Tom's 3x6 board A Piantor-derivative by Tom Strowger . 36-key low-pro alu split keyboard driven by wireless XIAOs.
KBD.news Published April 7, 2026
Creators! Feel free to
tip me off about your keyboard related projects to bring them to 150,000 readers.
Tom Strowger (aka Silly_Vacation_899 ) shared his 36-key low-profile aluminum split keyboard. Wireless via XIAO nRF52840, inspired by the Piantor .
I've been using this one for the past year so can say it's now passed the real-world test. This is a split wireless low-profile build with an aluminium top case. It zips up nicely in a case so travels with me between work/home. No cables required except when I need to charge it, and the battery lasts over a month – Tom.
Built using Ergogen.
Specs
42 keys (5x3+3 split layout)
Choc switches , hotswap
Seeed Studio XIAO nRF52840 controller
aluminum top case
The PCB is not flippable as the battery charger pads on the MCU would not be reachable.
Resources
Published on Tue 7th Apr 2026. Featured in KBD #209 (source ).
Related Ho 's
FCS42S is a split keyboard with adjustable per-column offsets and pinky splay.
Protieusz has a new handwired 40% unibody split: the
Vimana features a Meshi trackball module by Aki27. PCB to be tested.
DrGarbinsky finished the next iteration of the
Dactyl ManuBall .
An open-source wireless split keyboard by
yyevax :
Xavient is available both in 36-key or 42-key configs.
u/Fmcraft published his
Dilemma – a 5x3+2 split keyboard with trackpad.
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! Discount codes for ya Newsletter Subscribe now!
Powered by Buttondown.
More meetups→
Latest issue Check the archive→
Latest switch summary
Check the best-selling switch archive→
Check the switch database→
Supporters MoErgo Glove80 , splitkb.com , Upgrade Keyboards , Cyboard , @keebio , BeaverKeys , Jacob Mikesell , Timo , KEEBD , littlemer-the-second , TALPKEYBOARD , @kaleid1990 , Brendan P. , ghsear.ch , u/motfalcon , Ben M , Bob Cotton , FFKeebs , @therick0996 , Christian Mladenov , Schnoor Typography , Daniel Nikolov , u/eighty58five , Caleb Rand , Micah Alpern , Hana Lee , James McCleese , zzeneg , Spencer Dabell , Anatolii Smolianinov , Stefan S. , Penk Chen , Clacky , Trey Causey , Mario S. , Cloyce , Dylan Ingham , Gordon Diggs , RGBKeys , Matthias Goffette , Duncan B. , HubertTheMad , Jesse L. , Andres Sakk , Hating TheFruit , Shnobble , barraGOUDA , Ikasaya , TurtleKeebs , Technofrikus , Dickiedyce , drudru , Davidjohn Gerena , Filip Salo , TurkeyBoards , 0xcircuitbreaker , Chase M. , sungo , Derek Tam , s_p_l_o_d_e , Raphael S.
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 .