What store did you go to? I want to visit one in Berlin!
ErgoMechKeyboards
Ergonomic, split and other weird keyboards
Rules
Keep it ergo
Posts must be of/about keyboards that have a clear delineation between the left and right halves of the keyboard, column stagger, or both. This includes one-handed (one half doesn't exist, what clearer delineation is that!?)
i.e. no regular non-split¹ row-stagger and no non-split¹ ortholinear²
¹ split meaning a separation of the halves, whether fixed in place or entirely separate, both are fine.
² ortholinear meaning keys layed out in a grid
No Spam
No excessive posting/"shilling" for commercial purposes. Vendors are permitted to promote their products/services but keep it to a minimum and use the [vendor] flair. Posts that appear to be marketing without being transparent about it will be removed.
No Buy/Sell/Trade
This subreddit is not a marketplace, please post on r/mechmarket or other relevant marketplace.
Some useful links
- EMK wiki
- Split keyboard compare tool
- Compare keycap profiles Looking for another set of keycaps - check this site to compare the different keycap profiles https://www.keycaps.info/
- Keymap database A database with all kinds of keymap layouts - some of them fits ergo keyboards - get inspired https://keymapdb.com/
It's really cool, with plenty of colourful stuff, but if you ask about ergonomic they point you to an Alice style board....
https://geekboards.de/ Prenzlauer Allee 45A, 10405, Berlin Germany
Do you live in Germany? Would you recommend sourcing laser cutting services here?
Yes I live in Berlin.
I Would try some hacker space maybe? I think x-hain has a lot of these things. I've never been therw myself though
Thanks! Looks good
similar to a drum, the empty space inside the case acts as a resonator and most of the dampening options try to fill in the space – EDIT: reminder that whatever you use, make sure it’s non-conductive
- initial sound generation – silent switches, no long-pole stems – reminder that switches generate as much sound on upstroke as downstroke
- dampening the plate response – burger mount, gasket mount
- empty space between plate and PCB – most commonly filled in with laser cut Poron foam (“plate foam”)
- empty space in case under PCB – filled in with a whole range of materials
- most common currently also laser cut Poron foam (“case foam”)
- early experiments with rubber shelf liner, Sorbothane (automotive audio dampener), and Poly-fil all with good affordable results
- high-end DIY includes silicone pours – filling up the bottom of the case with silicone and letting it set in place (how-tos on Youtube)
Thanks! That's one serious checklist :-)
The case I made might be a lost cause - it's got very little space for dampening the sound with foam, but enough to become an echo chamber. I'll see what I can do, but not optimistic.
I will keep this in mind for my next design though.
Thanks again!
You could add rubber feet, sub-pcb foam liner, lube the switches, o-rings work too but feel awful. Also having a neoprene keyboard/mousepad helps too. I’d recommend positively affixing the pcb+plate to the case so it doesn’t rattle either.
Because of the material, affixing might create the problem, or at least make it worse. I think affixing the plate with rubber layer might be the solution, but never tried that.
It could but the concern weird be rattle if you have any. I what wouldn’t fall do the whole “keyboard specific dampening foam”, I use packing foam on my keyboard between the case and PCB and it’s totally fine. But the PCB is also screwed into metal standoffs in a wooden case, and I have no plate. Surprisingly I don’t have an issue with switch movement. And the seller stopped selling plates while they unloaded stock of PCBs. I’ve been too lazy to reverse engineer the plate design, which the seller also for some reason did not want to release (even though they had released other plate designs). Really dumb. But keyboard works so whatever :)