this post was submitted on 07 Jul 2023
357 points (99.2% liked)

Asklemmy

44152 readers
725 users here now

A loosely moderated place to ask open-ended questions

Search asklemmy ๐Ÿ”

If your post meets the following criteria, it's welcome here!

  1. Open-ended question
  2. Not offensive: at this point, we do not have the bandwidth to moderate overtly political discussions. Assume best intent and be excellent to each other.
  3. Not regarding using or support for Lemmy: context, see the list of support communities and tools for finding communities below
  4. Not ad nauseam inducing: please make sure it is a question that would be new to most members
  5. An actual topic of discussion

Looking for support?

Looking for a community?

~Icon~ ~by~ ~@Double_A@discuss.tchncs.de~

founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[โ€“] hbocao@lemmy.world 9 points 1 year ago (3 children)

How do you build a custom keyboard? Do they sell every single part in different shapes? (I mean the "chassis", not the key caps). How custom can they be?

[โ€“] suborbital@lemmy.ml 14 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Beware brave traveler, you are asking questions that may result in a journey you did not wish to embark.

[โ€“] roux@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 year ago

This is so true. I spent hundreds on this lol. I am currently typing this on a Ferris Sweep with custom dyed keycaps and I ordered my PCBs special just so I could have them in purple to match my micro-controllers.

[โ€“] hbocao@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

lol

I don't think I have the patience nor the money and time, but it does sound fun.

[โ€“] roux@lemmy.ml 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

To add to what @denton@lemm.ee said, you can also buy kits from sites like Keebio and Novelkeys. There is a Etsy store call BeeKeebs I will always suggest because Leo is a really cool dude and offers a lot of kits for stuff that you'd otherwise have to part yourself.

I print my own PCBs and aim for boards that don't require diodes. I have most of my boards with Choc Sunsets which are aftermarket custom low profile switches form loweprokb.ca. All my boards run on a fork of QMK called Vial and the hobby gets weird from there. If you are on discord there is a meckkeys server that has a ton of info.

For how custom they can be: Look up Ben Vallack's Piano2. It's an 18 key board that he uses for everyday use including writing code. QMK and it's forks are extremely powerful pieces of software that still blows my mind and I've been using it for 3 years.

[โ€“] hbocao@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Holy Molly.

That's a lot of possibilities.

I found some really good looking custom keyboards.

[โ€“] roux@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 year ago

Another sites I forgot to mention since I was half asleep when wrote that was kbfans. I have seen people that get into the hobby to the point of building their own get kits from them or Novelkeys. Both offer hotswap PCBs which means you don't need to solder the switches and can change them if you want. They offer 60% and TenKeyless which is probably where most people aim for so I think it's a good place to start.

Also if you want keycaps, Amazon, Ali and Banggood sell knockoff copycaps(lol) of a lot of designs for a lot cheaper. Look for "double shot" or "dye-subbed". Those are gonna last and you won't get fading legends like on cheap boards.

And don't get too overwhelmed with switch choice paralysis. If you break it down to linear, tactile, and clicky for feel and then light, medium, and heavy spring weight, it gets a bit easier to navigate to what you might want. Tactile will have a light bump or a heavy bump(popular in the last few years) but other than that, they offer testers and samples.

[โ€“] denton@lemm.ee 4 points 1 year ago (2 children)

They can be as custom as you want! I've made a few by coming up with a layout I want, making the 3D model for the case, 3D printing it out and handwiring it up myself, then doing the firmware for it.

You can make something that once only existed in your head into something you use every single day!

[โ€“] hbocao@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

Ok, I just watched a video of Ben Vellack's Piano that @roux recommended. Damn!

[โ€“] hbocao@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Oh, right! I forgot about 3D printing.

Sorry if I sound stupid but still, what about the actual board (pcb?)? I mean, yeah, I guess you can get them in custom shapes as well, but sounds too advanced.

Another thing I'm failing to understand the possibilities of is about the firmware. What can different?

[โ€“] denton@lemm.ee 3 points 1 year ago

You can either design your own PCB or handwire. I handwire because it's cheaper, and I don't have to order min 5 pieces and have extra lying around after.

Look up QMK, you can do a million different things with the firmware.