Hi there,
I’m sure every keyboard noob comes to the point where they know enough to think “I could do that” but not enough to realise they can’t… so, here’s my go at questions re keyboard design (and for the time being they are all very hypothetical and in the name of research/curiosity).
Whenever I get the itch to google “how to design a keyboard” I mostly get guides or wikis to PCB design, rather than case design, and since my interest is firmly in the latter, I wondered:
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Why? What makes one PCB “better” (whatever that might mean apart from the great flex cut debate) than another? Is there something in the electronics that is “better”? Why not just use an existing PCB like a Hiney PCB or an extra from a group buy? And, I suppose, the joy of learning and building?
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why is there so little on case design (other than how to learn blender or fusion), or why is it so much harder to find information on that? I’m thinking of both practicalities like tolerances or angles or hard to produce, as well as aesthetic design language for keyboards (best practice, for lack of a better description). Also, how does case design affect sound?
In my own keyboard fantasy, I have a vague collection of design ideas, mostly centred on making it look interesting to look at from the top, potential variety of mounting styles, and sound, all of which I cheerfully no next to nothing about
Given my ongoing shelf building experiments, don’t hold your breath anything coming of this, but while I am still off work, help my imagination wander to new places, and have at me with your tips and tricks, advice, caution, and links, etc