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Dactyl Chimera V3

u/WolfIcefang's test bench for various column curvatures, Dactyl Chimera V3, is here!

KBD.news
Published March 26, 2023
Creators! Feel free to tip me off about your keyboard related projects to bring them to 140K readers.

Wolf Icefang's Dactyl Chimera V3 is an easy way to experiment with Dactyl shapes and accessories. A testing and research tool rather than a mechanical keyboard, designed for 3D printing, tinkering, and experimentation – featured first here.

The DC project aims to provide a "test bench" for various column curvatures in mechanical keyboards. Side effects: shorter 3d printing times, instant fine-tuning of column height and stagger and adjustable tenting.

It is not designed to look stylish, sound spectacular, or increase compactness. If you do not mind a couple (dozen) dangling wires or visible screws, DC should offer adequate reliability and durability for long-term, even permanent, use – WolfIcefang.

Features

  • Easy to print key columns that are instantly adjustable
  • A 20 by 20 mm space under each key for per-key PCBs
  • A complete model in FreeCAD
  • The “handbook”, a 40+ page build guide
  • easier access to column screws (you can properly unscrew the columns now)
  • The Conductor: a screw-based breadboard that lets you replace columns without soldering or desoldering
  • Adjustable tenting
  • Mounting plates for the Raspberry Pi Pico and RJ11 jacks

Interchangeable thumb clusters are also a goal of the project, but currently there's only one thumb cluster to choose from.

Resources

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Published on Sun 26th Mar 2023. Featured in KBD #117 (source).

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