College Project

[Davey]

Hi guys,
This is my first post so I'm just going to introduce myself quickly. I'm Davey, I'm 18 and from London, I've got an idea for my college project but I need a bit of help with some dimensions and other keyboard switch sizes.

I'm going to be building from scratch a keypad similar to the Razer Tartarus, but with the switches and layout which I want.

My first problem is that I do not know what size holes I need to cut (CNC machine), for plate mounted MX Cherry switches.

So, if anybody knows what sizes I need to cut, I can draw this into a CAD system and start to mount the switches.

Thanks a lot,
Davey

[chzel]

Welcome and good luck with your project.
The easy answer is 14x14mm on a 1.5mm plate.
The correct answer is http://deskthority.net/wiki/Main_Page and Google.
Probably your college project is more about research and prototyping than the final product.
Questions are welcome and people here are REALLY helpful, but I suggest you research a bit on your own.

[Davey]

I have been trying mate, I must have been looking all morning and yesterday evening without any luck.
The closest I got was this:
http://deskthority.net/wiki/Switch-moun ... nstruction

I would have thought the shape would be a more complex shape, not a square

Thanks a lot, great help.

[andrewjoy]

Some good advice is too look up "name of component" datasheet

for example

http://media.digikey.com/pdf/Data%20She ... Series.pdf

[Davey]

wow! This is exactly what I should have looked for!! Thanks a lot, the both of you

[quantalume]

You might wish to consider the "butterfly" style of cutout. This allows one to open up the switches and replace springs, plungers, etc. without desoldering everything. There should be CAD files or at least a drawing here or on geekhack. An even better idea is to forgo the plate altogether.

[Davey]

There should be CAD files or at least a drawing here or on geekhack.

Do you know where I can find them? Thanks

[Kurk]

A bit of searching in the Workshop section produces a few interesting results. Check these threads:

http://deskthority.net/workshop-f7/work ... t7192.html
and
http://deskthority.net/workshop-f7/buil ... t5761.html
and this one on geekhack for CAD files:
http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=47744.0

[Davey]

You guys are really great, thanks a bunch!