Topre sliders, MX caps

05 Mar 2014, 10:47

stabilizer works but you have to do some surgery to the keycap (ie: remove 2 additional stems).

I'll work on the stabilizer case next, but this prototyping phase is becoming pretty expensive and I'm a bit short of funding right now

10 Fast Fingers · 05 Mar 2014, 11:30

If SP is willing to manuracture them, I am 100% in!
Okay, the spacebar could be problematic but I don't care

06 Mar 2014, 16:35

...holy sweet mother of donkey balls this is awesome!

06 Mar 2014, 16:42

matt3o wrote:I'll work on the stabilizer case next, but this prototyping phase is becoming pretty expensive and I'm a bit short of funding right now

It looks like there are enough people here and on Geekhack that are excited about this. Would you be open to publishing your costs and roadmap? Hopefully I'm not being too presumptuous but I would like to think some of us could chip in financially to help make this happen, if you're okay with that.

06 Mar 2014, 17:09

I'm totally in!

This weekend I'll work on a prototype that should reduce cost of shapeways 3D print, it will be "beta" but if you want to help you could buy one slider and give feedback.

I've been contacted by a couple of vendors that are willing to produce them. That might be interesting, too.

06 Mar 2014, 17:24

matt3o wrote:This weekend I'll work on a prototype that should reduce cost of shapeways 3D print, it will be "beta" but if you want to help you could buy one slider and give feedback.

06 Mar 2014, 17:39

06 Mar 2014, 19:08

I'm pretty damn interested in this thing 8-)

06 Mar 2014, 19:10

Shinryuu wrote:I'm pretty damn interested in this thing

so I guessed after the mother of donkey balls

10 Fast Fingers · 07 Mar 2014, 11:44

09 Mar 2014, 14:20

I've made the slider public on Shapeways.

PLEASE NOTE, that the current version is still beta. Order at your own risk!

I made the barrel slightly bigger and the feet a bit wider, so there's a small chance to get an incompatible slider (!!!!).

Anyway if you want to help this is the link

https://www.shapeways.com/model/1768885 ... v1-0b.html

I don't know why the price to the "public" is higher than the one I see on my store backoffice, but just by a small amount (few cents). I'll double check that. I'm not making a margin on this.

The best material (and most expensive) is Frosted Ultra Detail (Frosted Detail should be also ok). I printed a version in White Strong & Flexible Polished which is way cheaper, it seems to work but quality is way lower and it seems a bit more fragile. I haven't tried the White Detail material, which I guess is halfway between the frosted and the white strong & flexible.

If you want to help me debug the slider, take one or two and post your comments and suggestions. But --again-- it is not guaranteed to work!

09 Mar 2014, 14:56

I've done some SA keycap models [that are waiting on a new openscad before I make them public] and have combined multiple caps in a model. It seemed to drop the price per cap. Though its not something shapeways really want people to do. At least thats what it looked like when I researched it. But for the beta its still a good deal.

Great model matt3o!!

09 Mar 2014, 15:00

Thanks! I'm exploring the feasibility of cheaper sliders.

09 Mar 2014, 17:12

Thanks! I just ordered it

09 Mar 2014, 20:46

Wonderful, it's already Christmas, thank you santa matt3o

I'm thinking buying a copy of each variety to be able to make the best comparison

I also need information on how to disassembly & reassembly my Realforce :oops:

Do I have to retire all screws on the back of the PCB to release the switches ?

Some screws are identified by an arrow on the back of the PCB, do you know why ?

09 Mar 2014, 20:53

I will have to create an account and buy some of them to try and share the experience.

09 Mar 2014, 22:44

bemailer wrote:Do I have to retire all screws on the back of the PCB to release the switches ?

Some screws are identified by an arrow on the back of the PCB, do you know why ?

yep, you have to unscrew everything... the black screws are those identified by the arrows.

be very careful when detaching the PCB from the plate! you risk to seed the springs all over the floor

10 Mar 2014, 19:29

This is looking exciting.

I've bought one form Shapeways and I'll post back with how it works out.

10 Mar 2014, 19:46

suka suggested a very smart way to reduce cost on shapeways (basically printing multiple sliders at once). Looking forward to your feedback, if you confirm that everything is working properly we can try to reduce production costs.

10 Mar 2014, 21:48

matt3o wrote: yep, you have to unscrew everything... the black screws are those identified by the arrows.

be very careful when detaching the PCB from the plate! you risk to seed the springs all over the floor

Thanks for your advice, your comment about springs on the floor smells like experience in real life :lol:

I'll order the sliders before end of week, can't wait !

What about the CM Novatouch :mrgreen:

?

11 Mar 2014, 19:10

osxoep wrote:This is looking exciting.

I've bought one form Shapeways and I'll post back with how it works out.

Nice! Keep us updated 8-)

15 Mar 2014, 21:30

Slider is in the country, should be here Monday or Tuesday,

What is the best way to remove the current slider?

15 Mar 2014, 23:18

osxoep wrote:Slider is in the country, should be here Monday or Tuesday,

What is the best way to remove the current slider?

great! keep us posted.

I use a rubberized back of a screwdriver and apply a gentle force on the spot just above the dent. The slider pops out quite easily, the dent comes out slightly smoothed in the process but it's not a big deal.

16 Mar 2014, 10:36

Thanks.

Turns out it's super easy. Here's hoping the new one fits!

17 Mar 2014, 17:38

Sorry for potato pictures but...

Seems to fit nicely.

The key in the picture is a bit tight, but I tried some SP keys (Miami hapster and bumblebee escape) and they seemed a bit more loose but they still stay on even after violently shaking the keyboard upside down.

It sounds like the new slider is rubbing against the casing, not in a damaging way, just a bit louder than the stock ones. But that might just be the material of the new slider compared to the old one.

17 Mar 2014, 17:44

YES! Thanks for sharing!

can you take a picture of the underbelly of the slider inside the housing?

Does the barrel hit the housing or is it a perfect fit? Does the keycap wobble?

The frosted material is a bit stronger than abs hence it is probably a bit louder, but actually I have an ABS slider that is less noisy than the standard ones.

17 Mar 2014, 17:52

That is simply awesome! Genius work matt

if this ever becomes affordable I might have to save up for a Topre board ^^

17 Mar 2014, 18:34

matt3o wrote:YES! Thanks for sharing!

can you take a picture of the underbelly of the slider inside the housing?

Does the barrel hit the housing or is it a perfect fit? Does the keycap wobble?

The frosted material is a bit stronger than abs hence it is probably a bit louder, but actually I have an ABS slider that is less noisy than the standard ones.

Is this what you meant? http://imgur.com/Bi3qxK7

More pictures comparing sliders. http://imgur.com/a/RpwkH
It's a bit tight. Here's a quick video which is better than me trying to explain: http://youtu.be/6FLNKncxb3w

17 Mar 2014, 18:38

The video suggests the new slider isn't as slippy and free moving as the originals. Does this affect key feel much?

17 Mar 2014, 18:39

osxoep wrote:
matt3o wrote:YES! Thanks for sharing!

can you take a picture of the underbelly of the slider inside the housing?

Does the barrel hit the housing or is it a perfect fit? Does the keycap wobble?

The frosted material is a bit stronger than abs hence it is probably a bit louder, but actually I have an ABS slider that is less noisy than the standard ones.

Is this what you meant? http://imgur.com/Bi3qxK7

More pictures comparing sliders. http://imgur.com/a/RpwkH
It's a bit tight. Here's a quick video which is better than me trying to explain: http://youtu.be/6FLNKncxb3w

is it the barrel that hits the housing or the feet? you can sand the slider a little if that is annoying. I enlarged the whole slider a little to prevent wobbling but it's hard to predict how the material will shrink.

also note that the frosted material is rugged, while the original slider is very smooth.

EDIT: also note that all topre sliders are lubed!

Topre sliders, MX caps

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