Addams by KBDcraft

KBDcraft released Addams, a LEGO-compatible numpad as a versatile companion for the widely popular Adams kit.

A hotswap, gasket mounted and brick-compatible numpad with multiple layouts supported, which you can stick to your original 60% Adam kit or palm rest upgrade – or integrate into your LEGO Millennium Falcon, Harry Potter castle or Frozen palace – in various ways? Addams by KBDcraft offers exactly this experience.

If you've been following the story of KBDcraft and the extremely popular Adam kit (featured also here), you may recall that BoyU had plans to release 12 models named after the angels in the Neon Genesis Evangelion anime. However, he's made some adjustments to the order of releases, and the latest model is Addams, who happens to be Adam's offspring and inherits his design style which is both minimalist and monochromatic.

We have developed Project 0110, which is a demonstration of modularity. Within this technical framework, we've created communicable PCBs and merging kits that will be released in a few days to assist players in creating personalized layouts with Addams – BoyU.

Kit Addams is a numpad and, according to the designer, the perfect accessory for laptops. It's also a 20% module, which means it can create various custom layouts with the original 60% Adam by merely reconstructing the brick cases.

Gasket mount case, white POM plate, and hotswap PCB with RGB. The full kit comes with S² switches, which are pre-lubed 40gf linears with POM stem – damn good in my opinion.

Price & Availability

The Addams kit is already available at kbdcraft. The base kit costs $25, while the full kit (with switches and keycaps) is $40.

Oh, and don't forget to use the KBDNEWS coupon code for a 5% discount.

Update

BoyU was kind enough to send me a sample of the Addams. It's a cool little gadget, and I really enjoyed building it. Uploaded a gallery with some pics to imgur.

Behind the Scenes of Issue 124

Lots of quick news, a few days off, new shops, discounts, meetups, etc.

Hey y'all,

As indicated earlier, I was unavailable for a couple of days, without internet nor cellphone signal most of the time. Feel free to ping me if you think I've missed something important in the meantime!

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Welcome back for another edition of Keyboard Builders' Digest (this time Issue #124), a weekly roundup of this DIY keyboard focused newsletter and blog from Tamas Dovenyi – that's me. If you are new to this, you can read how this started out and what this is all about nowadays. If you like what you see, subscribe to the newsletter (free) and donate some bucks to keep this otherwise free and ad-free project alive.

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Here are some projects which didn't make it to this issue but are worth checking out anyway:

Quick links

• MTNU pre-order announced by Matt3o and GMK_Andy (here). As you probably know, this is the new mid-height spherical sculpted profile. The spherical Cherry? A lower profile MT3? Well, I'll try to cover this in detail, but there are no photos yet and I wasn't sure I could add anything new to the regular updates and announcements already made. Reached out to Matteo to inquiry if he has anything to say what hasn't been told already:

There's a lot more I want to say especially about ergonomics. I'm very invested in trying to make the keycap shape/angles/size right but what people often ask is just "more colors!" – Matt3o.

So stay tuned. :)

• The Killer Whale posted by Hayashi Taro is a real killer. Unfortunately, I don't have more info on this one.
• I love this WIP split by cslimma/mecx too.
• ErgoThing by Durza777 – with flipping thumb clusters à la Moonlander.
• Frandestein – a compact split with magnets by FranDes.
• Waiting for more resources on the Samara by louckousee.
• Oops! – an all-1.25u meme layout by quirk.
• OkSet6700 keeps customizing his chair-mounted setup.

A few days off

I hope I haven't missed anything important while hiking with my family in the Carpathians last weekend. One of the many things I love about this area is that you can run into abandoned gothic ruins in the wilderness, e.g. this monastery dating back to the 1300s.

What's cool about this is that even the "graffities" and name tags are age-old, predating the very first mechanical typewriters – to get back to keyboards with a far-fetched plot twist.

Vendor database

New shops and updates to the database of keyboard vendors this week:

• Now that Simon launched this cool keycap customization service I featured here, I've added FK Custom to the vendor database. Use this link for a 15% discount! (You can't enter the code manually during the checkout yet.)
• As reported by Heather, Pulling Keys' discount is now 5% on all orders, not just certain items.

Meetup database

New entries and updates to the database of keyboard meetups:

• Orlando MechKeys Meetup (Jun 24) added.
• There was a meetup in Puerto Rico (May 27) but I learned about it too late.

As always, this meetup database is both a calendar and an archive so feel free to send me upcoming events or even ones from the recent past to make this collection as comprehensive as possible.

Donors

• New donation came from: TS. Thank you!
• And after we had a good chat and I posted the FalbaTech interview, Jan surprised me with an unexpected donation. Thanks a bunch!
• As usual, many thanks to the regular donors plus everyone who supported this project in any of its development stages.

Maintaining this site takes much more energy and time than my fulltime job does. It really does. (According to the Reddit Recap stats that's 100 hours per month on Reddit only.) If you'd like and can afford to help, here is the donation form.

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That's all for today. Thanks for checking by. As always: Keep learning and building!

Until next time, Tamás

Flactyl

Yan T shared his Flactyl, a pretty unique wireless split with 6-key flat thumb clusters.

The Flactyl, a tented wireless split by Yan T aka Past_Consequence_276, features a unique thumb cluster.

Designed to be poked, not pressed, this arrangement of the six thumb keys allows the author to use them in any combinations – thus in theory accessing up to 13 layers instead of just six.

Initially my plan was to build foldable keyboard yet with 60 degree tenting and big thumb cluster so it was something similar to dactyl yet flat when folded. Hence the name Flactyl. Unfortunately, I was not able to design foldable case and I've been struggling with it for very long time. So I decided to ditch that plan and go with the simple case you see now – Past_Consequence.

Videos

Typing:

Full intro:

Resources

• https://github.com/yangit/flactyl

Batarang

Protieusz made Batarang, a bat-shaped unibody split keyboard with trackpad and ISO enter.

Many monoblock splits have been likened to a batarang, Batman's bat-shaped throwing weapon, but Protieusz christened his creation just that: Batarang.

After the author's previous projects (e.g. HiveMind, Vimana), this particular Batarang is a 39-key, horizontally staggered unibody split keyboard with ISO enter – bat-shaped and currently in a Joker colorway. KLE remixed by a fellow enthusiast named jade the maid. Powered by a Pimoroni PGA2040, the board sports a USB-C daughterboard, rotary encoder, and a 40mm Cirque Glidepoint trackpad in the center.

The shape design took roughly 3 months of on and off designing. Currently everything works with 2 minor DIY adjustments that are the D+ and D- traces or mixed up so had to handwire to the correct pin on the MCU, and the trackpad holder was borrowed from Dilemma open-source trackpad holder and hot glued to the PCB – Protieusz.

Dark Knight theme is coming soon using a matte black resin case with matching black (GMK Awaken) keycaps.

Resources

Rev 7 with the fixed traces has been uploaded:

• Gerbers, 3D files, more photos on Github: https://github.com/protieusz/Batarang

KiCad plugin for keyboard design

admwscki's kicad-kbplacer is a KiCad plugin using KLE layouts to place switches and diodes.

The kicad-kbplacer KiCad plugin by adamws/admwscki is a handy tool for designing keyboard PCBs. Developed an open-sourced to simplify mechanical keyboard PCB design, it automatically places switches and diodes, and uses the popular JSON layout description format of Keyboard Layout Editor.

All PCBs for mechanical keyboards share common properties which creates great opportunity for scripting. Although this project does not aim to provide a complete automatic PCB generation tool, it speeds up the development process by reducing the task of placing the element – adamws.

This tool is compatible with KiCad 7 and available in the official KiCad plugin repository.

(KLE is great for more classic or ortho layouts, but it gets a real pita once rotation and symmetry is involved, i.e. when designing split boards. In this case you may prefer ErgoGen.)

Features

• Automatic key and diode placement
• Support for different annotation schemes
• Basic track routing
• Key rotation support
• User selectable diode position in relation to key position

Resources

• https://github.com/adamws/kicad-kbplacer
• http://keyboard-tools.xyz/

Artsy Fartsy

Artsy Fartsy is an ergo artsey keyboard by GrO3veman.

So Artsy Fartsy by Marco (GrO3veman, GroooveBob) is not a macropad but a full-fledged "ergo" artsey keyboard with its eight keys.

You may remember Artsey from earlier posts (here and here) – it's a one-handed keyboard system designed to be easy to learn, comfortable to use, and fast enough for practical use, operated by just four fingers over a small range of motion.

Resources

• https://github.com/GroooveBob/artsyfartsy
• https://artsey.io/

Unibody Ximi

Sadek Baroudi turned the Ximi into a unibody split by designing a new tented case.

Sadek Baroudi (fingerpunch.xyz) designed a monoblock case for his otherwise true split Ximi PCB. The case has a fixed 10 degree tenting.

So, I love unibodies, but I feel like I'm missing out sometimes in that you can't easily tent them… – Sadek Baroudi.

The Ximi supports dual trackballs / trackpad, so Sadek wired up the left half to a breakout board with a mount for a 57mm trackball, and used Amoeba royales single-key PCBs to wire up the extra mouse keys below the trackball.

As the author points out, with so many split keyboard PCBs out there, you can do this with any of them with a bit of 3D modeling.

Resources

• This case (and a few variants) are all available here.
• This exact case is comprised of these stls: 1, 2, 3.
• Ximi: https://fingerpunch.xyz/product/ximi

UT22

The UT22 is a gorgeous 22-key unibody split for the Artsey/Taipo input systems – created by Bubbleology_3DP.

The UT22, a 22-key columnar staggered board by Bubbleology was designed to be used with either the Artsey or Taipo layouts. It's essentially a left and right handed artsey/taipo board in a single body with extra thumb and pinky keys.

The traditional Artsey layout uses 8 keys and the Taipo layout 10 keys. Wanting more flexiblity and added practicality for my use case I added an extra pinky key to map frequently used mods or layers – Bubbleology.

Since the Artsey is a one-handed input method (and Taipo can be used on-handed as well), the UT22's keymap is mirrored meaning you can type any characters or symbols with either your left or right hand.

I've written about the Artsey here, however I wasn't aware of Taipo. For those not familiar with either of these layouts, they makes use of combos to output additional characters allowing you to write all letters, numbers and symbols with just 8 and 10 keys respectively.

Resources

• https://github.com/bubbleology/UT22
• https://artsey.io/
• https://inkeys.wiki/en/keymaps/taipo

FalbaTech turned 9

Today marks the 9 year anniversary of starting FalbaTech, so I reached out to Jan, who celebrates with offering you an extra discount.

It's quite crazy, but FalbaTech's Jan has been selling various split keyboards and unique wooden cases for nine years. To celebrate this anniversary, he was kind enough to offer you a 9% discount (more details at the end of this post).

I thought this was a good opportunity to learn more about FalbaTech and the people behind the company, so I reached out to the founder with some questions:

Could you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I come from a small town in the northern part of Poland. I have a degree in Mechatronics Engineering. Since I was young, I have enjoyed constructing and disassembling all available electronics. I gained professional experience working for electronic and IT companies. My passion lies in mechanical keyboards, and as a break from that, I enjoy playing the drums and, more recently, spending time with my son.

Can you remember how you got involved in the keyboard hobby? How did you end up as a vendor/manufacturer?

My brother, who was a co-founder of our company, infected me with the passion for keyboards. Over time, I became consumed by the desire to produce environmentally friendly keyboards.

Is falba.tech your fulltime job now? How should we imagine one of your average working days?

FalbaTech is my whole life. I accompany my clients from dispelling their doubts before making a keyboard purchase decision to overseeing the design process. I enjoy overseeing and participating in the work of my employees during the soldering, assembly, production, and final finishing stages of the keyboard. Currently, I personally assemble and test the product that the customer will receive, then I pack and ship it. After work, I eagerly seek new solutions and inspiration while spending time with my family. As commonly known, the best ideas come to mind in the shower, just before laying my head on the pillow, or during walks with my family.

Is this a family business or do you have other employees?

My brother, Cezary, has been out of FalbaTech for almost 8 years now, developing further as a programmer. Currently, FalbaTech is made up of 3 people: myself and my two employees, Aleksander and Ewelina. We are not a family, but after so many years we are like a family. And my son also likes to help, but he is not yet 2 years old. ;)

Why wood? Wood is quite hard to work with because it's a living material, contracting/expanding depending on e.g. temperature and relative humidity.

I chose wood because I care about the future of our planet. I actively participate in activities for the Earth's sake. I have my own garden, and I try not to buy items in plastic packaging. Whenever possible, I support local businesses. The wood used for keyboard production is already dried; the remaining steps involve proper processing and storage. It is also important to protect the wood properly. We use a special blend of oils and resins.

Poland is not really famous for its vast bamboo forests (or is it? :)) – where do you source bamboo from?

I produce keyboards not only from bamboo wood but also offer oak, ash, and acacia options. The source of bamboo wood will remain my secret (some secrets must be kept).

You do much more for the planet than using sustainable materials. Can you tell us more about your plant?

In addition to the previously discussed environmental initiatives, we use electricity generated by photovoltaic panels on the company's roof, draw water from a deep well, and have our own biological wastewater treatment plant.

What were some milestones of these past 9 years you'd like to highlight?

The key moment for the company's development was the move to a larger location. Our keyboards are not mass-produced, we focus on individual customers. Therefore, we are delighted with every small improvement.

What are your flagship products these days and are there any trends in the split scene you can identify based on your statistics or general knowledge of the market?

Currently, the most frequently chosen keyboard is the Redox. It is my favorite keyboard, and I use it myself. That's probably why it has so many case variations.

But our offering doesn't stop at keyboard support. We proudly provide a selection of complementary products, including wooden toys, stylish keycaps, keyboard fan pins, cables, mechanical switch replacements, cases, PCBs, and much more.

Any interesting projects you're working on right now?

I am working on modernizing and improving my products because I want the keyboards/cases I produce to serve customers flawlessly for years. The best gift is when a customer returns to me for another keyboard while the first one is still working and doing well. Soon, a new split keyboard that I have been working on for some time will be added to the offer.

Thanks for your time and good luck with your business. Do you have any closing message for the community?

As a small business located in a picturesque area, we strive to produce products tailored to our customers that will last for years while also considering ecological aspects. We are confident that new technologies can develop without destroying nature.

We are grateful to our customers for being part of our journey, and to express our gratitude, we offer you a 9% discount on all our products. Enter the code "9birthday" during checkout and join us in celebrating our amazing 9 years.

Lapa keyboard-mouse

Ilya Leonov's Lapa is an ergo split keyboard-mouse.

Ilya Leonov aka lemosbor posted his Lapa, a pretty interesting split keyboard-mouse with built-in mouse sensors.

Lapa (Лапа) means paw in Russian, which refers to tha fact that you use this keyboard "without moving the hands" – at least not raising, hovering and reaching for the mouse all the time.

This approach is pretty rare but not unique, the Mouseky and the Keymouse reflect similar concepts.

Features

• 36 keys
• The wrist-rest is part of the keyboard and is located higher than the main row keys.
• Built-in mouse sensor
• The thumb keys are located on a separate part of the case, much higher than other keys.
• Keywell with per-column arcs.
• The surface of the lowest key is at a distance of 2 cm from the table.

In addition, the oak pad for resting the wrist is replaceable, the halves are connected by a Russian connector type (РШ2Н-1-6) and they snap together by magnets for transport.

Resources

• Project page on Github (just photos and description, no project files).