deskthority

Wanted to experiment with cheap materials for custom keyboards and tried to build a hand-wired numpad out of cardboard to see if it is feasible. The result is pretty ugly but it works





The overall cost of such a thing is around €20 (excluding keycaps) and it's a very nice way for anyone to enter the DIY world without going broke.

I made a numpad just to check the feasibility but of course you could do a whole keyboard. I'm happy I made this test because what is valid for acrylic or aluminum is not for cardboard and certain things need to be done differently. I will be posting a build log in the coming days.

beepbeepbop!

Don't you think this can be done for half the price when using a ProMicro clone?
They sell for ~6€ and work like Teensy but lack some pins. Doesn't look like you're running out of pins here

I already had a teensy laying around

matt3o wrote: I already had a teensy laying around

One?

Cool project though. I have yet to built my first "handwired" keyboard and such a cute little project would be a awesome start. You have a 3d printer right ?

Is there a nice numpad plate/case model available to print?
That would be a very very cool little project and people all over the world could print them and distribute them locally for first handwiring steps

Make it a project and I'm in

Wodan wrote: Is there a nice numpad plate/case model available to print?
That would be a very very cool little project and people all over the world could print them and distribute them locally for first handwiring steps

this is actually a very nice idea! I'll think about it

While I am not good at all at designing keyboard plates and cases, I'd love to help prototyping, give feedback and refining the design and then distribute a couple of these things at material cost + shipping.

Wodan wrote: While I am not good at all at designing keyboard plates and cases, I'd love to help prototyping, give feedback and refining the design and then distribute a couple of these things at material cost + shipping.

you are hired!

I agree, this looks like a fantastic little project. Nice and cheap, good learning experience and you get a functional product at the end of it. I would definitely support this. Good work Matt3o.

This looks a good proj to try. Quick one matt3o, based on what I undestand around this handwiring thing I can skip the diode if I would only create a 3-key board? I have a teensy and some left over coarkboard pieces that I'm thinking to cut to serve as a plate and a case. Haha..

yeah for just a bunch of switches you could do without diodes. You could connect each switch to an input but you need to code your own firmware (actually pretty easy using teensy's library). Alternatively you could probably use TMK and put each switch on a different column. That should work too.

matt3o wrote: yeah for just a bunch of switches you could do without diodes. You could connect each switch to an input but you need to code your own firmware (actually pretty easy using teensy's library). Alternatively you could probably use TMK and put each switch on a different column. That should work too.

thanks man

Wodan wrote: Pjrc is a one man show?

Damn now I feel bad for promoting the proMicro everywhere

- Wodan 2016

Wodan wrote: Don't you think this can be done for half the price when using a ProMicro clone?
They sell for ~6€ and work like Teensy but lack some pins. Doesn't look like you're running out of pins here

- Wodan, less than 14 hours later

Don't bore me with the things I said yesterday !!

Okay I was a little bored and making plate 3D models is easier than I thought thanks to swills plate designer.

Wodan wrote: Okay I was a little bored and making plate 3D models is easier than I thought thanks to swills plate designer.

I must get me one 3d printer...

If you don't have a 3D printer, getting laser-cut steel plates is also a perfectly valid option and wouldn't break the bank

How well would this work for larger keyboards such as a 60%? Is there a good way to support it so it doesnt have massive amounts of flex in the middle. This seems like a very good way to test new or strange layouts rather than paying to have a custom plate made and finding out the design sucks and you wasted your money.

nickdanolson12 wrote: How well would this work for larger keyboards such as a 60%? Is there a good way to support it so it doesnt have massive amounts of flex in the middle. This seems like a very good way to test new or strange layouts rather than paying to have a custom plate made and finding out the design sucks and you wasted your money.

I have done just that, albeit in a much cruder fashion, using thin cardboard and an x-acto knife: