building a keyboard from scratch

Building a keyboardfrom scratch Jesse Vincent

[email protected]://keyboard.io

@obra / @keyboardioWednesday, July 24, 13

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

Why?

Wednesday, July 24, 13

My boss stole my keyboard


WARNING

WARNING

There are no more cat pictures in this talk


I couldn’t find a keyboard I wanted


I tried


So, you want tomake a keyboard?


Tools you’ll need


SolderingIron

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BRC2XU

$5+ ($86)


Wirecutter

$0.99


Tools you’ll want


Wirecutter

http://www.adafruit.com/products/147

$7


Solder Sucker

http://www.adafruit.com/products/148$5


Fine-tipped tweezers


$4


Wire-wrappingtool

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006C43VJU

$13


Multimeter

http://www.amazon.com/B000EVYGZA/

$20


Hot Glue Gun

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0009XTPAO

$20


Parts you’ll need


Keyswitches


Cherry MXKeyswitches

http://www.cherrycorp.com/english/switches/key/mx.htm

$0.80/ea




Key Caps

http://www.wasdkeyboards.com/87-key-cherry-mx-keycap-set.html

$37




Don’t makeyour own


26-30AWGEnamel-insulatedmagnet wire

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0082CUQEIWednesday, July 24, 13

Rosin-coreSolder

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008DEYEAW

$6


Teensy 2.0Microcontroller

http://www.pjrc.com/store/teensy.html

$16


ArduinoPro Microis also ok

https://www.sparkfun.com/products/11098

$20


WARNING

WARNING

There is no more Arduino in this talk


MiniUSB cable

$0


Parts you’ll want


$9

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006C4ABR0

26-30AWGKynar-insulatedwire-wrappingwire


Jumper wires


$7


IN4148Diodes

$12...for 500

http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/1N4148-T/1N4148DICT-ND/160623Wednesday, July 24, 13

Parts you’ll make


The case


Design your own!


14mm square holes


3+ mm apart


Top plate:1.5 mm thick


I designed my first keyboards inOmniGraffle


14mm

14mm3+mm

3+mm


Prototypewith paper


Use lasers to cut out the pieces


Use CAD to model the weirderstuff


openscadmodule key(x,y,rotation) { translate([(x*key_spacing),(y*key_spacing),-0.01]) { rotate(rotation) key_inner(); }}

module key_inner() { union() { translate([0,0,-3.5]) key_support(); cube(size=[keyswitch_x,keyswitch_y,keyswitch_plate_thickness], center=true); }}

module key_support() { difference() {

cube(size=[key_spacing-2,key_spacing-2,6], center=true); interior_bevels(); }}


openscadmodule keyColumn(x,y) { translate([(x*key_spacing),(y*key_spacing),0]) { key(0,0); key(1,0); key(2,0); key(3,0); }}module hand() { rotate([0,0,-9]) keyColumn(0.5,-0.05); rotate([0,0,-13]) keyColumn(0.1,1.4); rotate([0,0,-15]) keyColumn(-0.2,2.7); rotate([0,0,-20]) { keyColumn(-0.2,4); keyColumn(0,5); key(2.2,6); key(3.2,6); } translate([165,24,0]) thumbKeys();}


What didn’t I mention?


Printed Circuit Board


You do know how to design and etch PCBs right?


Can you teach me?


Putting it together


Try the keys & keycaps


Start Soldering


Flat pin:Connect Diode

Square pin: Connect wire


Wire-wrap the keys in each row


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wire_Wrapping.jpgWednesday, July 24, 13

Solder the diodes in columns


Why Diodes?


Key Ghosting


Credit: @pdcawleyWednesday, July 24, 13

then trim the terminal wires


Connect them in parallel


Connect the black ends to the keys


Don’t solder the diodes to each other


You want thewire-wrapping wire


Solder a wire to each column


Solder a wire to each row


Connect those wires to the microcontroller


Firmware


Install avr-gcc

pjrc.com/teensy/gcc.html


InstallTeensyLoader

pjrc.com/teensy/loader.html


Configure some keyboard firmware


github.com/humblehacker/keyboard


% vi config.kspec


% make


Install your firmware


Test your keyboard


(This is why you want a multimeter)


My experiences


Mark 1 KeyboardWednesday, July 24, 13

shell from ergodox.org


Mark 2 Keyboard


Mark 3 Keyboard


Mark 4Keyboard


Mark 5Keyboard


Mark 6 Keyboard


Mark 7 Keyboard


Mark 8Keyboard


Mark 9 Keyboard


What have I learned?


Hardware is not scary


3D printers are almost there


Iterating on hardwareisn’t much harder than iterating on software


Patching hardware is a lot harder


Patching hardwareis a lot more satisfying


Keyboards don’t have to suck


Make one


...or nine


What’s next?


Figuring out a mousing solution


Learning aboutPCB design


Learning aboutcontract manufacturing


Learning how to makea Kickstarter video


Questions?


Thanks!

Jesse Vincenthttp://keyboard.io

[email protected] /@obraWednesday, July 24, 13

http://keyboard.io

http://keyboard.io

http://keyboard.io

http://keyboard.io

http://keyboard.io

http://keyboard.io

building a keyboard from scratch

Technology

wire cutter http

key caps http

microcontroller http

tool http

multimeter http

solder sucker http

jumper wires http

soldering iron http