A machined keyboard with machined caps A machined keyboard with machined keycaps by saturnfig .
KBD.news Published July 2, 2021
Creators! Feel free to
tip me off about your keyboard related projects to bring them to 140K readers.
Gallery with lots of pictures and some info: https://imgur.com/a/HyNVOiF
Actual runtime + setup time on the case was ~70 hours (100 if you include the fixture) because I had to do 7 different setups and a lot of shifting and checking with my dial indicator until it was where I wanted it.
The whole thing was machined on a Haas mini mill, 16" x travel the case is 17.7" so that was what took so long. Also cutting the really small radius for the key switch cutouts took forever. The keycaps took a bit but not nearly as brutal as the case because 6 could be done at a time.
It "only" cost around $300. Most of the material was donated so that helped. Total BOM cost would be another $300 too.
Published on Fri 2nd Jul 2021. Featured in KBD #33 (source ).
Related When one form of stagger simply isn't enough
the van erGogh comes to the rescue. Committed by
KnoblesseOblige .
Two board concepts that minimize finger movement and use CircuitPython by
SouthPawEngineer .
Daily inspiration: a nice blend of walnut and acrylic.
PCBWay now offers
flexible transparent PCBs , based on PET.
Fellow builder
factoryofidols saw those deskmats the size of your keyboard and got inspired.
FGHTR SWTCH is a unique artisan keycap housing by
mecxlabs .
About KBD.news is a blog and newsletter on DIY mechanical keyboards. A hand-picked selection of posts from a keyboard enthusiast's perspective (more + contact ).
Support this project
MK Advent Calendar 2024
Meetups in your area
Discount codes for ya
Subscribe now!
Join the 3,000+ readers who get news and useful links delivered to their inboxes once a week.
Check the latest newsletters→
Latest issue
Check the archive→
Supporters splitkb.com , ZSA Technology Labs , MoErgo Glove80 , Aiksplace , Upgrade Keyboards , @keebio , Cyboard , Jason Hazel , Jacob Mikesell , Sean Grady , Ergohaven , KEEBD , @kaleid1990 , littlemer-the-second , Timo , ghsear.ch , u/motfalcon , Bob Cotton , FFKeebs , @therick0996 , Christian Mladenov , Schnoor Typography , Daniel Nikolov , u/eighty58five , Brendan P. , Caleb Rand , James McCleese , Ben M , Yuan Liu , zzeneg , Spencer Dabell , Anatolii Smolianinov , Penk Chen , Clacky , Matthias Goffette , Stefan S. , Alex Miller , Trey Causey , Hating TheFruit , Mario S. , Cloyce , Dylan Ingham , Gordon Diggs , Shnobble , Davidjohn Gerena , Duncan B. , HubertTheMad , Richard Dawe, s_p_l_o_d_e
Toolkit
Keyboard Layout Editor , Plate Builder / Plate Generator , QMK / kbfirmware.com (to QMK ), Pro Micro pinout & upgrade
Community
r/mk , ErgoMech , r/mechmarket , geekhack.org , deskthority.net , keebtalk.com/ , lemmy/mk/ , lemmy/ergomech/ , kbin/mk/
Production
PCB design guide , another one , PCB price comparison , lasergist , laserboost , hubs.com