ErgoMechKeyboards

So, I figured y'all would be the best people to ask. I make fairly traditional row-staggered hand-wires, but I like them to be stabilizer-free, due to my home tooling limitations and a realization that they work fine. They also avoid one of the biggest pet peeves across the various niches of keyboard people. What is the easiest and cheapest way to come by a handful of convex keycaps at 1.75u and under, to use as spacebars? I can make a lot of different combinations work, so "mix kits" in Cherry or MDA or XDA seem the most likely to be useful, but I'm not sure.

With the sole exception of the Enter key (which at 1.75u will need to be labeled CapsLock or Control for most keycap sets), most keys can be sourced by being a little careful with which sets you get, even in sculpted profiles. Numpads require a bit of care too, as many don't have the two to occupy a "split plus", but they'll usually have something usable for that, as well as a shrunken Enter.

I can find blank keycaps easy enough, and they work pretty well for XDA, but other profiles can get a little uncomfortable on the thumb, and only some benefit from being turned around.

We're a mechanical keyboard shop that's specialize in aluminum case for ergomech.

The Sofle v2 with aluminum case is one of my proudest builds and here is the link so you can have a look and if you are interested, you can snatch one for yourself: https://ergomech.store/shop/sofle-v2-enclose-case-16

If you like some blinking, then here is the Sofle RGB for you: https://ergomech.store/shop/sofle-rgb-enclose-case-13

If you like it small, then we got you covered with the Corne: https://ergomech.store/shop/corne-cherry-aluminum-version-early-bird-419

Those are the most popular open source keyboard designs that we've seen, but how about something that only we have?

Sofle Hybrid: https://ergomech.store/shop/sofle-hybrid-aluminum-version-exclusive-403

Neodox: https://ergomech.store/shop/neodewtco-neodox-enclosed-case-version-exclusive-52

As you can see, we got you covered from the smallest to the largest boards.

Oh one last things, we in Vietnam is celebrating Labor Day on the first of May, and to share this with you guys, we're having 15% discount when you use this code: LABORDAY

open source, files on Codeberg

this was a big learning experience, first time doing a proper PCB instead of using yet another Pro Micro equivalent – this would not have been possible without Noah Kiser’s tutorials on Youtube, all the work that went into QMK and Vial, and the ease of JLC’s assembly service (no way I was ever going to solder an RP2040)

shocked and giddy with how easy the whole process was – plugged in the fresh PCB and it went straight into bootloader mode – uploaded the \*.uf2 and it worked first time!

• symmetric split-ergo style layout (6 × 3 + 3)
• katana stagger
  • personally find this works really nicely and keeps the feel of an ortho or columnar board
• fits into Minivan case (12.75u × 4u)
• attempt to use as many existing mounting holes as possible (6/7)
  • main issue was maintaining symmetric layout with two mounting points in bottom row
  • personally find the resulting odd gap to be uncomfortable
  • if I do an update, I would remove the awkward spacing and slide the whole bottom row to the left a smidge (resulting in an uncomfortably-asymmetric symmetric layout)
• learning to use JLC’s PCB assembly instead of a Pro Micro equivalent
• providing a proper Vial firmware
  • (default layout is based off Reviung41 layout)

Okay, it's a numpad. However, if you happen to have access to a gantry-mounted diode laser engraver, it should be able to cut through cheap and readily available 3mm Masonite without much trouble (my 5w Comgrow took two passes). A couple of coats of textured spray paint gives a surprisingly nice finish, and mounting the MCU on top left me with a 12mm thickness for the main body, not counting the MCU and before feet, switches, and keycaps. This numpad came in at about 30mm "desk to finger" with no additional efforts to keep it low profile. I'm not doing anything new here, just confirming that it doesn't have to be insanely difficult or expensive to do a DIY ortho-split.

I don't have any RSI issues right now, nor am I particularly motivated to change how I type, but ergo mechs are one of my favorite parts of the hobby to follow, and I even made a pretty rough one once. As an aside, I gotta stop taking oversaturated iphone pictures in the office I share with a dander-factory of a cocaktiel. I look like 37% grosser than I really am.

Howdy!

I have a keeb.io cepstrum split board that I'd like to travel with when I head into the office. Anybody have good experiences with a carrying case they could recommend? My cepstrum is 8 inches / 20.5 cm by 4.5 inches / 11 cm for reference.

More info here.

This one pushed the limits. It's a little over-the-top for a wireless build but it's alive and thocking.

This is a 4x6 whole matrix Dactyl Manuform. The case is printed in translucent smoke resin with an acrylic coating.

It's fully wireless running some of the latest ZMK features. Here's the list:

• Trackball support with a PMW3610 sensor utilizing inorichi's new driver and the in-development pointing device setup (it's imminent). It has precision and drag scroll modes enabled on Raise and Lower layers.
• Two Nice!View screens running their standard ZMK widgets -- battery status, connection status, WPM graph, device connection, and current layer.
• Both standard EC11 and wheel-style EVQWGD001 rotary encoders. Volume up/down, page scrolling, and RGB controls on Raise.
• Full hardware per-key RGB running ZMK's Underglow configuration. (ZMK doesn't yet support true per-key RGB.)
• Four layers with support for the Nick Coutsos' ZMK keymap layer editor

It's all running on a pair of PillBug nRF52840 controllers from MechWild and powered by a couple of thick 18650 LiPo batteries. I used Skree Claw flexible PCBs from TheBigSkree for the right and left key matrices which worked out really nicely using his Translator breakout.

Oh, and those are Kailh Purple Pro switches, if you were curious.

It's a lot. It's pushing and/or exceeding the limits feature-wise, power-wise, pin-wise, and memory-wise. But it's alive. The right side PillBug is very nearly maxed out. There were foibles along the way and one or two (or ten) bang-head-on-desk moments, but it all came off in the end.

So.

We're having a light snack of a sale this weekend to celebrate the success of this build. Get 5% off any order with code WYLD_LIGHT_SNACK. Ends midnight, March 31st.

Full Dactyl Manuform Builds (wired and wireless) https://wylderbuilds.com/shop/p/dactyl-manuform-build

DIY Dactyl Manuform Build Kit https://wylderbuilds.com/shop/p/manuform-diy-kit

Resin Dactyl Manuform Case Prints https://wylderbuilds.com/shop/p/dactyl-manuform-resin-print

PLA Dactyl Manuform Case Prints https://wylderbuilds.com/shop/p/made-to-order-dactyl-manuform-cases

If you'd like to try a Dactyl Manuform case on for size, we sell "sizing prints" of our C stock keyboard cases so you can actually try a case in hand to gauge how it feels.

https://wylderbuilds.com/shop/p/hand-size-print

Cheers!

Andy @ Wylderbuilds

I finally finished writing a build guide for my Mantis keyboard and taking all the pictures to make it easy to follow. Hope it helps someone ...

Over the last couple months I've been working on the next version of Bad Wings, the board I've been daily driving for over a year now. Using the stm32f072 onboard and has cirque support (which wasn't working until a couple hours ago - thanks GeorgeN!). I've been using it for two weeks now and I'm happy.

Now that the cirque is working, I need to design a new case.

Just, you know, hanging and drinking cider at the arcade bar with the latest Wylderbuilds keyboard.

Another jumbo build, a full row 6x7 Dactyl Manuform with dual trackballs. It's got 88 keys total, like a grand piano, so if you're layer-averse, this one's for you.

It's got a gorgeous dark navy gray resin case with a matte acrylic finish and shiny black trackballs. If you squint a little, it might tingle your spidey-sense. It's a beautiful build and a real joy to type on.

And it's that time of year when we celebrate all things Ireland! Which is nice!

But, I have to ask, what about poor Iceland? Doesn't Iceland deserve some love, too?

Bjordagur, Beer Day, was on March 1st, but let's go with that! From now until midnight of March 18, the day after St. Patrick's Day, we're celebrating beer in general with 15% off all orders over $100 at Wylderbuilds! Just use code BEER_BEER_BEER at checkout!

Full Dactyl Manuform Builds (wired and wireless) https://wylderbuilds.com/shop/p/dactyl-manuform-build

DIY Dactyl Manuform Build Kit https://wylderbuilds.com/shop/p/manuform-diy-kit

Resin Dactyl Manuform Case Prints https://wylderbuilds.com/shop/p/dactyl-manuform-resin-print

PLA Dactyl Manuform Case Prints https://wylderbuilds.com/shop/p/made-to-order-dactyl-manuform-cases

If you'd like to try a Dactyl Manuform case on for size, we sell "sizing prints" of our C stock keyboard cases so you can actually try a case in hand to gauge how it feels.

https://wylderbuilds.com/shop/p/hand-size-print

Skál!

Andy @ Wylderbuilds

I've been looking around for one; search (in my Lemmy client) doesn't find one, and while there seems to be at least one in Reddit, the only communities listed on qmk.fm are Reddit and Discord.

Is there a good place to ask questions in the Fediverse?

I've been busy building a few Mantis v0.3.3 builds for friends and family. It took me way longer to build these than I had planned, and I still have a few more builds to go before I work on the next version of the design. But I'm getting better at this, and very happy with how these turned out. It's nice to try out different switches. On these boards I used Choc Sunset, Pro Red and Pink switches. They all work great with the sculpted key caps.

!

The two keyboards in the front use clear acrylic case plates and key caps made of two different resin materials to highlight the home keys. They are translucent enough for the backlight. The one in the back is made with birch plywood plates, painted with 3 coats of shellac to bring out the wood grain and lightly sanded for a matte finish. The key caps are grey nylon. The small holes in the skirts work great for letting the backlight shine through those opaque keys.

!

I used KB2040 controllers from Adafruit for all these builds and loving the extra space for building the firmware with Vial support. My old v0.3 prototype with a ProMicro also works with Vial, but I had to disable some features and lighting effects to squeeze it in.

And then I moved colon and semicolon to layers and re-assigned that outer pinky key to my rarely used AltGr key.

Hello to all keyboard enthusiast here on the Fédiverse.

For the longest time, I have used a TypeMatrix 2030 as my daily driver, most of which was spent daydreaming of finding a close approximation that would be mechanical. Failing to find one, I procrastinated in researching how I could build my own, which was an error.

Now, my good old TypeMatrix is showing signs of dying, and I still don’t have even started on its mechanical replacement. So, I would like help and counsel on how to make one.

I don’t need it to be identical, (I don’t need the rightmost column on the actual TypeMatrix, for example) but I DO need the middle column with “del”, “backspace” and “enter” keys.

Would anyone be willing to help me, please?

I have been using a piantor built for me by beekeeb.com, and am enjoying the more agressive stagger than my previous Ergodox. However, my typing experience is being spoiled by how tight the key spacing is. I have large hands, and can span an octave on a full-size piano; the Piantor is downright cramped.

In looking for a possible replacement (the Kyria was my primary option, but I guess splitkb.com has entirely given up on selling pre-builts, and I don't solder), what should I be looking at for specs to get some wider spacing on the keys? Is it simply "key spacing?"

Most commercial keyboards are fine; my prior was an Ergodox and the spacing was fine. The Piantor supplies that - it might even be a touch too much, but it's still better than the tepid stagger on the Ergos.

What was your beginner keyboard and which keyboard are you using now? It seems, that a lot of people tend to prefer smaller keyboards with layers. I myself am a bit intimidated by them, and would much prefer a somewhat more traditional number of keys, like the Lili58 or the Sofel has (as for now, I think I will get a Lili58).

Do you "regret" buying your first keyboard and would have preferred to start directly with your current keyboard (e.g. for saving money), or do you think that your beginner keyboard was necessary/important for you, to get into Spit-Ortho keyboards?

I want to get a corne keyboard, but I have a few questions, before I dare to dig deeper into the topic.

1. Can I use the keyboard wired and wireless? Meaning, when I plug in a cable, that it (turns of its wireless connection and) uses the cable connection?
2. Can I also just use one site at a time, meaning that the other side is turned off/unplugged?
3. Which version (corne-classic, corne-cherry or corne-chocolate) should I use when I want to use Gateron Hot-Swap Switches (not low-profile)?
4. Do I have to pay attention when buying keycaps, e.g. to also get special sized caps?

Hi all!

I just recently got a keyboard programmable via QMK with two screens on the keyboard. I wanted one of those screens to show the time. Simple right? Well, surprisingly, I haven't been able to find any previously written code to do that. The problem being of course, that the keyboard doesn't have a battery, and so can't keep track of the time itself. Instead, the connected PC has to send the time to it. So, like any programmer would do, I spent way too much time making a program that does just that!

In case anyone else wants this, or comes looking for this in the future, I've provided the necessary code and instructions in the Github repo - send-time-to-hid-keyboard. It's my first ever program written in Rust, so suggestions are welcome but don't be too harsh.

I've only tested the program so far on Windows, so if anyone does try it out and then runs into any problems, do open an issue on GitHub and I'll resolve it ASAP.

Switched back to my moonlander for a bit and out the stock caps back on. With this track ball I'm getting some pleasingly retro vibes.

I made a wireless 34 keyboard that is not dissimilar in thumb placement to the voyager. it's got no real redeeming features, and i find the thumb placement really strange, but it was cheaper way to find out.

Hey all, working on a Corne Choc, and having issues flashing the right half of the board with QMK Toolbox.

I am getting a validating error with:

822 invalid byte in program region, 0 outside region

This is the second controller as I had the same error on the first and assumed I ruined it when I was troubleshooting it and desoldering.

Ordered a new board and same issue.

I've cleared the EEPROM, there are not shorts or bad solder on the headers. This is a completely separate PCB.

Tried using QMK MSYS to reflash ISP (not sure I got that right, don't really understand it).

Get a blue led indicating power, reset button works to put it into bootloader mode, still nothing will flash on it.

Unfortunately on the first go round I had soldered headers to swap but was too tall for me, desoldered the boards and went directly to the PCB, as mentioned this is a new board on a new PCB, did not program prior to soldering.

I am in the market for a new keyboard. I really want something that is backlit, has a volume control and has the full layout with numpad. If I can't find something with those 3 features I'll just keep fighting with my shitty half working one because it's not that bad and there not being a better option will just motivate me into finding some new way to fix it probably. I kind of don't care if it's membrane or not, as long as it's not expensive. In my experience membrane keyboards last longer anyway.

There's a few cheapo options on Amazon that look promising but beyond that they only come with 2 out of 3 of the features I need. That's why I came here for advice.

I have a g910 thats old and starting to get all kinds of key bounce issues. I've replaced most of the switches and it's still doing it so it's either a circuit board issue or a chip issue.

Also, it's fucking bullshit that there's not a backlit mod for the ibm model m.

This was my first time soldering and it went pretty well. On booting it up the LEDs weren't working on one side and one key wasn't registering, a quick hit with the iron got it going fine.

Hi everyone, we have been asked by our customers for a carrying case for our keyboards, but we haven't been able to offer that until now. I would like introduce you guys our new product:

https://ergomech.store/shop/leather-carrying-case-66

• Handcrafted in our workshop by skilled artisans. Outstanding attention to detail and premium materials makes it a unique piece.
• A personalized genuine leather case for your Ergonomic Keyboard, an ideal solution for securely transporting and safeguarding your keyboard. It is an excellent gift for co-workers, friends, or even yourself for any occasion.
• Case size: 14 х 19 x 8.5 cm
• Fit for: Sofle v2, Sofle RGB, Sofle Choc
• Materials: Real Leather Case - Epsom Leather
• Available Color: Navy
• Made of highest quality genuine cowhides, which will last for years to come, and will stands up to heavy use.

Please check it out here: https://ergomech.store/shop/leather-carrying-case-66

We're currently running a discount event, all keyboard products are 20% off, Also we're having 5 free carrying case for 5 order larger than $300.

Been daily driving low-profile Gateron switches for a while but wanted to give MX another shot. Mostly so I can use my nice keycaps again. I didn't buy this filament specifically for this build but I think it works really nicely.

Switches are Ergo Clears, lubed and filmed with (IIRC) 45g springs. They were previously on an Ergodox and barely got any use as I switched to smaller boards shortly after modding them and wasn't comfortable with desoldering yet, so I'm happy to have finally found a new home for them.

Caps are MT3 Godspeed, case is Overture Matte PLA (light blue and white), printed on the Sovol SV06 Plus.

I have a Lily58, but I would love having two thumb buttons and overall 2-4 buttons more. The Sofle V2 seems like a really good choice, but I have no use for the rotaries. Is there a way to replace the rotaries with normal switches or are there other spilt keyboards similar to the Sofle V2, but without rotary encoders?

Thanks for any suggestions!

Working as a developer, I spend quite some time in front of my keyboard. So after years of lurking and checking out keebs, I am finally typing these sentences on my first mechanical keyboard - a Mistel Barocco MD770 RGB BT Glaze Blue ANSI. I want to use this post to share some of my thoughts and experienc, to maybe help others along their path.

Layout:

• being from Europe, I am used to ISO layouts (ISO-DE to be precise). The reason I went for ANSI is the general availability of keebs and caps + the layout might be nice for developing. And so far I love it! Apart from the Umlauts, everything feels nicer to reach and within 1-2 weeks I managed to get somewhat used to it (for the Umlauts I use a custom MacOS layout, which makes them available via Alt combinations). Might never be as fast on normal german text, but spamming CTRL+Z with one hand already makes up for that.
• split is awesome! No regrets here, although it had me work on my touchtyping again!
• TKL is not a problem so far, although I don’t do much number stuff

Keyboard itself:

• love the clean look and everything feels pretty solid
• I am missing a tilt option. The keyboard comes with some feet you can screw on, but e.g. Keychron flip out feet look way nicer an easier to use
• wristrest is a must for me! The one on the photo was made by myself (and yes, I made it symetric on the first try. Couldn’t bear it, so I had to saw it apart and re-glue it)
• there is no extra B. Before then, I didn’t know that I was using the wrong hand to type it.

Software:

• no GUI/software for the computer. I am fine without, but would have been nice and easier to configure the board

All in all, I am happy to finally have made a move and I am looking forward to typing on the board every day. It is a very nice first keyboard to me, but looking at ortho layouts I am afraid it’s not the last.

Hi folks,

A while back, I released the flow MX36 and was working on a companion keyboard with choc keys. I've been using it for around 6 months but I haven't released it for a few reasons. I thought that I'd provide an update just for fun. Below are the outstanding errata items:

• in an effort to minimize finger movement, I jammed the keys as close as I could. As a result, unfortunately it only works with Asymplex ChicagoSteno's...which I love btw.
• after using it for a while, I want to squish the col-col spacing.I initially liked some space between the cols, but now I want to try a squished version.
• I haven't confirmed that both sides work with the choc amoebas. I've built up the trackball side with amoebas but I don't know if the other side works with amoebas, i.e. has no internal interference.

So why is it taking so long? Well, my personal motivation is taking a backseat for other aspects of life...namely my kids and reading books.

Anyway, below are some pics. Happy typing!

! ! ! !

How it was: Outemu Mute Lime Tactile Switches + XDA Dye Sublimation Honey Milk Keycaps

How it now: TECSEE Medium Tactile Switches + XVX Horizon Low Profile Keycaps

Hello, all. Lots of stuff going on here.

These pictures aren't full builds, obviously. Rather, they're trial prints of some standard dactyl manuform models I plan to offer. They'll be available as kits and for full builds at a solidly lower price point than our fully custom builds. I want to make manuforms with a nice selection of bells and whistles more generally affordable.

So, I'd like to gauge the thoughts of folks on here and see what features as standard make the most sense.

That's a 6x7 in the main image, but I'm also planning a 3x6:

!A 3x6

And a 5x6:

!And a 5x6

My current plan is that they include by default:

A. One trackball with regular pointer and dragscroll modes. Can choose left side or right side.

B. One rotary encoder above the trackball set as volume control and mute on base layer and page up/page down on other layers.

C. One OLED screen on the non-trackball side displaying current keymap layer, active mod keys, mouse mode, and words-per-minute.

D. Pi Pico or other rp2040 controllers.

E. USB-C cabling all around.

F. QMK firmware with Vial support for editing the keymaps, layers, and other features on the fly.

As a base set of features, how do those sound to folks?

Outstanding bits I'm still debating:

A. Are there other sizes missing here that you'd all rather see? 3x5? 4x6? 6x6?

B. Hot swap support always or hand-wired switches? If hard-wired, what selection of switches and keycaps would you like to see? I know that's an insane question as the options are endless. The point here is lower cost, though, not high end. I want to offer whole-package builds, ready to plug in and start typing, and forgoing hot swap would save on overall cost and build time.

C. Wireless? ZMK firmware is coming on strong and I'm doing quite a few wireless builds these days. It would add to price considerably, though.

D. Any other features? Other firmwares? Other controllers or hardware?

Would love to hear any and all thoughts.

And, of course, here's the plug for the store:

There's still slots to get a full build at 10% off! Just use discount code WYLD_BUNCH at checkout.

https://wylderbuilds.com/shop/p/dactyl-manuform-build

Also, I have DOZENS of old stock prints. Test prints. Prints with the wrong features or sizing. And, of course, prints with slight failures or cosmetic issues. Since dactyl manuforms are such a departure for most people, I'm offering these halves at five bucks a pop (plus shipping) so anyone curious can actually throw switches on and get their hands on one to see how it feels. It'll be a random side and size, just specify if you want left or right ($5 each) or both ($9). If you get both, just know they're unlikely to match if we don't have a matching pair.

Hand Sizing Prints https://wylderbuilds.com/shop/p/hand-size-print

Cheers, thanks for another great year, and keep typing like a God!

Andy @ Wylderbuilds

We in Vietnam celebrate the Lunar New Year and today mark the beginning of the last month of the year. To extend our gratitude towards the community, we'd like to offer 20% off for all keyboard orders. Also, we have 5 newly launched leather carrying bag for 5 order larger than $300 (first come first serve).

Please visit our website to check out: https://ergomech.store

Please note that your order will likely be shipped after the spring festival (approximately later half of February due to our leadtime as well as the holiday delay)

Hi, we have been asked by our customers for a carrying case for our keyboards, but we haven't been able to offer that until now. I would like introduce you guys our new product:

https://ergomech.store/shop/leather-carrying-case-66

• Handcrafted in our workshop by skilled artisans. Outstanding attention to detail and premium materials makes it a unique piece.
• A personalized genuine leather case for your Ergonomic Keyboard, an ideal solution for securely transporting and safeguarding your keyboard. It is an excellent gift for co-workers, friends, or even yourself for any occasion.
• Case size: 14 х 19 x 8.5 cm
• Fit for: Sofle v2, Sofle RGB, Sofle Choc
• Materials: Real Leather Case - Epsom Leather
• Available Color: Navy
• Made of highest quality genuine cowhides, which will last for years to come, and will stands up to heavy use.

Please check it out here: https://ergomech.store/shop/leather-carrying-case-66

ZMK community spotlight series continues with a third installment -- and this one is a twofer! ZMK contributor Joel Spading wrote about ZMK Tools, a handy Visual Studio Code extension to ease working with ZMK configurations, and ZMK Locale Generator, a tool to help users that use non-US English keyboard locales in their operating systems.

Hi - don't judge. This is my first mechanical keyboard and I'm playing around with something in budget that meets my needs as a beginner. I know it's not the best but I'm genuinely looking for help and knowledge here.

Yes, I know the allegations about the software/drivers for this keyboard being flagged as malware and have done research into this, though apparently not enough research. I downloaded what I thought was the driver for this keyboard but did not realize that it was a Via driver that broke the battery indicator and any possible connection to the (apparently terrible) software.

Would anyone have access to the original driver so I can roll the keyboard back to factory settings? The factory setting reset (function + esc 3 sec) doesn't roll back these changes. I tried to download one on Weiyun based on advice from the other site but everything is in Chinese and it does not seem to work.

Alternatively, does anyone know who I might contact to obtain this driver? I contacted the seller on AliExpress but they are spotty at best.

Many thanks in advance.

Last year FAK inspired me to design the Miao as a cheap alternative to the Seeeduino Xiao line of MCU boards.

After some protoyping and redesigning it's now powering my Zilpzalp for the very first time, running a minimal FAK config!

And the best thing is, the more polished production version is available very cheaply at keeb.supply! (Not an affiliate link, I'm just excited :D)

End game lol. Fun build, working great so far! ZMK is really nice

Hey! Haven't written much lately as I've been chasing new crazy ideas. Many of which aren't seeing light just yet but soon TM!

Firstly, it's been a year. The business has survived! Even expanded. I can't take all the credit for that though. The support from the Ergo community trying my keyboards and pcbs has fueled many a long night of prototyping and development. Thank you all for the kind words, and general support!!!

I started selling flexible pcbs a little more than 12 months ago. Even back then people were happy with the time savings, but the version back then was so simple compared to the lofty goals I had. I think I've gotten quite a bit closer. There are some much more radical changes I'm going to be demoing here in the next couple of months but this solution right now is down right amazing.

I'm having a sale of all things and stuffs till sometime next year starting today!

https://thebigskree.etsy.com I need to finish work on my actual website to match Etsy. If you want Kinesis keyboard key swaps though www.skree.us is the place to go!

New products: The Skree Tail: this custom FPC cable takes some hints from Cyboards evolution of my flexible pcb design and improves on it.

Curved smooth traces, and edges. These help minimize breaks of the cable.

Tree style via routing. I've very specifically tried to place vias in ways that minimize any risk to the strength of the cable.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCVJxFxteJ8&t=30s Sorry for the long winded video. I'm not so good at these things!

The skree tail can be cut to size. There are two current versions in 6 and 7 column lengths. No need to fold the cable over, or bend things to try and work on the left and right. The extra long connector to the MCU allows for the columns to be connected the same on both the left and right side of a case.

7 columns 6 rows, full RGB with only soldering required if you change a column length.

LEDs are supported with proper resistors for incoming data strings, and capacitors to ensure that there isn't issues with voltage delivery.

My flexible pcbs will now fully support choc v1 and choc v2 hotswap, and MX hotswap, and soon Gateron 'Low Profile' hotswap sockets too! All fully customizable in length.

I populate the pcbs in house! This means if you want a matrix that has different sized columns then message me and I'll build them to your specs, this saves you a little bit of money, time, and also saves materials if you care about the whole material waste thing!

But wait! I've figured that forcing people into using your own specific MCUs isn't really the best idea. While I have a RP2040 board in the works, as well as a nrf52840 module design that will supply something around 32 pins, alot of people want to work on THEIR equipment!

So I made the Skree Translator! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCVJxFxteJ8&t=188s)

This super cheap little daughter board allows for connection with JST-SH cables, or hand soldered with through-hole soldering! It translates your wired rows and columns to both my Skree Tail and flexible pcbs but also supports my Toe Beans FPC connection! with this you can have near zero to zero soldering required for connection to ANY MCU! Everything becomes simply plug and play.

I also have a Raspberry Pico breakout board that I designed for WylderBuilds https://wylderbuilds.etsy.com/ that provides USB-C instead of TRRS (though you can still wire it to a TRRS header with the JST-SH connector). Skree tail and thumbs support, RGB, and even SPI / I2C breakouts for trackballs, and oled connections! His boards are down right fantastic and knows his software stuff like no-one else!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCVJxFxteJ8&t=859s

Moving on, I've been making prototype after prototype of tenting and palm rest devices.

The Skree Perch, provides infinite fine adjustment for tenting any keyboard! The magnetic system allows for you to either imbed a metallic plate in your case base or stick it anywhere you want!With a customizable base profile, rubber anti-slip feet, and a phillips screwdriver you can tent your keyboard to any angle you'd want, while being highly rigid. Then fold the whole unit up and disconnect it from the base for ease of travel! All while costing less than traditional tenting mechanisms. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCVJxFxteJ8&t=1074s)

Palm rests are something I've been very cautious about regarding design. Often you'll see wrist rests used in ways that will likely cause further harm instead of doing their actual job. While I don't believe I've stumbled across the panacea, I've instead decided to support a variety of solutions that a user can pick to match their needs.

The Skree Bean solution provides either an adjustable via magnetic spacers, or a custom printed based on height and angle palm rest. Using memory foam instead of messy to clean up gel kidney bean rests, that are imbedded within the print instead of always falling out on the move.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCVJxFxteJ8&t=1161s

The Skree Tilt solution moves away from the standard common wrist rest and instead takes design characteristics from more professional solutions. The tilt angle of is based on the well loved Kinesis Advantage 2's tilt and slope.

It comes with customizable inserts too! Select from leather (horween cavalier series pull up leather) or custom die cut mousepad material that provides a fantastic level of squish without being too much like gel solutions. Also the Skree Tilt can be printed to match your keyboard height and tilt if you contact me with a model / stl!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCVJxFxteJ8&t=1232s

Here's a google Album of most of the crazy new designs and stuff I've gotten done! Some of it is likely not to see the light of day but most of it should be! https://photos.app.goo.gl/NMufeuVYKKPSKoJe9

The future:

Custom sublimation Keycaps. I know it's almost been a year, but I think I've figured out the printer issues! NOTE I think I can sublimate on clear!

Potentially crazy solution to not being able to make double shot keycaps for shine through. This will be shown off very soon!!!

Clear, and crazy cool resin cases!

Airbrushed cases! With all the cool colors that entails!

CNC? Yes. Wood? Yes! Soft metals? Skree! More? Shhhhhh soooon.

With the Skree pad (module powered keyboards, I'll have flat panel pcbs with the MCU tucked away so that there's no MCU bump, or a minimal bump)!

Wireless Trackballs? KMK has solved that issue! Expect to need bigger batteries but we're there boys and girls!

Stickers! The SO has been having fun figuring out stickers.

I know, this is silly long. I'm not very good at the whole writing, video recording, and explaining stuff. But my hardware designs work as expected and I'm here to support all my work with whatever ways I can!

A year has passed and I've just now reviewed what we at Ergomech Store has accomplished this year, and I'm so surprised that we have done so many thing this past year:

  We launched our aluminum case line up for several products: Sofle v2, Sofle RGB, Lily58  

https://ergomech.store/shop/sofle-rgb-enclose-case-13#attr=69,70,72,74,76

https://ergomech.store/shop/sofle-v2-enclose-case-16#attr=99,297,101,102,103,279

https://ergomech.store/shop/lily58-enclose-case-15

  We launched a Sofle Choc revision that I think has he best features. (And an aluminum case along with it)  

https://ergomech.store/shop/sofle-choc-ergomech-store-revision-47

  We launched the Neodox, our re-imagination of the well knowned Redox  

https://ergomech.store/shop/neodox-52

  We designed and released a few PCB revision that helps with the wireless builds: https://github.com/ergomechstore/Corne-chocoflan

We designed and made quite a few custom designs based on the customer's requests (all of which received high customer satisfaction)  

Thank you very much for the community's continual support of our store.

We're still running a small sales event at https://Ergomech.store all items are 15% off (and if you visit my profile, there is a discount code that you can use on top of that).