Pc scientist and maker Chris Haynes has designed a compact ortholinear keyboard constructed particularly for ease of transportation, but delivering true mechanical switches beneath its custom-printed keycaps: the Micro Planck.
“I’m an enormous fan of mechanical keyboards,” Haynes explains. “The texture, the sound, the tactile nature. I believed it could nice to design a {custom}, small dimension 3D printable keyboard which might be simply used when touring while nonetheless offering the identical stage of performance as a full scale mechanical keyboard. I wished as a lot of the design to be 3D printable [as possible] so the shell, plate, and all of the keycaps have been designed from scratch with that in thoughts.”
If it’s essential to slim down your journey gear, the Micro Planck miniature keyboard can assist. (📷: Chris Haynes)
Measuring simply 23cm (round 9.1″) in width and 9.5cm (round 3.7″) in depth, and with a peak of simply 2cm (round 0.8″), the Micro Planck definitely lives as much as its prefix. Housed contained in the 3D-printed shell is a {custom} circuit board with a 4×12 structure for Gateron KS-33 mechanical key switches — all keys identically-sized, bar a double-width spacebar, and positioned in a gridded ortholinear structure.
The PCB homes a Microchip ATmega32U4 microcontroller working the open-source QMK firmware, three RGB LEDs, a bodily reset swap, and a USB Kind-C connector for knowledge and energy. The higher layer of the case is printed in clear PETG, with Haynes designing the PCB with aesthetics as a spotlight — and to offer visibility of the three user-addressable RGB LEDs. “You may also print this part not clear,” Haynes explains, “however then the LEDs will likely be a lot much less seen.”
The keyboard is totally 3D-printable, and makes use of a single {custom} PCB powered by a Microchip ATmega32U4 microcontroller. (📷: Chris Haynes)
“It might probably take a little bit of time to get used to typing on an ortholinear keyboard (the place the keys are specified by a grid somewhat than offset on a conventional keyboard),” Haynes admits. “I might suggest utilizing some typing take a look at web sites, and working towards a bit, however earlier than lengthy it’s going to turn into second nature!”
A full construct information for the Micro Planck is out there on Instructables, whereas 3D print recordsdata for the keyboard’s housing and the keycaps have been revealed on Maker World below the location’s Commonplace Digital File License; the PCB has been uploaded to PCBWay below the Inventive Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.