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BrownFox step by step

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First unread post • 196 posts 1 2 3 4 5 … 7

 26 Jun 2013, 19:56



This is the follow up article to my previous

Building a custom keyboard from the ground up. After all that theory I'm
finally ready for some action. matt3o
-[°_°]-


Please note that I'm no guru, I'm learning in the process.

brownfox2.jpg (34.53 KiB) Viewed 218237 times

The BrownFox is the codename of my custom 65% keyboard. The case
is laser cut with an aluminum plate+bottom and acrylic sides. Switches
are hand wired (no PCB). This is the chronicle of its making.

Step 1: place the switches

The aluminum plate is 1.5mm thick, but I have the feeling that I could
have done it 2mm for better stability. Next time I might try that. I had a

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similar keyboard done in steel and keys stick better on 1.5mm steel than
they do on 1.5mm alu. Steel is too stiff though and typing is a bit tiring.

All switches are MX Blue plate mounted (but you can use pcb mounted
as well) with few exceptions. Arrows are MX Red, spacebar is MX
Green.

Step 2: diodes!
We need one diode per switch. I connect them to the top left pin of each
switch with the diode black strip on the outside (in this case poiting
down).

First of all melt a drop of soldering wire onto the pin.

Then bend the diodes wires in chunk of 10-20. Bending them together

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makes your matrix more symmetrical.

Approach the upper diode wire to the drop of lead and heat with your
iron (I keep it a 310°C). It should take just 1 second to melt the lead,
release the soldering iron and blow over the diode. I find this technique
the fastest and most secure.

When all diodes are soldered to the switches you can start soldering
them together.

This is a detail:

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This is an overview (as you see the spacebar needs some extensions)

It is important to leave enough real estate on the left of the spacebar

switch as we are using that space for the controller.

Step 3: connect the columns!

Now that we have the rows ready we can do the columns. I haven't
found an ideal way of wiring them, so far the best thing I came up with is
to prepare the wires like this in advance:

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Since the case is very thin wires are going to touch each others so it's a
good idea to have the columns insulated as much as possible to prevent
shorts with the rows.

When I have all the wires ready I use them to connect the top right pins.
This is the end result

I usually put the columns under the rows, this helps keeping the layout
compact.

Step 4: preparing the case!

The sides are made of acrylic in the effort of saving some bucks and
also to have a strip of color in the middle of the case. I must say that I
like the final result.

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The case is reduced to the minimum so to reinforce the three 3mm

layers of acrylic I glue them together.

To prevent shorts with the aluminum I also placed a sheet of plastic in

the inside part of the case bottom.

Now all it is left to do is to connect the controller a burn the firmware!

Last edited by matt3o on 26 Jun 2013, 20:16, edited 2 times in total.



 26 Jun 2013, 20:02



Sterling stuff! Greatly looking forward to trying this myself.

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Muirium
µ




 26 Jun 2013, 20:18



Very cool! How much did this end up costing you? I might be interested
in doing it myself if it's not going to break the bank.
graboy
I thought the acrylic was wood at first, using real wood would look

awesome.

 26 Jun 2013, 20:28

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nice choice with the chocolate acrylic.. you're getting pretty quick with
the handwired matrices, huh?
Jmneuv



 26 Jun 2013, 20:34



 graboy wrote:
Very cool! How much did this end up costing you? matt3o
-[°_°]-


very hard to say. the case alone costed approx 80. The whole keyboard
around 150 euros I'd say (without caps of course)

 Jmneuv wrote:
you're getting pretty quick with the handwired matrices, huh?

yeah, couple of hours First time it took me 2 days

 26 Jun 2013, 21:11

 pasph

Very good!
Waiting to see how to connect the controller to the plate.

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 26 Jun 2013, 21:46



Nice article. Informative and good photos.

tlt



 26 Jun 2013, 23:51



There's no downside to using PCB mount switches? Interesting. Good

choice on going with red for the arrow keys. I'd do that … if I had arrows!
Still a little intrigued by the notion of linears on the modifiers; perhaps to Muirium
µ
match the two different colours of my eventual Dolch caps. Thinking

about it at least.

 27 Jun 2013, 08:28



 Muirium wrote:
There's no downside to using PCB mount switches? matt3o
-[°_°]-


you just have some more plastic bits in the way of wires, but you can cut
them.

 27 Jun 2013, 20:17



Step 5: wire the controller

The case is very small and there's no room for connectors/headers so I
matt3o
have to wire directly on the controller. -[°_°]-

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I have 16 columns and 5 rows, so I need 21 pins. No LEDs because

LED is for keyboards what neon is for cars. Looking at the picture I use
10 pins on the left and 11 pins on the right. Remember to skip VCC,
GRN and pin D6. Refer to this page for complete Teensy pinout.

Before positioning the controller I put some insulation under the teensy.

Step 6: wire rows and cols

Rows first.

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I use pins F0, F1, F4, F5, F6 for the rows.

Then it's time for the columns.

Pins from F7 to B0 clockwise.

I placed the wires under the matrix to keep the layout nice and compact.

Here's an overview

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Step 7: USB extension

Nothing interesting to see here. I just built a small extention cable that
goes from the teensy to the case top. I then glued the the female USB
mini to the case with superglue first and epoxy glue then.

Step 8: burn the firmware

I use hasu's code, of course modified for my matrix. I always start from
the GH60 code as a base and build over that.

The files to modify are in /keyboard/gh60 directory. You need to

customize: config.h, keymap_plain.h (I use the plain file because it's the
cleanest), keymap.c, led.c, matrix.c and Makefile.lufa.

I'll cover this step deeply in a dedicated thread. Once ready and
compiled the firmware is ready to be burned. The easiest way to do that
is with the Teensy Loader that you can find on the JRC website.

And now the BrownFox in all its glory...

Step 9: satisfaction
Please note that I still miss the feet, but the keyboard is already 100%
working (fox-typing right now!)

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*Cable courtesy of Paranoid

 27 Jun 2013, 22:06

 pasph

One of the best kb tutorial i've seen

 27 Jun 2013, 22:46



Indeed. There's nothing else quite like the smell of hot solder in the
morning.
Muirium
µ




 27 Jun 2013, 23:41



That's wonderful! The brown acrylic really gives it a nice retro feel that
matches the keycaps.
Grond



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 28 Jun 2013, 00:33



thanks! this is by far the best custom keyboard I've built so far. Coming
next the Whitefox (that goes to wife) with ALPS switches.
matt3o
-[°_°]-




 28 Jun 2013, 00:42



A hand made keyboard, that's a gift to believe in! Matias or classic Alps?
Has she tried a selection of switches, or are you keeping this a surprise?
Muirium
µ




 28 Jun 2013, 08:41



 Muirium wrote:
A hand made keyboard, that's a gift to believe in! Matias or classic matt3o
-[°_°]-
Alps? Has she tried a selection of switches, or are you keeping this a

surprise?

Matias switches.

no way to keep the secret, the house is a mess of wires, caps, switches,
controllers... she actually liked the whitefox idea since the poster image:

white_fox.jpg (11.86 KiB) Viewed 217881 times

but so far the keyboard she likes the most is the modded Model M

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 28 Jun 2013, 09:34



Beware those buckling springs. Quite how they ever went out of fashion
is beyond me. Yes, they're loud; what's not to like? (Cost of manufacture,
resilience to needing replaced most decades, sanity of others within Muirium
µ
earshot of your epic typing…)


I can only guess what you're going to with Whitefox. The only thing I can
be sure about is that it'll be stunning. You keep getting better, Matteo.

 28 Jun 2013, 09:55



Nice write-up with lots of good advice, and a beautiful result:

Congratulations!
I especially adore the metal/acrylic sandwich, looks absolutely gorgeous suka
frobiac
together with the floating look of the keycaps.



 28 Jun 2013, 10:32



thanks suka and Muirium!

I agree the BS keyboards are gorgeous. We are used to MX Blue sound matt3o
-[°_°]-
so, switching to BS wouldn't be that hard. Actually I'm desperately

looking for more Model M for my experiments

Miscellaneous notes (mostly to self):

1) Acrylic sides help making the design less boring. Acrylic layers must
be glued to give better stability, just ensure to use the right glue (both
superglue and epoxy are not really that good at that). Acrylic is a bad
beast to work with. It's brittle, very glossy thus you can't sand it or it
looks like shit. Optimum would be to find the acrylic sheet of the right
thickness, but so far I could find 10mm acrylic only in clear color.

2) First I thought 13mm was the minimum case height for hand wired
keyboards, the brownfox is actually 12mm and maybe I could have done
11mm. Anyway I'm satisfied with the end result, so I hereby declare
12mm the optimum case height (9mm in the inside and 3mm
top+bottom).

3) Aluminum sheet is less regular than steel sheet. I have the impression
that the thickness could varies of up to +-0.2/0.3mm. The overall

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keyboard is nice and stable but I believe that the plate could be made
2mm thick. It would be a costly experiment to do...

4) A steel bottom would help to make the keyboard more stable and
heavier. The brownfox is fine, just a little too light. I can add some
weights but I think I will simply replace the bottom layer with a steel one.
So Alu + Acrylic + Steel might be the ideal solution.

5) It's very hard to find the right position/size of the stabilizers. I used
official documentation but they do not quite fit by default, you have to file
them a bit until you find the perfect fit.

6) The time needed to build a custom keyboard from zero to hero is

approx 10 hours once you get some skill at it. A PCB would of course
make things faster. The raw cost is not that much (we are in the 120-150
euros range, less if you buy or reuse switches) but you are going to
make mistakes (especially the first times), burn controllers, break
acrylics, glue things the wrong way, melt switches ... and each error
costs you money. You have to take it as an hobby, take your time, enjoy
the process.

 28 Jun 2013, 10:48



I think the optimum way to get Model Ms involves driving a good sized
car to Denmark and getting them from Peter directly! He has more than
just the pristine NIB ones. Perhaps I should hire a boat and cross the Muirium
µ
North Sea straight to him…


Veering back on topic, what are your present thoughts about the
proposed group buy for laser cut metal sheets? I'm still quite sold on the
idea of an all metal case for my 60%. I like the sheer density such a
small keyboard could have, and my Dolch replica caps are shades of
grey, of course.

 28 Jun 2013, 11:10



matt3o
-[°_°]-

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 Muirium wrote:
Veering back on topic, what are your present thoughts about the
proposed group buy for laser cut metal sheets? I'm still quite sold on
the idea of an all metal case for my 60%. I like the sheer density such
a small keyboard could have, and my Dolch replica caps are shades
of grey, of course.

I'm still in, just a couple of days to enjoy my new keyboard and we can
start thinking at the next one

I have to order the plate for the whitefox + steel bottom for the brownfox,
so I have to place a new order anyway, anyone willing to join is
welcome.

It would be impossible to calculate the per piece price so I would just

divide the final cost by the total number of layers. Say we have 20 layers
total and the cost is €200, the cost per layer would be €10, if your
keyboard is made of 5 layers, you pay €50 + shipping. This should work
if all keyboards are within 60% and TKL. PLEASE NOTE that prices are
fictional, unfortunately it will be more expensive than that.

Also please note that square switch holes are cheaper than the bug
shaped ones (to change spring and apply lube), so I would really like to
use the simple ones only.

 28 Jun 2013, 11:15

 pasph

More kbs = less price?

 28 Jun 2013, 11:20



 pasph wrote:
More kbs = less price? matt3o
-[°_°]-


Basically the better we fit the alu sheet (that is 3000x1500) the lesser
the price is for everybody. A ballpark estimate might be 20 keyboards
per sheet (very wild guess), so we better order 20 or 40

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 28 Jun 2013, 11:31



hmm looking at the layout i'm thinking that 65% is just a lot more added
to a 60% than the 5 might suggest, it's also quite elegant (proportions,
modifier row). Jmneuv

For glueing acrylic there's this pro glue the signmakers use, it melts the
acrylic together just like in the plastic model world. They also use this
glue to seal the edges of letters for instance. Brb, let me find the brand
name.
Edit: it's called "Acrifix" here. (disclaimer: i haven't tested this particular
product myself, i did use what i expect to be this stuff from an unmarked
bottle at the signmakers)

Last edited by Jmneuv on 28 Jun 2013, 11:38, edited 1 time in total.



 28 Jun 2013, 11:38



yeah I think it's just called "acrylic glue", but please let us know if you
find more info.
matt3o
-[°_°]-
edit: oh you just edited your post. okay, let's see if I can find it



 28 Jun 2013, 11:50



I'll gladly take aluminium or steel, as you advise, and help cover the
sheet.
Muirium
µ
How different in colour is Steely from Brownfox's aluminium? (Actually, I

suggest a side by side pose for the good of the post anyway. Evolution!)

And you say that the aluminium sheet varies in thickness more than
steel. Did this affect the tricky stabs more on Brownfox than Steely?

Relevant because I'm thinking of a hybrid of aluminium and steel layers.

Two tone monochrome, like the caps.

 28 Jun 2013, 12:05



 Muirium wrote:

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I'll gladly take aluminium or steel, as you advise, and help cover the matt3o
-[°_°]-
sheet.

since the company works more on steel than alu they have a lot of steel
leftovers and price of steel is not that much related to the size of the full
sheet. so I'm going to have some steel anyway.

 Muirium wrote:
How different in colour is Steely from Brownfox's aluminium?
(Actually, I suggest a side by side pose for the good of the post
anyway. Evolution!)

steel is more shiny, alu is slightly brushed, but you can have brushed
steel and also mirror-like steel. I'll take pictures of the two babies.

 Muirium wrote:
And you say that the aluminium sheet varies in thickness more than
steel. Did this affect the tricky stabs more on Brownfox than Steely?

Aluminum is softer and easier to file. Sanding even 0.5mm out of steel is
a hell of a job So, no, alu is better to fix stab holes. Anyway I'll do my
best to have the stab holes perfectly aligned. I believe I just have to add
0.2mm to the top side, so or the official specs are wrong, or I have out of
standard stabs, or the laser cutting processes is less precise than I
though.

 28 Jun 2013, 12:08



Mirror-like steel? Oh man are you giving me ideas!

Could you take a picture with a key pressed down so I can get a visual Muirium
µ
on the space between plate and caps, around the edge? It could be time

for a steel trim!

 28 Jun 2013, 13:01



Sure, no problem

matt3o
-[°_°]-

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And a bonus image of the underbelly

I still have to cut those screws though

 28 Jun 2013, 13:15



Thanks Matteo. Those feet are pretty neat! And it looks to me like I could
indeed put a nice shiny steel trim layer above the plate, around the
outside edge of the solid rectangle of caps, and have a fine old reflective Muirium
µ
halo! One with screws in it, of course, but that's fine by me. What do you

think?

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