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly".
"Surprise removal" is usually a downstream device malfunction when you're lucky and it doesn't fuse the power rail to the ground plane. In this case - somebody tripping on the USB cable and breaking off (_hopefully_!) the plug.

oh.. of course ...

Exactly.
I am worried about surprise removal. PCI-SIG official term, believe it or not.

Does that really refer to this situation? It sounds more like a software routine to handle surprise disconnection of cards.


I.e. the socket will break off the PCB before connector will break off the cable ...

There's thru-hole USB-C connector.
https://www.newark.com/gct-global-connector-technology/usb4085-gf-a/usb-connector-2-0-type-c-rcpt/dp/72AC6905


I prefer SMD connectors as they're IMO much nicer to work with, especially to remove/replace.
The ones I currently use are these ridiculously cheap ...

Not necessary, but will need exact knowledge of matrix dimensions plus some mousing (shrink column MUX, delete pins and per-pin logics, etc).

Ok, that's what I expected.


For stem repositioning - 3mm can simply be ignored if all pads are electrically connected (please don't do that "floating ...

I've been focusing on other projects recently and there hasn't been much progress, but here's a quick update:

Image gallery

I've finally got SKCL/M springs lined up, there were some unexpected delays.

I CNC'd and assembled the mold mentioned in a previous post. Still haven't cast any housings ...

8R+24C+4(ExpHdr)+2(I2C) don't leave much already.
Image has 9 relatively unmarked pins, of which only 3 are truly unused.


I thought reserving 24+8 pins for projects with smaller matrices (20 total in this case) wasn't necessary, is it?


For beamspring, yes. For model F - not really, because ...

Sure, here's a gallery with a few pictures: https://imgur.com/a/drMaAA9

I originally substituted the missing top row keys with blank white ones, but as I later got a blue keyset I replaced the entire top row with that. I still like the deep dish F/J keys too much to put blues on all alphas

I also ...

I could help you out with the spacebar and a blank white X key, shame for such a nice board to be incomplete :)

I've previously made resin casts of a few caps from my 3278, they're quite close to the originals:
https://i.imgur.com/ajXUjtZ.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/aI2NDyi.jpg

The spacebar mold ...

I don't. You seemed to be worrying about GPIO availability.
There are literally 3 pins left unassigned on the kit, despite them not being marked on the "default pinout" picture. It only describes "user-serviceable" pins that are used in default pinout. No markings next to the pin doesn't mean it's ...

Hmm. Plastic actually not needed in this configuration - except for PCB protection. But if no plastic - some weight must be added to the bottom part, or all the beamspring fill's gone.

Would be fun to try different plate weights.


Are you referring to the capacitive flyplate or some other ...

Thanks for the reply! I'll send you a PM

Didn't notice the edit until now.


Updaet: disassembled the trackpoint board I have. Not that hard to direct-sense, although translation of the inputs may be difficult (especially if click detection is desired - it's currently built as "sense total current consumed by trackpoint assembly").

I ...

I'm looking for the following Model-M/F components for the F65 project :

- Wheelwriter code key
- Non-stepped modifiers, preferably ISO but anything is useful for testing.
- 2-part key stems
- Housing stab inserts
- 5.75u spacebar (7u still useful for testing)

I'd also like to find a EU member ...

Measuring across 9 1u keys on my 5921 plate it seemed closer to 6" than 152mm

Thanks for the graphic, good to know.

I suspected my red option above might be the actual code key stem placement, isn't that what you're suggesting? L>R: 1.5u key, 1u key and 0.25u gap.

Ignoring the code key doesn't ...

i think it is worth trying - make the bottom row pads slightly wide to accommodate as many different layouts as we can. We would need one more pin for a new column, though. Any suggestions as to what pin to use? And what pins to use for the TP option - with consideration for routing? Though i ...

I can imagine most people would harvest components from a XT/5291 as it's the most common F board with the least desirable layout. Here's a parts list:


XT/5291
=======
Provides:
- 82 housings
- ISO/ANSI alphanumeric keys except ]} key (can be substituted by numpad 1-9 for same color)
- 12 1u grey ...