Plate layout advice

[elmin]

I'm trying to build a custom keyboard, and at this point I've got a layout I like and a DWG for the plate. I'm using costar (or costar-style) stabilizers, since I have some and I have no idea how to obtain cherry stabilizers.

People who have done this before: any advice on the layout of the holes? I've attached the DWG I have so far, but the information I have on how things must be aligned is based on lots of random information from various sources on the web. If someone were willing to take a quick look and see if something is obviously not going to work, I'd be very appreciative

For those who are curious about the layout, this is what it looks like:

IMAG0204.jpg (551.37 KiB) Viewed 1504 times

I used a ruler to align the keycaps on my desk, so I could get a feel for how comfortable it would be.

[Findecanor]

I would recommend that you test your layout on graph paper, or in http://www.keyboard-layout-editor.com/
There you can check the dimensions more precisely.

[matt3o]

looks good to me, but I use metric system with slightly different measurements.

[scottc]

I would recommend that you test your layout on graph paper, or in http://www.keyboard-layout-editor.com/
There you can check the dimensions more precisely.

Agreed. I've been printing my plate on paper and checking if everything lines up and it helps a lot.

[elmin]

Thanks for the recommendations. Now I'm even thinking about doing a prototype in cardboard or something once I get the switches. Then I can even get an idea if the stabilizers are positioned correctly.

[scottc]

I did that with cardboard and it was very useful. Don't be too picky about things being slightly off in the cardboard model because it's near impossible (from my experience) to actually get something to print in exact measurements from a DWG. Good luck anyway!

[elmin]

The layout editor is pretty cool! I was actually planning to write such a tool if it did not already exist.

http://www.keyboard-layout-editor.com/# ... e4c8d8a168