GengYun - My 2nd build of an ortholinear, split and contoured keyboard

[macroxue]

Tenting

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This is my second build of an ortholinear, split and contoured keyboard. It fixes a few things that I'm not happy about the first build, which I did last month and described in this thread keyboards-f2/a-split-curved-ortholinear ... 15407.html.

The biggest improvement is to connect the two splits with ribbon cables so they are one keyboard now instead of two in the previous build. Consequently, I need only one micro-controller and one USB cable. It actually doesn't look bad with 13 cables between the splits. I only wish I had used grey ribbon cables so the color theme would be more consistent.

Another improvement, mostly about cost, is to have a single Teensy LC as the micro-controller. Teensy LC is about half of the price of Teensy 3.2 used in the previous build. Below is the output from Teensyduino when the firmware (https://github.com/macroxue/keyboard-firmware.git) is compiled for Teensy LC.

Code: Select all

Sketch uses 16,868 bytes (26%) of program storage space. Maximum is 63,488 bytes.
Global variables use 4,188 bytes (51%) of dynamic memory, leaving 4,004 bytes for local variables. Maximum is 8,192 bytes.

I also changed the layout so the two splits are symmetric and of the same size. The previous build had a larger right split for cursor-moving keys so tenting didn't exactly work. The new layout has cursor-moving keys in the second layer, which is easily accessible with a single tap of FnLock key.

In the new build, all keycaps are from one set of 120 blank PBT keycaps purchased on mechanicalkeyboards.com, without the hassle of finding additional 2u keycaps like I did for the previous build. The layout is logically symmetric but not physically. For example, left shift is 2.25u but right shift is 2.75u. The difference is not very noticeable and there is no impact to functions.

Below is how the keyboard looks laying flat. It's not aggressively contoured. The center of a split is about 5mm lower than its edges. The two obvious outliers of 1.5u on each split are thumb keys. The (white) front cover is 6mm thick and the (red) back cover is 10mm.

Flat

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I have paid more attention to the aesthetic aspects of the new build. The cases have round corners and are now completed enclosed without using screws. Just for fun, I named the cases with Chinese characters, "Geng" (plowing) on the left and "Yun" (weeding) on the right.

Here is the back look with feet for tenting plugged in. There are some white residues from previous prints.

Back

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When the splits are folded together, they look cute.

Folded

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Here is the inside look of the right case. Ribbon cables keep the wiring cleaner. The soldering job is still a bit lousy.

Inside

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Edit: The 3D model has been uploaded to https://github.com/macroxue/keyboard-3d-models. It's geng-yun.scad.

[Findecanor]

Beautifully coloured wiring
Is that a piece of Lego preventing the controller board from being pushed in too far?

[vvp]

Pretty. What layer height and nozzle size did you use? Is it ABS?

Edit: Soldering - try more flux and maybe more temperature. Wires like this I typically do at about 260 °C.

[macroxue]

Yes, that is a Lego piece stopping Teensy. It works very well.

My 3D printer is FlashForge Creator Pro. The nozzle diameter is 0.4mm according to the spec. I use FlashPrint software that comes with the printer and so far I haven't change any defaults. The layer height is 0.18mm and the first layer height is 0.27mm. Yes, it is ABS that comes with the printer.

Thanks for the suggestions. I think more flux will help soldering points stay smooth and shiny.