As the title says, what would be interesting to those looking for inexpensive DIY keyboard designs?

I created the TestDrive series to be inexpensive, require as little soldering as possible, and allow reusing as many parts as possible (hot-swap key switches and non-permanent mcu mounts) to keep the cost of trying things low. I am working on some additional designs and curious what really would be helpful for others here.

I'm focusing on split ergos, as that's my interest, but may do others too.

For instance, if i made the same series as TestDrive but based on RP2040-zero boards, if we went with soldered in boards, the cost for three with their own MCUs would be about the same as the original three TestDrive boards sharing a single pair of XIAOs.. and honestly work better! The press in socket design depending on wire against the castellations is finicky.. resulting in sometimes iffy connections.

Im currently working on a design that creates a diy socket for RP2040-zero boards with headers, but im not sold on the approach.

Open to any thoughts, from other builders or others who are interested..

  • The skeletyl has an option to do a unibody. I like that thought especially for something you want to take to and from work

    parent

    I have not built a unibody yet, but its definitely on my list of todos

    parent root
  • parent

    I was actually just consulting your board design last week regarding the MCU mount! Small world!

    parent root

  • I’m most interested in the opposite of all of that. Soldered in switches, as few failure points as possible, optimized for one purpose, 3x5.

    parent

    The point of my TestDrive was to reduce costs of trying different booards, and being able to move switches between boards is key.

    Myself.. I prefer some form of hot-swap on the keys because I change my mind, and make lots of boards so as i move on i will populate less used boards with cheap or no switches, moving my favorites to new iteratons.

    the thought of sinking the price of a full set of switches into a board i may replace in a few months is too much for me.

    parent root

    That seems to be the prevailing thought around here. And it’s good stuff, but I’ve personally kind of settled on my preferences and just want something that will travel a little better.

    parent root

    Makes sense! Everyone has their own needs and preferences!

    parent root

  • so... based in what I would do if I had time....

    you want as many parts reusable as possible, so you can buy them once and re-use them for multiple designs. that means:

    • pcb1: 3 - 4 switches vertically connected in a column. you only need to connect the rows, + 1 cable per column.
    • pcb 2: MCU socket with pins exposed for adding things like trackpads or trackballs, screens... etc if desired
    • PCB 3: thumb cluster with 5-8 keys, breakable, with 3 in an arc. So it can be adapted to many designs.

    Each of the above would need switch plates - covers (3d print, pcb FR4 without tracks) with some holes for m2 spacers.

    to design a new keyboard, you can reuse all pieces and only need a base to screw the PCBs/ covers (depending in the design), the way you wish.

    Icing in the cake would be a 3d printed cover to connect a trackball with existing pmw boards, and another one for popular trackpads (azoteq or 40mm xirque, fkat or curved overlay. Had I to choose one, cirque 40 mm with curved overlay

    Infinite designs with the same firmware just creating a new bottom plate.

    Could offer a basic python script to parameterize 3d printed bottom, based on: - vertical stagger per column - Number of columns (5-6) - Horizontal offset of thumb cluster - # keys per thumb cluster

    Nothing fancy, no custom outlines, just switches and, if added to the design, a location for trackball) trackpad.

    I see myself buying all the above and printing 5-6 different combinations to test drive. Soldering would a 1 time investment. If using sockets, switches can be replaced so that would be a must.

    But I am just a dreamer with no time xd.

    parent

    A little different direction than my efforts, but not far from thoughts I have had for the innards for my own development just to ease the assembly.

    But not really fitting my current "low cost" target, with all those custom PCBs - sure, there are some pretty cheap ways to create pcbs.. but the fact is the set of pcbs you are talking about there would still cost you more than an entire set of all three TestDrive and a pair of XIAO boards, and probably the key switches as well.

    parent root

    well, time is money.... if you can fit the PCBs into 100x100 mm I think jlcpcb only charges like £5 per 5, so with about 15£ + postage gets you there. Getting cables and soldering everything by hand is more time.

    But hey I really respect what you are trying to do here, it is great for the community and I really like the philosophy:).

    parent root

    Yeah I am keen to give JLPCB a go, and have some thoughts there .. and will soon for a different project that is not far from what you suggest. Big problem I have here is the shipping ends up being $30 USD+ so I have to come up with a pretty large order to keep the price reasonable.

    Thanks for the input!

    parent root