[IC] FSSK Metal Plate | Completed

[Muirium]

With all that space left free, why don't consider an FSSK variant....

This is clearly photoshop - even 110 degree tube won't fit in such confined place

(Yes, that pic has been on DT before. By a vintage hardware-centric faker of some renown on Twitter, I forget the name. They’ve lots of stuff.)

You should totally chop that Unicomp case down to SSK size, or alternatively go for full-size innards and let one of the latecomers have that sweet SSK core!

There’s a long tradition of pretty nicely accomplished TKL Model M chops.

[DMA]

There’s a long tradition of pretty nicely accomplished TKL Model M chops.

Problem is - my chops aren't that nice. This will require two 8-inch cuts that will be absolutely parallel to each other, and I know for a fact I can't do that.

Upd: although.. there's about enough space for trackpad..

[DMA]

Mmkay, I'm typing it from thhe wired controller. It definitely needs some debounce tweaking,, bbut it works ffine!

PXL_20230313_235409454.jpg (3.16 MiB) Viewed 6193 times

Notee thhat ground connection doesn't hhave to bbe especially bbeefy (this is AWG30 wire-wrapping wire) - just _reliabble_.

Upd: taylorswift, what's the PCB thickness? I noticed it's pretty thin - thinner than XTant - but forgot to measure and now I can't get to it with calipers!

Also thanks for using stainless steel for the plate! XTant plate is pretty rusted today.

[Muirium]

Stainless steel sounds nice and classy. I remember that XTant plate feeling quite bare and untreated; no surprise to hear it's been rusting away these years since in use.

Are you running your own firmware, DMA?

[DMA]

Stainless steel sounds nice and classy. I remember that XTant plate feeling quite bare and untreated; no surprise to hear it's been rusting away these years since in use.

Are you running your own firmware, DMA?

Of course. What else is there, godawful qmk?

[Muirium]

That’ss QMMK to yyou, ssir!

Wonder how it handles bounce. I find Pandrew’s capsense amazingly good on my (hitherto barely useable) Beamspring. It may well take this in its stride, too.

[DMA]

That’ss QMMK to yyou, ssir!

LOL but it's kinda laughing at a cripple a bit. Thresholds needed a bit of tweaking, that's all. Didn't even have to increase debouncing window much - it's currently 4.

Wonder how it handles bounce. I find Pandrew’s capsense amazingly good on my (hitherto barely useable) Beamspring. It may well take this in its stride, too.

Beamspring doesn't bounce. . There is a bit of rebound after you _release_ the key, but as you can see it's nowhere near full actuation level, so it's easy to ignore by setting threshold properly.
Buckling spring bounces even less - if anything, it overshoots when the flipper hits the PCB
Spurious repeats with xwhatsit are due to the unfortunate design decision - namely, the desire to hold the sense line above ground, which leads to necessity to catch rapidly-decaying signals: and truly horrible noise immunity. This is trivial to fix - one just needs a chip with 8 open-collector outputs - but apparently xwhatsit's sensor schematic is even more sacred than model F sense pads form factor, and nobody dares to touch it. But unlike the former, the latter is good enough - not great for 2023 state of the art, but good enough.

[Scarpia]

With all that space left free, why don't consider an FSSK variant....
model n.jpg

This is clearly photoshop - even 110 degree tube won't fit in such confined place

Sure, that. Also it was a clue that the monitor is on with the cable unplugged

[taylorswiftttttt]

Aand it's done!

I'm glad it came together. Do you mind if I use some of these pictures in my Instructions post?

Upd: taylorswift, what's the PCB thickness? I noticed it's pretty thin - thinner than XTant - but forgot to measure and now I can't get to it with calipers!

Also thanks for using stainless steel for the plate! XTant plate is pretty rusted today.

The PCB thickness is 0.6mm. I used this for the FSSK PCB I am typing on right now and a couple other
capacitive PCBs.

A1008 cold-rolled steel is quite a bit less expensive than the 304 stainless steel used for these plates, but the speed at which it rusts makes it only really acceptable for prototypes.

[DMA]

Aand it's done!

I'm glad it came together. Do you mind if I use some of these pictures in my Instructions post?

Sure, go ahead.

The PCB thickness is 0.6mm.

Hmm. This makes it compatible with FPC cable connectors, for solderless connectivity.

[Muirium]

Much to my brother’s amusement, there is now a handsome box addressed to me in his possession, sent by the Taylor Swift fan club. He really likes her and wonders what sweet schwag I’ve picked up!

[depletedvespene]

I now regret not having gotten in; an FSSK would probably be my endgame keyboard. You guys enjoy!

[Muirium]

^ Understandable if you didn't have an SSK willing to be sacrificed.

[depletedvespene]

I do have an SSK that could sacrifice its "emness" in favor of becoming an FSSK (I got one specifically for this, before the prices of SSKs, in good shape or not, went through the roof). What I distinctly lack is the handiwork capability to do the conversion and NOT make a giant mess that ends with two dead keyboards.

[idollar]

Hello,

I come into desthority not very regularly
My life is full of many things to do which do not allow to spend all the time that I would like with my hobbies.

I am very happy to read this thread and the evolution that the original FSSK. Well done (@taylorswiftttttt)
the decision to make all the cad files available has paid back !

I need to read this thread with care.

i$

[pyrelink]

Wow what an insane project. This seems to be everything I was hoping of the Model MF project from years back. Fantastic work Taylor Swift. I don't love your music, but I have a new found respect for your DIY engineering. I see that I missed out on what looks like the first and only group buy round. If there's a second round ever (or if anyone who bought a plate and has gotten cold feet...) I would love to be included. I have a built FSSK that I would probably drop this plate into, or try and scrounge up another set of barrels and springs to mod my second SSK.

[Muirium]

I missed the original, so no, you're not taking my shot at this one!

Know how you feel tho.

[taylorswiftttttt]

I built the correct QMK-xwhatsit firmware for this PCB (FSSK v1.00b) and thanks to pandrew, it is now available on QMK configurator: http://35.164.28.200:5000/#/xwhatsit/ib ... LAYOUT_all

I originally linked the wrong firmware because I stupidly assumed the FEXT firmware would work with a ghost numpad; this has been corrected.

---------------------------------------------

Here are the gerber files for the FSSK v1.00b PCB that I made:

FSSK v1_00B_gerber.zip

(199.27 KiB) Downloaded 98 times

Keep in mind that this is idollar's work. All I did was chop the numpad off the FEXT v1.00b.
As noted by DMA, the silkscreening on these will decrease the sensitivity, so although this PCB is fully functional, it would be improved by moving the silkscreen off the pads.

Here is the diptrace project:

FSSK_ v1.00B.zip

(2.31 MiB) Downloaded 109 times

Some of the files in it are for the FEXT, but the project file is correct, and my diptrace trial expired so I'm too lazy to go back and try and update everything.

---------------------------------------------

I come into desthority not very regularly
My life is full of many things to do which do not allow to spend all the time that I would like with my hobbies.

I am very happy to read this thread and the evolution that the original FSSK. Well done (@taylorswiftttttt)
the decision to make all the cad files available has paid back !

i$

I really appreciate you making the CAD files public. I hope in the future you'll have more time for keyboards

... I have a new found respect for your DIY engineering.

Thanks

[adamcobabe]

How did you bend the plates, taylorswiftttttt? Did you discover a specific bend radius?