Building a custom keyboard from the ground up

matt3o · 24 Jun 2013, 14:37

yes, the steely was actually too flat and I couldn't find 2cm domed rubber feet. So I thought about a sort of wedding cake foot

I don't know what will be the perfect height for the keyboard yet, so I had layered feet I can adjust by just adding or removing a layer. Of course at the top you'll have a small rubber buffer.

Muirium · 24 Jun 2013, 14:59

Stacked feet sounds sweet.

I like my keyboards pretty damn flat, actually. One of the reasons Steely caught my eye. I'm used to typing on laptops with zero incline (and find it more comfortable, for me, than propped up at back and a wrist rest at front) so a minimal minimum would be good! I mean a nice stubby little minimum foot height on all four corners, with room for plenty of stacked adjustment as desired. I'm unlikely to fiddle with it much after I find my sweet spot.

I've a standing desk I'm thinking of using this custom on. It's at home, so the more sound transmission of those clicky keys the better! I'd like to make a productive racket out of this little board when getting in the flow!

matt3o · 24 Jun 2013, 15:11

probably you'll just need 5mm rubber feet on the front and 10mm on the back then. No need of stacked feet. I think that I'd go for 5mm front 15-20mm rear.

Of course when I find the sweetspot I'll glue the layers together.

Muirium · 24 Jun 2013, 18:09

Where do you suggest getting a Teensy, by the way, and which one?

Daniel Beardsmore has kindly donated his recently found Zenith to me, and I'm going to practice the art of matrix discovery on it. Then hooking up and programming a Teensy. All firsts for me! No guarantees the Zenith keyboard is functional anyway, so I'd like to be able to reuse the Teensy just in case. Whether on this project or the inevitable next! Recommendations?

matt3o · 24 Jun 2013, 18:18

I usually get them here http://www.watterott.com/ don't know if you can find them cheaper in the Great Britain. Which one depends on the size of the matrix (for the Zenith a teensy2 is enough).

Muirium · 24 Jun 2013, 18:31

Thanks! I'll a bit of searching around to see where I can get one locally, and import if I can't. (Watterott quotes €10 postage to Britain per order.)

I presume Teensy 2 is the right one to fit this Steely-based 60% design?

Besides the excellent project in this thread, I've also got my sights on a Model M as you know. I'll have much more room inside one of those. (Even potentially trimmed to TKL or smaller.) And that's where I'm thinking Bluetooth compatibility later!

matt3o · 24 Jun 2013, 18:49

Yes teensy2 is good enough for 15x5 layouts (and even something more).

if your matrix rows+cols+LEDs is <= controller in/outs you are good to go. Of course you can't use GND/VCC and one of the pins that is shared with the internal LED (as suggested by Hasu even though I successfully used that as well... but I trust hasu more than my empirical tests

).

pasph · 24 Jun 2013, 23:36

The phantom is 18x6 + 2 led?
It uses a Teensy 2?

matt3o · 25 Jun 2013, 08:23

yes and yes.

please note that I'm referring to the REAL matrix rows/cols, not the keyboard rows/cols

pasph · 25 Jun 2013, 11:50

What do you use to write and load the firmware?

matt3o · 25 Jun 2013, 11:52

write with any text editor, load with avrdude

matt3o · 25 Jun 2013, 13:02

It arrived! my preciooouuussss!

this is so freaking awesome I'm gonna cry

: brownie.jpg (85.67 KiB) Viewed 5751 times

Muirium · 25 Jun 2013, 13:06

She's a fox, in the waiting…

matt3o · 25 Jun 2013, 15:42

And here it is the brownfox in all its splendor

: brownfox_.jpg (116.92 KiB) Viewed 5742 times

Compared to the steel version it's very light and the overall typing experience is completely different (keys are not yet wired). I think that the best combo would be steel bottom and aluminum plate. Anyway now a long wiring session awaits me.

Muirium · 25 Jun 2013, 15:49

Enjoy!

I just might take you up on your advice and make mine an aluminium plate on top of a steel sandwich body. It's a thought.

The cheapest UK option for Teensies I've found is importing from Floris in Holland. They do €5 UK shipping per order instead. Quite a cornucopia of Teensy options there as well:

http://www.pieterfloris.nl/shop/categor ... ategory=45

I wonder what I should get. Bread boarding is appealing while I get the hang of matrices and programming it. Are those pins easily removed for the final stage of putting it inside your finished keyboard?

pasph · 25 Jun 2013, 16:48

matt3o wrote:yes and yes.

please note that I'm referring to the REAL matrix rows/cols, not the keyboard rows/cols

real is 17x6 +2 led=25

matt3o · 25 Jun 2013, 17:05

seems enough for a teensy2

matt3o · 25 Jun 2013, 19:23

Muirium wrote:Are those pins easily removed for the final stage of putting it inside your finished keyboard?

no they are not the easiest to remove once soldered (at least with at my skill level)

Muirium · 25 Jun 2013, 19:30

Expecting hand wired matrix pictures and Brownfox's own Teensy's introduction to its new home…

matt3o · 25 Jun 2013, 19:34

if I'm inspired I'll shoot a video

pasph · 25 Jun 2013, 22:54

Now I'm at home and can see pictures, very beautiful case!
Have you ever thought of a case entirely made of compact polycarbonate like this?

matt3o · 26 Jun 2013, 00:07

ah that would be something!

don't know of anyone laser cutting it though

pasph · 26 Jun 2013, 00:27

for sure, from simple objects to architectural roofing
taglio laser, taglio a fresa, lucidatrici, piegatrici, sezionatrici verticali, sezionatrice in piano, bordatrici per pannelli sandwich

Muirium · 26 Jun 2013, 00:34

Don't forget marble! The original architectural material, and arguably still the best.

And where there's acrylic, there's glass…

pasph · 26 Jun 2013, 00:40

Well i think matt3o live near the holy home of Marble (Massa Carrara)

Muirium · 26 Jun 2013, 00:47

Only the best. Of course.

matt3o · 26 Jun 2013, 08:21

Firenze, actually.

Bullveyr · 26 Jun 2013, 09:18

That looks really great matt3o.

tlt · 26 Jun 2013, 13:09

Looks great! Could you add a photo from the side so that we can see the composite layers?

matt3o · 26 Jun 2013, 13:13

I'm taking photos of the whole process, I'm finishing it right now. I'd say in a couple of hours should be ready