Keyboard Builders' Digest / Projects
Manibus: a split aluminum keyboard
The Manibus is a split ergo aluminum keyboard by DrFish96 featuring magnetic wrist rests.
Published September 13, 2021
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Although this project is not open-source, the plate files are available for testing:
https://github.com/SamuraiKek/manibus-switch-plates
I've always wanted a high end aluminum ergo keyboard so 3 years ago I set out to build my own. […] After a lot of redesigns, prototyping and testing, I have finally reached an end game that I would like to share with you all – DrFish96.
Here are a few details about Manibus:
- Split ergonomic aluminum keyboard with polycarbonate wrist rests that attach magnetically.
- It has 62 keys and is designed to be usable with TKL layouts so you won't have to spend extra $$ on a special ergo keycap kit.
- It has USB-C connections and hot-swap sockets.
- The thumb cluster, while odd looking at first glance, has gone through many iterations, starting from ergodox like layouts until it's reached this final form which "feels super comfortable".
More pics: https://imgur.com/a/O2mF1rh
And a nice site for the keyboard: https://blank.computer/
Blank Tehnologii is a hardware design studio in Timișoara, western Romania run by two friends with no formal training in product design. We like to surround ourselves with beautifully functional products, so why not make our own? This is our first public experiment—who knows what we’ll do next.
In addition, they promise an injection-molded version of Manibus by the end of 2021.
Published on Mon 13th Sep 2021. Featured in KBD #43 (source).
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