Keyboard Builders' Digest / Projects
WeirdFlexButOk - MX
Penk Chen released the MX version of his unibody ergo WeirdFlexButOk with kerf bending cuts for tenting.
Published July 13, 2024
After the original Choc-spaced WeirdFlexButOk, Penk Chen aka penkia shared a hotswap MX version of this cool monoblock split with the characteristic flexible PCB.
Following the successful PoC of the WeirdFlexButOk for Choc, I've created an MX-spacing version – penkia.
Like the Choc version, this keyboard features a 0.8mm PCB with curved traces (kerf cuts) near the thumb clusters. These cuts allow the board to flex along the contour of the 3D printed case, providing a 20° tilt and 10° tent from a single PCB.
This design simplifies manufacturing and assembly, making it more cost-effective to produce (using just one piece of standard FR-4 board) and easier to assemble (as there are no additional connectors or soldering joints).
Additional features include breakable 6th columns for a 36- or 42-key configuration, hotswap sockets, and 4 optional RGB underglow LEDs.
Specs
- monoblock split
- 36-42 keys (6x3+3 or 5x3+3)
- hotswap, MX switches, MX spacing
- flexible PCB
- built-in tenting via flex cuts
- break-off pinky column
- RP2040-Zero
- optional underglow LEDs
Resources
WeirdFlexButOk-MX is fully open source and available at:
Published on Sat 13th Jul 2024. Featured in KBD #169 (source).
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