u/Alescito shared his workflow of testing Ergogen layouts by 3D printing them.
KBD.news Published July 10, 2022
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Alescito 3D printed his Ergogen PCB design to test it. Here is the workflow:
Not sure about your ergogen design? In Kicad export it as .step, open it with fusion and convert to STL. Print and test it.
And I'm not sure if this is the most environmentally friendly way of doing this. As Anodynosaur points out in the comments, if you want to test just the keyboard layout, you can save some time and material by using the cases functionality of Ergogen.
It can generate the STL for you directly without having to go through kicad and can also greatly simplify the model – Anodynosour.
However, Alescito's goal was to test how all the electronic components would fit:
I am actually doing it this way so I can see how two batteries, a trackpoint and a big oled screen fit and look almost like it were the real PCB.
Dénes Bán, the guy who originally created the Absolem keyboard, talks about how it turned into a more all-purpose ergo keyboard generator, and what new features it sports with the fresh release of v4.0.