Alright. over the next few days, I can start getting screw potitions nailed, then I can start working up a variety of different cases, from 3d print, CNC, laser cut, and maybe a bent steel one too
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I’ve always be intrigued by 40% and alike keyboards, also a bit afraid to jump in because so much used to full size or tkl layouts.
I’m curious to know if I could adapt to such a small size keyboard and I’ll definitely have a try with the Kicad design you provided us.
Also wanting to jump into the STM32 MCU in the future so your design will be a very good reference 
Thanks for sharing your project with us!
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Woot! This is awesome! Glad you’re keeping the TVK alive!
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Very cool, thanks so much for your work on this! I’m really interested to see your case designs
You’re welcome! There was definitely an adjustment period for me with the MiniVan. But now, I’m just as comfortable on the MiniVan layout as I aim on my 60% boards. A large part of my day job is writing software, and I’m able to do it quite effectively on the 40% boards as well. Thanks for checking out the project!
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Great to see that there are now also 3rd party MiniVan PCBs. There are already 3rd party MiniVan cases out there (Keyboardbelle, StrataKB — none of them seems to be open source though — yet).
Apropos, it would be nice if you could add a license declaration (e.g. by adding a file called LICENSE or LICENSE.md) to your GitHub repo. Github’s Choose A License service might help if you’re unsure what license is best for you.
Thanks for the feedback! And that’s a very good point. I’ll try to get a license on there this weekend. I’ll post back once I’ve got a license on there!
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Any recommendation where one could order PCBs based on these files? Are there even services which are producing PCBs with all SMD parts already mounted?
There are tons in China, I think JLCPCB is pretty popular around here, and PCBway is one I’ve used.
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I recommend JLCPCB too but there are a few components in this PCB are not supported by JLCPCB automated PCBA. The components are either too small or not supported by the pick and place machine. They are therefore need to be hand soldered afterward.
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The only PCB assembly service I’ve used is Elecrow in China, Their quality is quite good, but small-run PCB assembly can be fairly expensive. Small run PCB fabrication without assembly is a lot cheaper, but then you need to source all the SMD components and solder them yourself (this is what I do). It would be great for someone else in the community with some PCB design experience to do a sanity check on the design. It’s not my first design, and I’ve successfully built boards based on the design, but I’d just feel bad if I missed something and it cost you a lot of money. There’s nothing in the design itself that concerns me though.
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Sorry for the delay on this, have been dealing with some IRL stuff. I’ve added a Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 4.0 International license to the project. It’s one I used on another PCB project. I believe it’s a good choice. My goal is to make the design usable without much in the way of restrictions. If you think it might not be the best choice, I’m certainly open to suggestions!
Edit: link to license.
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Have you had a chance to test out the latest version of the PCB? I have been meaning to order some and assemble it myself…
I have! I’m happy with the rev. 2 version of the PCB. I’ve got it fitting nicely in an R3 Nickel MiniVan case, and also in an aftermarket wood case by u/lxkhn on reddit. Definitely keep us posted here if you get some boards and assemble them!
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Sounds good with me! I do stacking acrylic cases and wanted to check out this PCB. I’ll have to sit down and order some tonight to play around with. I might even fork and add that 6.25u spacebar layout (unless you already added it, I have not opened up the pcb project folder yet lol)
Awesome contribution to the community.
Thanks, I’m glad to be able to make the contribution!
Nice, I just saw in your profile that you run SM Keyboards. I’ve been following you on Instagram for a while and I really like the cases! It would definitely be cool to have another MiniVan case option.
6.25u space bar option would be very cool! I haven’t added that option yet, but I’d welcome a pull request to support it for sure.
I’ll see what I can do this weekend!!
Hi! Apologies in advance for my lack of knowlege about PCBs and such. I’m curious to know if there is a “cpl” file to go along with the github files for the SteamVan. I’ve been wanting to try out this pcb but (in my limited knowlege) I think I need the gerber, bom, and cpl if I want to order a fully working pcb?
Thanks in advance for any replies and/or help.
Did you click on the Github link? It contains the Gerbers and BOM. That is all you really need. You may have to zip up the Gerbers folders, as most sites expect a Zip on upload.
There is another Minivan clone PCB out there called the Getawayvan as well. There was a group buy for it recently and I expect it will go in and out of production.
I was late to the Getawayvan - might try to pick up extras! But I don’t love the layout. Might make an exception though as I think the silk and the plate are dope af. I was also late to grab a few Ketches so I wanted to explore the SteamVan option as my “next phase” of my keyboard hobby is turning all of my hotswap minivans into soldered minivans. I also figure this could be a way for me to slowly learn about PCB “stuff.”
My only concern with only having the BOM and the Gerber is that when I go to - say - jlpcb, if I want the SMT components installed they require both a BOM and a CPL (in addition to the Gerber). Is there somewhere else that I could go that only requires the BOM and Gerber?
Thanks for the reply!