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Mantis v0.2

Felix Kuehling's Mantis v0.2, sporting HEX keycaps, has now PCBs on two levels to imitate tenting.

KBD.news
Published March 16, 2023
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After his original Mantis, Felix Kuehling aka luckybipedal shared the next iteration of this unique unibody split keyboard with HEX keycaps.

The second prototype is working. It stacks a second PCB for the index finger and most thumb keys to approximate a key well and provide slight tenting – luckybipedal.

According to the author, the 8mm headers (used to stack the two PCBs) work but feel a little too high.

It actually makes my middle fingers feel short. I think I'll build another version using low-profile sockets and 5mm or 3mm M2 stand-offs before settling on a case design for the next version.

Specs

  • 1x Pro-Micro or compatible controller
  • 40 keys
  • low-pro Kailh Choc switches with hotswap sockets
  • FKcaps/s-ol's HEX caps
  • reset switch (optional)

Resources

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Published on Thu 16th Mar 2023. Featured in KBD #116 (source).


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Felix Kühling explains how hexagonal keys work surprisingly well in an ergonomic layout without fine-tuning parameters like hand rotation, column stagger and splay.

Mantis keycaps

Felix Kuehling released the updated keycaps for his Mantis keyboard.

Mantis with Hex caps

The Mantis prototype, shared by Felix Kuehling, is designed around the Hex caps.

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