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How does one go about building a custom mechanical keyboard? Are there any good resources to get started? I've long fantasized about building a standard-layou

by 394549 8y ago

How does one go about building a custom mechanical keyboard? Are there any good resources to get started? I've long fantasized about building a standard-layout keyboard with a couple of extra unobtrusive shift/modifier keys.

noncoml 8y ago
https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/ https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/ would be a good start
css 8y ago
Get yourself a switch tester [0], find a layout you like (or handwire your own [1]), and compile your own firmware [2]. The r/mk wiki has a great page [3] for starting to build your own. [0] https://www.amazon.com/KBDfans-Mechanical-keyboard-Tester-switches/dp/B07BTMWJ92/ https://www.amazon.com/KBDfans-Mechanical-keyboard-Tester-sw... [1] https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=87689.0 https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=87689.0 [2] https://qmk.fm/ https://qmk.fm/ [3] https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/wiki/customkeyboards https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/wiki/customkeyb...
Libbum 8y ago
Massdrop [0] have a lot of kits going up every so often, and it's one of the better places to get some of the very custom stuff. [0]: https://www.massdrop.com/mechanical-keyboards/drops https://www.massdrop.com/mechanical-keyboards/drops
CarVac 8y ago
Build your layout with keyboard-layout-editor, paste the raw data into builder.swillkb.com, order plates from Lasergist or export files for a different service, buy switches of your choice (I recommend Kailh Box switches), hand wire them up to a Teensy or Pro Micro, set up QMK for your matrix and layout, and program it.
mkozlows 8y ago
This is the beginning of an (incomplete as of now) series on doing so, and should be a good starting point: https://matt3o.com/book/ https://matt3o.com/book/
melling 8y ago
I have some links on Github: https://github.com/melling/ErgonomicNotes/blob/master/keyboards.org https://github.com/melling/ErgonomicNotes/blob/master/keyboa... There’s a small section for “Build Your Own”

by 394549 8y ago

noncoml 8y ago

https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/ https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/ would be a good start

css 8y ago

Get yourself a switch tester [0], find a layout you like (or handwire your own [1]), and compile your own firmware [2]. The r/mk wiki has a great page [3] for starting to build your own. [0] https://www.amazon.com/KBDfans-Mechanical-keyboard-Tester-switches/dp/B07BTMWJ92/ https://www.amazon.com/KBDfans-Mechanical-keyboard-Tester-sw... [1] https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=87689.0 https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=87689.0 [2] https://qmk.fm/ https://qmk.fm/ [3] https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/wiki/customkeyboards https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/wiki/customkeyb...

Libbum 8y ago

Massdrop [0] have a lot of kits going up every so often, and it's one of the better places to get some of the very custom stuff. [0]: https://www.massdrop.com/mechanical-keyboards/drops https://www.massdrop.com/mechanical-keyboards/drops

CarVac 8y ago

Build your layout with keyboard-layout-editor, paste the raw data into builder.swillkb.com, order plates from Lasergist or export files for a different service, buy switches of your choice (I recommend Kailh Box switches), hand wire them up to a Teensy or Pro Micro, set up QMK for your matrix and layout, and program it.

mkozlows 8y ago

This is the beginning of an (incomplete as of now) series on doing so, and should be a good starting point: https://matt3o.com/book/ https://matt3o.com/book/

melling 8y ago

I have some links on Github: https://github.com/melling/ErgonomicNotes/blob/master/keyboards.org https://github.com/melling/ErgonomicNotes/blob/master/keyboa... There’s a small section for “Build Your Own”