Stacked acrylic, handwired, monobody split, 12.75u, 40% keyboard
Stacked acrylic keyboard case designed for handwiring with a Pro Micro footprint RP2040 controller. 12.75u layout monobody split. Inspired by Peej's Lumberjack, SquashKB's Lesovoz, Trashman's V4N4G0N/Minivan and Jake/P3D's acrylic cases. The idea was to use all off the shelf components (other than the case). There are lots of options on what you could do with the central section such as encoders, tactile push buttons, LEDs or an OLED display. Different proto board mounts and either a straight or V shape can be accomodated by changing some of the layers.
Feel free to do whatever you want with the files. If you have any questions just ask (Discord username elkinoflop) and if you make one then share a photo with me!
There are two different layouts. A stabless version and a version which requires 2x plate mounted 2u stabs. They both have the same amount of keys so your choice of layout doesn't change the matrix.Space"], [{w:1.25},"Tab","A","S","D","F","G",{x:3.75},"H","J","K","L","@\n'",{w:1.5},"Enter"], [{w:1.75},"Shift","Z","X","C","V","B",{x:3.75},"N","M","<\n.",">\n.",{a:7},"",{a:4},"Shift"], [{w:1.25},"Hyper","Super",{w:1.25},"Meta","Hyper",{a:7,w:1.75},"",{x:3.75,w:1.75},"",{a:4,w:1.25},"Super",{a:7,w:1.25},"","",{w:1.25},""] ["Esc","Q","W","E","R","T",{x:3.75},"Y","U","I","O","P",{w:1.75},"Back
Space"], [{w:1.25},"Tab","A","S","D","F","G",{x:3.75},"H","J","K","L","@\n'",{w:1.5},"Enter"], [{w:1.75},"Shift","Z","X","C","V","B",{x:3.75},"N","M","<\n.",">\n.",{a:7},"",{a:4},"Shift"], ["Hyper","Super","Meta",{w:1.25},"Hyper",{a:7,w:2},"",{x:3.75,w:2.25},"",{a:4,w:1.25},"Super",{a:7},"","",""]
- Case files
- Designed to be cut from 3mm acrylic
- With the open case layers (5,6 & 7) there is the option of positioning some of the smaller parts (layers 0 or 9) within the open section to save some acrylic but some fabricators might not like doing this.
- Note that acrylic sheets can vary in thickness even if they are listed as 3mm. I have found that Perspex® typically measures at 3-3.1mm whereas Xintao (which most Chinese suppliers seem to use) typically comes in at 2.6-2.7mm. This doesn't matter too much except for your switches will be much more visible with thinner sheets.
- As a rough idea of cost Mechboards.co.uk was the best price I could find in the UK at around £80-£90 (inc VAT) for the case and plate. This will vary depending on what acrylic you choose
- Don't force the standoffs through if you find some of the standoffs too tight. Use a small round file if you need to slightly widen any holes. The small round file from Draper 'Soft Grip Needle File Set, 140mm (6 Piece) (83982)' is the perfect size. You shouldn't need to do this but there can be some manufacturing variance.
- One of each case layer cut from 3mm acrylic. You need one of each number but you don't need for example both 8SEC and 8VEC.
- Either the stabless or stabbed plate DXF file cut from 1.5mm metal/carbon. Flexier/plastic plates aren't recommened as without a PCB you can bottom out the switches on the case and risk the switches popping out of the plate
- Pro Micro footprint RP2040 controller
- M2 Standoffs with a outside diameter of 3mm. 4x 5-6mm for the feet, 10x 12-14mm for the main case, 6x 2-6mm for the proto board mounts. Amazon Standoffs
- M2 Hex socket button head bolts. Various lengths between 4-12mm. AliExpress bolts
- ElectroCookie PCB Prototype Board 3.8"x3.5" OR FeatherWing Proto board. Make sure you orient the board correctly before soldering. The ElectroCookie boards aren't symmetrical, the case is designed so the side with the curved corners is on the right (unlike some of the photos)
- Adhesive gasket material. 4mm width. I used 2mm thick gaskets but slightly thinner would be better.
- Wire! Solid core 22 AWG suggested
- 46x MX Switches
- 46x 1N4148 Diodes (plus any extras if you have buttons/encoders in the middle)
- 8x small adhesive feet
- Optional - 2x 2u Plate Mount Stabilisers if you are making the stabbed layout
- Optional - WS2812B LEDs. There's enough pins on the controller to add some RGB if you want. I used two of the 5x5 version of these. Placing them under the prototype board gives a nice effect.
- Optional - Rotary Encoder (EC11). There's enough pins on the controller to add and encoder if you want
- Optional - 12*12*7.3mm tactile push button(s). These fit into the breadboard if you want some extra button(s) in the middle
- Optional - 1.25mm Molex PicoBlade connectors and wire. I used these to connect the matrix to the central section so they can easily be disconnected if required
- Optional - Adafruit NeoPixel FeatherWing. For the VFW variant.
If you have wired up the matrix and connected it to the same controller pins as I have then you should be able to use my firmware. Install Circuit Python onto the controller first and then copy all the unzipped files from the firmware zip onto the drive.
This is how I handwired the Matrix.An example of how to wire the proto board for an encoder