Splitboard
25 hours spent total
July 9th, 1:17am- ~1 hour spent
Officially begin splitboard. But before that, the project description- splitboard is a hotswappable keyboard that I will be making to address issues in my last keyboard, scalars-keyboard (also on my github profile).
- Firstly, I completely underestimated the size of the keyboard and what should have been a mid-sized keyboard came out to be bigger than the keyboard i have on my laptop. Compact form factor is a major element of this project.
- Next, Ive wanted to try a wireless keyboard design ever since the pico W got bluetooth connectivity. Wireless connectivity is a must. Therefore, I need to handle bluetooth connectivity and how to power the board using a battery.
- Finally, I want to try a split keyboard design for this keyboard for ergonomics.
In my research, I found out about a keyboard called the ergodox. I will aim for a design similar to it, but I intend to add two other unique elements:
- A mini trackpad (similar to a thinkpad) I decided not to add this as the trackball will be take its functionality.
- A trackball (to navigate menus and 3d softwares).
I will also try to add some sort of backlight similar to the original.
July 9th, 2:04am- 1 hour spent planning and researching parts.
With that out of the way, I will now begin with a rough design from a online configurator.
Left Half: 38 total switches
Right half: 32 total switches
Since the left half is simpler, I will start making the pcb for it. I will need to make the entire trackball assembly for the right side.
The microcontroller I chose to work with is a Adafruit Feather nRF52840 Express, because of its bluetooth connectivity and power management / battery charging support.
July 20th- 3 hours spent
I had to take a break from the project due to undercity. Today, I worked with other hack clubbers to collectively finish/work on our keyboards. I took the opportunity to finalize a Kicad schematic and gather all required footprints for the project.
Schematic for splitboard left.
With this done, I will now work on the PCB of the board.
July 21st- 2 hours spent
Today, I decided to begin the PCB design of the board. I spent around 2 hours arranging the keyswitch footprints to their correct locations. Kicad was acting funny again just like with the last keyboard. Tomorrow I will arrange the LEDs and do the same with the splitboard right. I am also thinking about removing the trackball from the keyboard and making it into its own entity (a seperate pcb). I will focus on this later.
July 22nd- 4-5 hours spent
Finished wiring most of the left splitboard and arranged all parts for both the left and right splitboard other than the microcontroller.
July 24th- Spent 4 hours on PCB
Finished wiring the right keyboard and whatever was left of the left splitboard.
July 25th- Spent 6 hours on the case
Finished designing the case for the left and right splitboard, hence concluding the project. I decided to go with a voronoi pattern on the bottom of the case to add some originality and appeal to it. Produced the BOM.
August 4th- Spent 3 hours editing the case
I added the physical models of some switches and a low poly rectangle with the exact dimensions of the battery I have at home that should work with the microcontroller used in this keyboard. This proved to be pretty helpful since it revealed a mistake in my top plates, and although tedious to resolve, I was able to fix all issues. Everything should fit nicely, hopefully.