A Hackable Keyboard That Even Has Screens

There are a huge number of available keyboards out in the world these days, catering to all of the plainest and the most advanced desires. However, if you want something that's just right, sometimes it pays to build your own. [Zach] did just that.

One of the key features of [Zach]'s build is that it diverges away from the Cherry MX switch form factor. The design uses low-profile switches instead, which help with keeping the keyboard low enough to avoid it causing wrist problems. The keyboard also uses IO expanders to hook up all the key switches, helping to reduce the incidence of ghost keys. The board can also be split in half, allowing it to be repurposed as a smaller macropad when desired.

It's all wrapped up in a cool 3D printed case, and there are even three OLED displays on the right-hand side. They're soldered to the PCB on special cutouts that allow the displays to flex and trigger tactile switches, acting as giant pressable buttons.

[Zach] does a great job explaining all the nifty engineering decisions he made to cram maximum functionality into the design. We've seen some other great DIY ergonomic designs too. Video after the break.

#peripheralshacks #keyswitch #keyswitches #keyboard #mechanicalkeyboard #oled

Neue #tastatur mit #green #keyswitch bisher bin ich davon sehr angetan und die ist erstaunlich leise :-P

Mag-Lev Switches Are the Future of Clacking

While there's probably a Cherry MX clone born every year or so, it's not often that such a radically different type of switch comes along. These "Void" switches are Hall-effect magnetic levitation numbers devised by keyboard connoisseur and designer [riskable]. Can you imagine how satisfying it is to clack on switches that actuate with magnets? They have adjustable tactility and travel thanks to even more tiny magnets. But you won't be able to get these in a group buy or anything. If you want some of these babies, [riskable] says you'll have to print and assemble 'em yourself.

These attractive switches don't have a Cherry MX footprint, either, so you'll need some of [riskable]'s AKUs, or Analog Keyboard Units (YouTube) to actually use them. [riskable] predicts that unlike the switches, the AKUs will likely be available to buy at some point in the future. (Okay good, because we really would love to know what these feel like in a keyboard!)

So, how do they work? As explained in the first video embedded below, there is one magnet in the slider and another in the housing. These two are attracted to each other, so actuating the switch separates them, which is where the Hall effect comes in. A third magnet in the keycap acts as the levitator to help return the switch to open position. The tactility of these switches is determined by the thickness of the plastic between the two lovebird magnets, so you could totally dial that in to whatever you want, in addition to all the other customization that 3D printing affords.

Tour and Teardown

The inimitable [Chyrosran22] featured these mag-nificent switches in one of his teardown videos, which is embedded below. One of the things [riskable] sent was a tactility sampler that ranges from an unimaginably tactile 0.0 mm of plastic in between them to not quite 2 mm.

In case you're wondering, the video is remarkably safe-for-work, which is surprising given the content creator's propensity for long strings of creative and hyphenated curses. We suppose [Chyrosran22] saves that stuff for the bad keyboards, then.

Stick around after the rightfully glowing review for [riskable]'s tour of a hand-wired analog macro pad using these switches. When you have a few extra minutes, check out the video build journey of these switches on [riskable]'s YouTube channel.

So, would these switches make the clickiest keyboard ever? Maybe, but consider this striking solenoid setup.

#peripheralshacks #clackhacks #keyboard #keyswitch #magneticswitch