HacKeyboard, an open hardware mechanical keyboard

masaleiro

16 Nov 2015, 01:57

Hi guys! I'm new to this forum, although I came here as a visitor to learn a lot of stuff and to gather some ideas :)

Since I learned a lot around here I thought I should come by and let you know about a project I've been slowly making for the past 2 years. Basically it's a custom made mechanical keyboard with SMK Alps Mount switches from an old Monterey K108 and Alps compatible keycaps from an old NGS keyboard (model unknown).

I designed everything from scratch (case, PCB, firmware, etc.) and added a few extra features:
  • Internal Keylogger;
    Recording of up to 12 macros
    Internal USB HUB 2.0
    Hidden Internal 8GB Flash Drive
    Customizable LED colors
    Customizable LED effects
Image

Image

Short Video (there is a longer video on the same youtube channel):
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFs2aE1NKEg[/youtube]

The keyboard is a generic USB HID device, so it works in Windows/Mac/Linux without needing any custom drivers and all the extra functions can be used by key shortcuts.
As mentioned in the title, it is completely open source / open hardware and the whole build instructions are available here: http://www.instructables.com/id/HacKeyb ... rom-scrat/

It will also be available in my blog in the following days: http://www.thebitbangtheory.com

Hope you guys like it and if you have any questions, feel free to ask them :)

Findecanor

16 Nov 2015, 19:19

That's some great work there!

Cool that you etched your own PCB. Most custom one-off keyboards have just diodes soldered between the switches on the underside.
I see that you used superglue on acrylic. That is usually a big No-No, unless you want it frosted. ;)

masaleiro

17 Nov 2015, 01:45

Findecanor wrote: That's some great work there!

Cool that you etched your own PCB. Most custom one-off keyboards have just diodes soldered between the switches on the underside.
I see that you used superglue on acrylic. That is usually a big No-No, unless you want it frosted. ;)
Thanks! At the beggining I was thinking about doing the same thing but then I thought that making a PCB would give it more robustness and also allow me to put some extra stuff into the keyboard. Regarding the glue, yes, this is one of the few cases where you want to use super glue to glue acrylic :)

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richfiles

19 Nov 2015, 23:34

I gotta say, that is one VERY nice looking keyboard! I love the homemade PCB! It looks ver professional!
Wow! Such macros! Many keys! Wow! :mrgreen:

masaleiro

21 Nov 2015, 03:51

richfiles wrote: I gotta say, that is one VERY nice looking keyboard! I love the homemade PCB! It looks ver professional!
Wow! Such macros! Many keys! Wow! :mrgreen:
Thanks! I'm thinking about getting it made professionally in a few months. I have collected enough keycaps and switches to make another one and now that I have a working and tested design I prefer not to go through the whole process again :) Since I'll have to order a pack of 5 I'll probably see if anyone is interested in the remaining three, either with components completely soldered or without components.
To the moon! Wow! :)

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