I’ve bought the idea of getting an ergo keyboard for work, but it’s too expensive to buy one from where I live, so the last days I’ve been learning and designing my own.

I know it won’t be as good as a manufactured one but I really want to see how the result will be

  • HamBrick@programming.dev
    2·
    1 year ago

    I’m of the opinion that if it’s cheaper with the same or more functionality than a consumer grade option, it’s superior. Bravo

  • humanplayer2@lemmy.ml
    1·
    1 year ago

    Nice! If you haven’t bumped into it, then the build log of the Steel Tormentor and it’s cardboard prototype have been really illuminating for me.

    Edit: Also, an Inkscape trick: you can set it’s zoom using a real ruler placed on the screen so it can show you your drawing real size. Then you can test button placement without having to print.

    • gusVLZ@sh.itjust.worksOP
      0·
      1 year ago

      Wow, great content, it will definitely be helpful once I start building the keyboard, my father in law works with laser cutting and acrylic so I’m planning on using it for the case/board

      About the inkscape tip, I’m doing this, helped a lot because I could fine tune the angles and offsets pretty quickly

      • humanplayer2@lemmy.ml
        0·
        1 year ago

        Edit: I put up my .svg files here, in case they might be useful.

        Cool! I just did a full Inkscape+laser-cutting build using MDF and acrylic. I’m still to write something up about it, though. In short, I used a 1,5 mm acrylic bottom cover, on top of that 2x 3mm MDF as “case” (minimum height with a 1,5mm plate), the top one supporting the plate, but with larger holes so the switch clamps fit, a 1,5mm acrylic plate, and finally another MDF layer on top of the plate, outlining the keys, for aesthetics and rigidity.

        After having set up the keys, I used mainly offsets around those to do the outline etc.

          • humanplayer2@lemmy.ml
            1·
            1 year ago

            Thanks :)

            Yes, I do! I enjoyed a cardboard prototype before, and only just finished this. I really like it. The fit is great, and I like the sound. I gave it some small feet in the back (some 3mm foam tape) to lift it a bit from the table/deskmat, to get some more sound out - there’s zero space between the switches and bottom plate… And I like the sound.

            Switching to the prototype, I switched to Colemak, too. I’m still learning that. So I’m by no means a fast typist on it yet. But I already know better where the keys are on Colemak than I did on QWERTY, and I think the symmetric, column-staggered layout helped a lot with that.