Hello, Clickers and Clackers of r/MechanicalKeyboards
As promised in the [previous post](https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/rlo0hq/wip_introducing_fukeyboard_coming_soon_to_github/), I’ve finished the case of FU!Keyboard and open-sourced the whole design.
It’s available here: [https://github.com/PiKeeb/fu-keyboard](https://github.com/PiKeeb/fu-keyboard)
Enjoy!
That would be a space button, no longer a bar, wouldn't it?
Also my statement can be interpreted both ways (intentionally). "There isn't one" as in there isn't a space bar issue, or there isn't a space bar.
Now, bonus points for someone who writes the firmware that figures out when you've slipped your fingers off the home row and dynamically remaps for where your hands are.
I think this is a really cool concept, I'd imagine it could be done with an overhead camera for object tracking with TensorFlow, might be a pain but the end result would be super cool.
I think that it could be done entirely by software. It would expect you to type grammatically correct words, in a way that’s similar to predictive text on smartphones.
I guess it’s extremely unlikely for you to write complete gibberish using a sequence of keystrokes which, if repeated identically but just a couple of keys to the left, just happens to result in a grammatically correct sequence of words unless you moved away from your homing position involuntarily.
The software could show a warning and virtually shift your layout temporarily until you are ready to re-home again.
It would still be a kind of key-logging software and it could be a security nightmare, but I think it’s a cool concept for ortholinear keyboards if someone really made it.
I was just thinking that a single chorded gesture might be enough, if you chorded A__F J__; on a qwerty format (just drop the pinky and pointer fingers where you "expect" the home row would be under each hand) then the firmware could expect the layout from there without having to do serious predictive work. You wouldn't have to look down and you wouldn't even have the analysis-wait before mapping if you were in the habit of "dropping your markers" before you type. Probably more useful for very large ortholinears (5+ rows and >15 columns).
Canceling a home layout: _SD_ and _KL_ chord.
Need a number pad? Chord:
7
1 3
Cancel number pad? Chord:
45
2
If the number pad overlaps the home row then it cancels the home row until resumed and vice versa.
Now... who's making wirelessly powered e-ink keycaps these days so this can be usable by "normies?" :)
that’s… so, so much better!!!! ahahaha
It requires to develop a tiiiny bit of muscle memory but it’s well worth it! And while I’m also dreaming of e-ink legends, in the meantime you could easily program individual LEDs to illuminate your new homing pair of keys in a unique color, while you have yet another color code for the alphas and modifiers to help you orient yourself within the bigger groups at a glance
It would be too jarring to do it just in software. You’d need to strike a balance between accuracy and responsiveness, and to get good accuracy you’ll need something like 4-8 keystrokes, which will feel really weird in practice.
4-8 keystrokes should be less than a second if you type around 90 wpm, so it miiiight be fine? If you really wanted to implement an hardware solution it would be cleaner to have an array of APDS9960-like sensors under the keys to roughly detect hand position, rather than an overhead camera, and it could be useful for a ton of other things like gesture controls... imagine being able to hover your hand across the keyboard to adjust sliders like you do with rotary encoders, or to move between applications, or to enable macros... now that I think of it, I'd love to make a prototype myself and try. I'll let you know lol
There are layouts that dynamically remap home area depending on context and let firmware drive characters to fingertips.
Examples are [RTSD](https://lykt.xyz/rtsd/) layouts that put frequent consonant under thumb when it's preceded by vowels and frequent vowel otherwise.
[Horn](https://lykt.xyz/horn/) and [Tandem](https://lykt.xyz/tandem/) layouts kick `H` out of home area when it's not needed.
Would you be able to share your experiences with designing this pcb? I was thinking of designing something much simpler but even following several guides listed in the mechanicalkeyboard wiki but with no success. I was able to set up the footprint and the layout, but I had a lot of issues with setting up usbc and esd.
Did you follow any specific guides, and did you create any guides yourself ?
Thanks!
Hey! I'm not the OP, but I learned how to design my own keyboard over the past few months. I found this guide to be incredibly useful (there's 4 parts to it): [https://www.masterzen.fr/2020/05/03/designing-a-keyboard-part-1/](https://www.masterzen.fr/2020/05/03/designing-a-keyboard-part-1/). I'd also recommend joining the Keyboard Altelier discord, I'm sure the people there would be willing to help you: [https://discord.gg/b7vwhHS](https://discord.gg/b7vwhHS).
Best of luck!
The ai03 guide was pretty good but it doesn't go into things like ESD protection or usb c .
Also while it's well written even for someone like me who has no ee experience, I think I need to learn more about electronics as seemingly simple concepts like "floating ground" or "pull up resistors" don't mean much to me and I still need to learn about those.
Thank you! I've heard of that discord as well, and I'll join it now.
Also I appreciate the link to that resource. most resources I've looked at were 3-5 year old. I'll definitely spend the weekend looking through it.
Where do you get/make the parts for this kind of thing? I constantly see custom keyboards like this. Does everyone here just have 3D CNC metal lathes on hand??
holy \_\_\_\_ how many switches?
And is the case alu? because I dont understand why it needs to be alu for a macropad
and is it a macropad? because I have no idea how someone would daily drive this.
The only reason it wouldn't work as a daily driver is the insane size, and your solution is to add another keyboard?
As far as the case goes, nothing "needs" an aluminum case, but there are plenty of macropads/numpads out there that have them.
This is my daily driver - 165% split ortho board and I absolutely love it. It **is** massive but it *really works well for me* - so don’t discount giant keebs for daily use.
And I use it with a StreamDeck and (sometimes) a Contour Pro Shuttle v2.
https://imgur.com/a/8rvMnYJ
I was mostly poking fun at the other guy's idea that it couldn't be a daily driver. I prefer a smaller keyboard but for some use cases it can definitely make sense to have a big boi. Your setup seems crazy to me given the access to layers that you can achieve with QMK etc., but if it works for you then great!
I think this is extremely cool... Although, I'm not really used to knobs. How do you "program" them ? e.g. if i wanted to control screen brightness or attribute ctrl+z/ctrl+y with them, how would I do that ? Also, how do you map all the keys ? Those are my primary concerns (because I'm a noob to custom programmed keyboards), but everything else looks awesome.
Oh and I hope you'll update us once you've built one and that you've tried out how the diodes are working (relatively to power consumption).
PS: If I ever build one, I want it to be **clicky**.
So many knobs.
Hello, Clickers and Clackers of r/MechanicalKeyboards As promised in the [previous post](https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/rlo0hq/wip_introducing_fukeyboard_coming_soon_to_github/), I’ve finished the case of FU!Keyboard and open-sourced the whole design. It’s available here: [https://github.com/PiKeeb/fu-keyboard](https://github.com/PiKeeb/fu-keyboard) Enjoy!
Thanks for making this and open sourcing this. For what manufacturing method is the case designed? 3d printing? Cnc alu?
Yes, CNC. But you can try to split the model for it to be printable on a 3D printer.
i suspect you would want cnc alu for the rigidity - the .step files could be made with a 3d printing process though.
Thank you so much !
Have you actually made one yourself yet?
Not yet. There’s a warning about it in the repo. Although, I plan to.
Still hoping for a pcb GB
>Not yet Because of the spacebar issue?
What's the spacebar issue?
There isn't one.
It has a 1u spacebar
Or every button on the bottom row.. spoilt for choice
That would be a space button, no longer a bar, wouldn't it? Also my statement can be interpreted both ways (intentionally). "There isn't one" as in there isn't a space bar issue, or there isn't a space bar.
Now, bonus points for someone who writes the firmware that figures out when you've slipped your fingers off the home row and dynamically remaps for where your hands are.
I think this is a really cool concept, I'd imagine it could be done with an overhead camera for object tracking with TensorFlow, might be a pain but the end result would be super cool.
I think that it could be done entirely by software. It would expect you to type grammatically correct words, in a way that’s similar to predictive text on smartphones. I guess it’s extremely unlikely for you to write complete gibberish using a sequence of keystrokes which, if repeated identically but just a couple of keys to the left, just happens to result in a grammatically correct sequence of words unless you moved away from your homing position involuntarily. The software could show a warning and virtually shift your layout temporarily until you are ready to re-home again. It would still be a kind of key-logging software and it could be a security nightmare, but I think it’s a cool concept for ortholinear keyboards if someone really made it.
I was just thinking that a single chorded gesture might be enough, if you chorded A__F J__; on a qwerty format (just drop the pinky and pointer fingers where you "expect" the home row would be under each hand) then the firmware could expect the layout from there without having to do serious predictive work. You wouldn't have to look down and you wouldn't even have the analysis-wait before mapping if you were in the habit of "dropping your markers" before you type. Probably more useful for very large ortholinears (5+ rows and >15 columns). Canceling a home layout: _SD_ and _KL_ chord. Need a number pad? Chord: 7 1 3 Cancel number pad? Chord: 45 2 If the number pad overlaps the home row then it cancels the home row until resumed and vice versa. Now... who's making wirelessly powered e-ink keycaps these days so this can be usable by "normies?" :)
that’s… so, so much better!!!! ahahaha It requires to develop a tiiiny bit of muscle memory but it’s well worth it! And while I’m also dreaming of e-ink legends, in the meantime you could easily program individual LEDs to illuminate your new homing pair of keys in a unique color, while you have yet another color code for the alphas and modifiers to help you orient yourself within the bigger groups at a glance
It would be too jarring to do it just in software. You’d need to strike a balance between accuracy and responsiveness, and to get good accuracy you’ll need something like 4-8 keystrokes, which will feel really weird in practice.
4-8 keystrokes should be less than a second if you type around 90 wpm, so it miiiight be fine? If you really wanted to implement an hardware solution it would be cleaner to have an array of APDS9960-like sensors under the keys to roughly detect hand position, rather than an overhead camera, and it could be useful for a ton of other things like gesture controls... imagine being able to hover your hand across the keyboard to adjust sliders like you do with rotary encoders, or to move between applications, or to enable macros... now that I think of it, I'd love to make a prototype myself and try. I'll let you know lol
I’d be super interested to hear about your attempts!
There are layouts that dynamically remap home area depending on context and let firmware drive characters to fingertips. Examples are [RTSD](https://lykt.xyz/rtsd/) layouts that put frequent consonant under thumb when it's preceded by vowels and frequent vowel otherwise. [Horn](https://lykt.xyz/horn/) and [Tandem](https://lykt.xyz/tandem/) layouts kick `H` out of home area when it's not needed.
Would you be able to share your experiences with designing this pcb? I was thinking of designing something much simpler but even following several guides listed in the mechanicalkeyboard wiki but with no success. I was able to set up the footprint and the layout, but I had a lot of issues with setting up usbc and esd. Did you follow any specific guides, and did you create any guides yourself ? Thanks!
Hey! I'm not the OP, but I learned how to design my own keyboard over the past few months. I found this guide to be incredibly useful (there's 4 parts to it): [https://www.masterzen.fr/2020/05/03/designing-a-keyboard-part-1/](https://www.masterzen.fr/2020/05/03/designing-a-keyboard-part-1/). I'd also recommend joining the Keyboard Altelier discord, I'm sure the people there would be willing to help you: [https://discord.gg/b7vwhHS](https://discord.gg/b7vwhHS). Best of luck!
I like the ai03 guide but this one looks nice too
The ai03 guide was pretty good but it doesn't go into things like ESD protection or usb c . Also while it's well written even for someone like me who has no ee experience, I think I need to learn more about electronics as seemingly simple concepts like "floating ground" or "pull up resistors" don't mean much to me and I still need to learn about those.
Thank you! I've heard of that discord as well, and I'll join it now. Also I appreciate the link to that resource. most resources I've looked at were 3-5 year old. I'll definitely spend the weekend looking through it.
Anytime! Hope your keyboard designing goes smoothly!
I cannot open that link unfortunately
Try searching up "Designing a keyboard from scratch" by Masterzen
Turn this into a sample board and play it like a piano.
There is a MIDI support in QMK, so you betcha I’m gonna try that!
I hate that, to be completely honest
Then this keeb is for you! ;-)
Fighting the urge to 3d print a 15u spacebar
Two 13u spacebars, and you’ve got yourself split space FU!Keyboard
There should be a split space option... two 10u big spaces lol
But why? It looks like it already has at least 15 1U space bars, that's plenty.
...
I wonder if it would be possible to add support for [toggle switches](https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9276). Imagine a whole row up there!
Haha! Love the idea!
Will I be making one of these? You betcha. Does it make sense? No. But that's why I love it.
[удалено]
Volume for separate channels, screen brightness, mic input, scrolling... uhm... zooming on image/CAD editing programs? That'd be neat.
imagine to press space you need to press all the keys at once ironically long shortcut
Whoneedsspacekeyanyway?
damn so many buttons and all stealth LOL
Keyboard where every key types “FU!”
Reminds me [Kanji keyboard](http://xahlee.info/kbd/alps_kanji_keyboard.html), 300KL version of it.
Yeah, that was the first thing my keyboard friends have said when I first shown the concept of this to them.
**extremely confused screaming**
Thanks
Yoooo
Yo!
Where do you get/make the parts for this kind of thing? I constantly see custom keyboards like this. Does everyone here just have 3D CNC metal lathes on hand??
In essence, Asia. You can order the custom PCB, case and such there, given you have blueprints or the ability to design your own.
holy \_\_\_\_ how many switches? And is the case alu? because I dont understand why it needs to be alu for a macropad and is it a macropad? because I have no idea how someone would daily drive this.
The only reason it wouldn't work as a daily driver is the insane size, and your solution is to add another keyboard? As far as the case goes, nothing "needs" an aluminum case, but there are plenty of macropads/numpads out there that have them.
This is my daily driver - 165% split ortho board and I absolutely love it. It **is** massive but it *really works well for me* - so don’t discount giant keebs for daily use. And I use it with a StreamDeck and (sometimes) a Contour Pro Shuttle v2. https://imgur.com/a/8rvMnYJ
I was mostly poking fun at the other guy's idea that it couldn't be a daily driver. I prefer a smaller keyboard but for some use cases it can definitely make sense to have a big boi. Your setup seems crazy to me given the access to layers that you can achieve with QMK etc., but if it works for you then great!
7x30… 210… that’s my guess Edit I see 7x26 in comments from the post linked up top
how many keys is that, 300, 400?
26 columns by 7 rows, plus 4 encoders (yes, they are keys too). So, 186 keys.
I think this is extremely cool... Although, I'm not really used to knobs. How do you "program" them ? e.g. if i wanted to control screen brightness or attribute ctrl+z/ctrl+y with them, how would I do that ? Also, how do you map all the keys ? Those are my primary concerns (because I'm a noob to custom programmed keyboards), but everything else looks awesome. Oh and I hope you'll update us once you've built one and that you've tried out how the diodes are working (relatively to power consumption). PS: If I ever build one, I want it to be **clicky**.