deskthority

So I recently got myself a new Razer BlackWidow Chroma V2. Prior to this I had my Razer BlackWidow Chroma, the original one. I have had it for about 4 years and it is still in great working condition. I wanted to do some customizations to it that, although I can't see why they couldn't be done, I am not entirely sure how to do on my own.

So there are a few cosmetic customizations that wouldn't be too difficult for me to do with some time and effort. I wanted to add an RGB led underglow. I also wanted to replace the underside plastic with a clear plastic or a white translucent acrylic to help disperse the underglow light.

The reason I'm posting here today is because I would really like to modify the keyboard to be a tenless keyboard (remove the number pad) but more specifically allow for a modular design where I could "snap" the number pad back on if I needed it (like a modular keyboard, an example is the Asus ROG Claymore keyboard).
The other customization I want to add is replacing the braided hard wired USBs with a removable USB C connector.

Essentially the idea is to maintain the Razer Synapse support for lighting control, and to create a more portable keyboard that could still function as a full size keyboard if need be. The other side of this project is to do some customizations to the case to both support the modular function and a RGB underglow.

I would love to add the underglow to the number pad as well, and obviously I realize that the underglow will not be controlled by Razer Synapse (unless I use the goliathus mouse mat light pipe and coil it on the bottom of the Keyboard, but I'm not sure how well that will work).

So a couple things I noticed that could complicate this process, and the reason I'm coming here for assistance, is mainly the layout of the PCB. Attached are a few pictures of the PCB.

The first problem is the white metal shield, I think this is soldered on in some spots but I can't actually tell. I know there are plastic mounts that clip to the metal shield from the PCB, but the shield doesn't budge and these plastic mounts wouldn't be holding the shield in place as much as it is.

The second problem is where the cable comes in/out of the PCB. It's at the top right corner, right above the number pad. This means in order to properly cut down the size to a ten keyless, then add modularity as a feature to the keyboard, I would need to take this one PCB and split it into three, there would be one with the LEDs, audio & USB pass through, and cable connector (that will become a USB C port instead of hard wired), one for the main keyboard, and one for the number pad.

Any thoughts on this would be great. Some of you may be wondering "why bother modifying a keyboard this heavily?" And while this is a good point, as I just bought a new one, I would like to see if A) I can actually accomplish this and B) have a more portable Razer keyboard for on the go. Also of course C) is to have a custom Razer keyboard, to me that's pretty cool.

Anyways, again, any help would be greatly appreciated.

Quick Note:
I would be completely fine with 4 detachable cables if 1 USB C can't replace the four connectors (which I realize is unlikely if not impossible).

Your plan is a bold one.

I see several problems that may be show stoppers.

As you say, the cable goes in by the numberpad and the controller chip is also on the PCB in this area.

The white "shield" as you call it is the plate. The plate holds the switches so that is needed you would also have to cut that.

The only way your going to do this is to replace the whole PCB and program your own controller for the keyboard and for the RGB, same for the number pad.

If you have a modern motherboard that has RGB control you could use that to control and power the LEDs so that is not a problem.

As for snapping on the numberpad you could do this in two ways.

You could have some external contacts on the side of the case that wire intro the controller of the main section and have some sort of logic that detects that its been connected but this would require allot of custom controller programming. Or more simply you could have a USB hub inside the keyboard and have the pins on the side just be USB and have a second controller for the number pad( thats how i would do it)

As for the case you could hold the number pad on with strong magnets i think that's best.

Thank you for the response. I wanted to update you on my thought process since my original post (which I realize hasn't been that long haha).

So I have broken down the different mods into sections, of which there are 4:

1) Implementing a Modular Number Pad
This is without question the most complicated step in my mind. The first aspect of this step is to remove the white aluminum plate. This, as you said, is keeping the switches in place, however what I am noticing is that in order to remove this I need to desolder every single switch. This would just be tedious but of course is well within the realm of possibility.
The next step would be to start mapping the PCB on some sort of PCB schematics software. Ill be honest I haven't used one of these types of softwares so if you could recommend one that would be great.
There is a reason for this painful task. If my understanding of PCBs is correct, if I were to 'cut' the PCB only on traces / embedded wires then I could in theory solder a wire from one side of the cut PCB to the other side. I would just need to make sure I could maintain proper connections otherwise this wouldn't work, which is of course why mapping the PCB out on a software would be necessary/extremely helpful.
Once I have it mapped out (and if someone could confirm that cutting a PCB only on the "embedded wires" would be possible to patch via a soldered wire, then that would be wonderful.
After mapping all that would be needed is to cut the PCB, then to rewire the now cut connections to allow for the re-positioning of the controller chips, the keyboard settings light (caps lock, num lock, etc.), and the input for the wires.

2) Replacing the hard wired cable a Detachable Cable
In my mind this step comes second, as I would need to shorten the existing cable to exist within the chassis of the keyboard, then I would insert a USB 3 hub that has a detachable USB C port, or something similar. Id rather make this easier by adding in a component like a USB hub rather than make this easier.

Side note: I have no interest in ever using the pass through audio. I never have in the past, so I can't imagine using it in the future, meaning removing this pass through feature would be an easy trade off for the added functionality of a detachable cable.

3) Implementing an Underglow lighting feature
This would be incredibly easy if I could accomplish the above two steps. If I wanted to shell out some cash I could get the Razer Chroma Dev Kit. This Dev kit would let me put underglow underneath the keyboard AND control it with Razer Synapse. All I would need to do is plug in the Dev Kit to the USB Hub installed in step 2 and to power (which yes needs DC power, I have some thoughts on this but worst case scenario I have no problem plugging my keyboard into the wall for the added feature of controllable underglow).

4) Replacing the Case
This step just requires some planning and should obviously be done last once I know the layout of the Keyboard and the number pad peripheral.

So hopefully this new explanation broken up into parts helps to better understand my goal with the project. I will of course keep this forum updated and I will be documenting my progress somewhere (on some social media platform) so people can follow along if they also want to do this.

furthermore since my edition of the keyboard is so old it is readily available of eBay for sub 30 dollars if I needed a replacement keyboard for parts. And as long as I dont completely ruin the PCB, minor parts are all I would need to replace if any, as right now the keyboard is fully operational.

Let me know what your thoughts are. Thank you.