Split ergonomic keyboard project

litster · 05 Mar 2013, 04:50

seeing my drawings turning into stacks and stacks of aluminum layers put a smiley on my face.

Thanks for posting the pictures.

aragon · 05 Mar 2013, 08:43

Curious to know what ergodoxers who skipped MD's keycap buy will be doing for keycaps? Wondering if I should order some from wasd, or wait and see if MD do another keycap buy...

sordna · 05 Mar 2013, 19:35

In my case, apart from getting a set from MD, I also ordered a set of Advantage keycaps from Kinesis since I like their thumb key profiles (although I'll need to complete it with a few extras from WASD since the ergodox has a few more keys than the ADvantage).

Soarer · 05 Mar 2013, 19:42

sordna wrote:

Silly tiny keyboards

The plate for mine is in the background there!

gdaian · 06 Mar 2013, 22:35

Thank you litster for the design, I can't wait to give it a try!

By the way, do we have an ETA on shipping?

aragon · 06 Mar 2013, 23:13

sordna wrote:I also ordered a set of Advantage keycaps from Kinesis since I like their thumb key profiles

Do you know if the profile of their other keys will work on an ergodox? Keen to see how you lay your caps up...

sordna · 06 Mar 2013, 23:18

Don't know yet, but I'm going to report the result and post pictures. They are blanks by the way. If they don't work too well, I'll put them on one of my Advantage boards

Zeppelin · 13 Mar 2013, 20:14

How thick plate should be? In millimeters?

asura · 13 Mar 2013, 21:41

1.524mm ± 0.1016mm

zet13 · 20 Mar 2013, 21:33

No necropost addict here but I wanted to know how the project is going on ?
I mean can we see some videos of some people typing on it ? and is it still possible to order an ergodox assembled ?

bpiphany · 21 Mar 2013, 13:01

Maggots have hardly spawned in a week =P And something tells me this is going to get rolling pretty soon...

zet13 · 21 Mar 2013, 14:30

One anonymous maggot is thanking you for this precision :p

sordna · 28 Mar 2013, 02:40

My order just arrived !!! Keycaps and all !

ironman31 · 28 Mar 2013, 03:12

did they send you an email before shipping them?

sordna · 28 Mar 2013, 03:30

No they did not, however I checked my order status on MD earlier today and saw a tracking number.
So for those who ordered and want to check, click your username -> My transactions -> recent transactions on massdrop.com and you'll see a tracking number if they shipped yours.

TheQsanity · 28 Mar 2013, 04:46

OMFG!!! I am getting mine tomorrow! Too badd I forgot to buy the keycaps.

How to they feel? are they thick keycaps? Heavy?

sordna · 28 Mar 2013, 05:18

They are kinda thick, but not really heavy. Their PBT material feels definitely harder than ABS.

TheQsanity · 28 Mar 2013, 05:26

I think you mean "thick"? What do you think of them? worth the $35?

sordna · 28 Mar 2013, 06:12

They are all the same very low profile. I'll put them on my Kinesis first to try them out. Anyway, any PBT set for $35 is definitely worth it

TheQsanity · 28 Mar 2013, 07:09

I hope they start a GB for this profile again!

sordna · 30 Mar 2013, 19:55

I asked MD to add an option to download the firmware source code from the layout configurator, and they added it!
I hope I'll have time to put the keyboard together in the next couple of weeks. Some folks seem to have already built it the same day they got it!!!

BTW the assembly instructions have been revised, and suggest to solder the diodes on the underside of the PCB, to avoid touching the switch plate. The kits came with both hole-through and SMD diodes, you can see that in my photo... but I'll be using switches with built-in diodes, like the ones on my Advantage LF.

mSSM · 31 Mar 2013, 13:52

Sordna, can you give me an estimate on the weight of your package (I got the assembly kit with the acrylic plates and the keycap set)? I need to know for a friend who plans on brining the thing over to me.

I would warrant a guess of no more than 2lb?

ironman31 · 31 Mar 2013, 15:23

My package contains two sets with key caps but no switches and weighs 9 lbs

sordna · 31 Mar 2013, 19:30

I got 2 kits as well (my package was around 8lbs) so better ask someone that ordered 1 kit, and please mention what style of acrylic case you got, the full hand is heavier than the classic (I got one of each, both in acrylic). My guess is that a package containing 1 kit is at least 3.5 or 4lbs.

coredumb · 01 Apr 2013, 21:27

Is it still possible to get 2 kits or am i too late after the battle ?

BugBuster · 01 Apr 2013, 21:58

Massdrop has sent an email today that the demand is so big, that they plan a new round of both kits and keycaps started by the end of this week.

coredumb · 01 Apr 2013, 22:12

Ah good news!!

sordna · 02 Apr 2013, 10:19

Finished one of mine, couldn't wait till the weekend. I used switches with pins and integrated diodes. For the 3 switches with the LEDs I opened the switches, removed the diodes to make room for the LED's and soldered the diodes on the underside of the PCB.
I put a blank Kinesis set on it.

: ergodox1.jpg (634.33 KiB) Viewed 6518 times

: ergodox2.jpg (549.29 KiB) Viewed 6518 times

: ergodox3.jpg (488.09 KiB) Viewed 6518 times

eviltobz · 02 Apr 2013, 11:46

ooooh, that looks pretty tasty with the kinesis home row keys, me like

sordna · 02 Apr 2013, 15:19

Say, I remember there was a step about bridging 2 soldring pads together, on the corner of the MCP chip, you can see it here, next to the capacitor (ic07 photo from page 17) of this thread

What is that step for? The new instructions I followd didn't say that so I didn't and the keyboard works fine.