ErgoMechKeyboards

Some context: I write code and play videogames, primarily on Windows and currently on a Logitech K860, which I've been thinking of replacing with something that is less wide and/or two-piece. In looking into this I have discovered that there's quite a number of keyboards that fit my criteria, so I could use some help figuring out what's more likely to be a good choice.

What do I desire:

• US-like QWERTY layout
  (LShift next to Z, horizontal or otherwise reasonable-sized Enter)
• TKL (or otherwise not too wide)
• Split
  (ideally two-part, but the classic 15(?)-degree triangle in the middle is also okay)
• Probably a normal staggered layout (I touch-type, but it's not strict home-row typing)
• Normal arrow keys
  (read: separate keys not requiring an Fn press/layer switch; Up-arrow being above Down-arrow)
• Home/End keys next to arrow keys, or accessible via Fn+arrow
  (or a couple useless keys next to arrow keys that could be remapped)
• A Delete key somewhere in that area
  (or another useless key that can be remapped)
• Digit keys
• A Windows/Option key

Nice to have:

• F-keys (to use for keyboard shortcuts)
• Tenting
• (detachable?) palm supports
• Wired connection or optional cable.

Things that don't mean too much:

• Lighting
• Key labels and their durability
• High-end macro recording (key codes can be remapped on PC side)

Misc:

• I've not owned enough mechanical keyboards to have a switch preference beyond "shouldn't take much force to press / shouldn't be too loud".
• I can assemble and disassemble devices, but probably wouldn't find time to solder.
• Not particularly limited in terms of budget - been a few years since I've last got a fancy keyboard.
• I'm used to low-profile keyboards, though it's more about travel time and how much the keys poke out of the keyboard than actual key cap height.

What else I've used that's worth noting:

• MSI GK-701 (non-split)
  Bought to see what was the fuss with Cherry MX brown switches, but couldn't get used to how tall this thing was (~4cm).
• Microsoft Sculpt Ergonomic Desktop
  Very good keyboard layout, somewhat stiff (?) keys and clicky F-keys.
• HAVIT HV-KB390L (non-split)
  A pretty pleasant TKL low-profile keyboard with Kailh white switches that I used for a little while before going back to split keyboards.
• Logitech K860
  Better keys than Sculpt, but full-sized.
• Perrixx/MoKo/etc. Foldable Keyboard (aka B.O.W. keyboard)
  It's a pocket comedy split keyboard. Not very high-quality, but beats typing on the phone, you know?
• Logitech K280e (non-split)
  A curious low-profile, quiet (rubber-domed?) office keyboard that I use with secondary devices.

Considerations so far

Sculpt-likes (one-piece ~75%):

• Perixx PERIDUO-606
  A mouse wheel in the middle?
• Perixx PERIBOARD-613 B
  This one has a 4:1 Enter key. I think it's for people that like their RShift keys.
• Perixx PERIBOARD-335 (TKL)
  A mass-market-ish keyboard with mechanical switches? That's neat. Not hot swap, but still!
• Lenovo Go Wireless Split
  Apparently Lenovo made a conventional TKL split keyboard once.
• BC Split Ergonomic
  Seems like an almost 1:1 replica of Sculpt layout, except for distribution of F-keys. UK layout only, I think?
• X-Bows Knight
  Column-staggered, has a 2x2 Backspace key, and the most obnoxious website I've seen as of late.
• Truly Ergonomic 229 Mechanical Keyboard
  A similar design to X-Bows, but with a more symmetrical layout. -Truly Ergonomic CLEAVE
  A slightly different design with a handful of large keys for your thumbs.

Two-piece (pre-assembled):

• Goldtouch V2 (>75%)
  A seemingly normal rubber-domed keyboard.
• Kinesis Freestyle2/Pro/Edge (>75%)
  A similar layout. I guess this one made it big because every other split keyboard post I find includes a sponsored listing from Kinesis.
  And what's the difference between these? Switches, programmable buttons, and lighting?
• Matias Ergo Pro (>75%)
  That's a quirky layout, but technically has all the buttons.
• Cloud Nine ErgoTKL (>75%)
  A fairly Sculpt-like layout with a couple extra buttons.
• Core Mechanics Project: 0001 (>75%)
  Pretty good layout and a couple macro keys too. A clean look.
• Perixx PERIBOARD-524B (75%)
  A perfectly normal two-piece layout.
• Goldtouch Go!2
  The wireless/scissor edition of the seemingly normal keyboard, now with a couple sacrifices and navigation keys on the left.
• R-Go Split Break
  This is a different kind of a compact comedy keyboard, except it's a wired PC keyboard.

Two-piece (kits):

• Mistel MD770 (75%)
  An (almost) perfectly normal layout that's split into two halves.
  650L seems similar sans the f-key row.
• YMDK Split 64/75/84
  All QMK-based I believe?
• Keychron Q11 QMK (75%-ish)
  Also a pretty normal layout featuring two knobs.
• Keebio collections (65%..>75%)
  I've not even heard of some of these switches before, but Cepstrum looks intriguing.
• Sinc R3 (>75%)

One-piece (kits):

• Keychron Q8
  That's not how you curve a keyboard.
• Feker Alice 80 (65%)
  A very sensible layout sans the relocated Win-key.

Alps SKCC green. Switches and caps were stolen off an IBM Pingmaster.

Hi all,

I'm happy to share my latest "remixed" boards that are evolutions of an unsplit/unibody design that I originally released at the beginning of this year. These designs are heavily inspired by and borrow aspects from a number of other keyboard designs, including bad-wings by Hazel and revxlp by Pete Johanson.

The remixed designs use Kailh Choc switches with moderate spacing (i.e., not too close). These can have either 55 keys or 64 keys. For each of these sizes, I created a variant that uses a Xiao Seeed module and another variant that uses the Waveshare RP2040-zero module.

For me, it was important to have inverted T-clusters for navigation. These boards have two clusters, one of which has the arrow keys, and the other has Home/End/PgUp/PgDn. I also wanted to minimize the amount of pinky finger reach on the 64-key designs (since I have relatively short pinky fingers).

Of course, we're having a back-to-school sale! I mean, who isn't?

Get 10% off any order over $50 with checkout code ERGONOMICS-101.

Looking foward to going back to school? Yes? No?

Well, regardless, when writing those searingly insightful love sonnets to mitochondria, or another paper noting the potential link between neutrinos and hiccups, or your groundshaking thesis on the global seismic white noise caused by earthworms, please, PLEASE don't cramp up your fingers on those fugly membrane laptop keyboards.

Let your elucidations flow freely onto the digital page with a Dactyl Manuform ergonomic keyboard!

From minimalistic 3x5 kits to monstrous 6x7 beasts with ALL THE KEYS, we've got you covered.

Options abound: Single and dual trackballs, OLED screens, rotary encoders, underglow RGB, and now BLUETOOTH wireless.

We offer full builds as well as PLA or resin case prints and whole kit parts for a full do-it-yourself build.

Full Builds https://wylderbuilds.com/shop/p/dactyl-manuform-build

PLA Case Prints https://wylderbuilds.com/shop/p/made-to-order-dactyl-manuform-cases

Resin Case Prints https://wylderbuilds.com/shop/p/dactyl-manuform-resin-print

DIY Build Kit https://wylderbuilds.com/shop/p/manuform-diy-kit

Type like a GOD.

Cheers!

Andy @ Wylderbuilds

Having always been somewhat annoyed I can't simply place a Pro Micro (or for that matter any other controller) over on top of a hot-swap socket without either turning it sideways, loosing pins, or some other creative solution.

So after trying to find other smaller controllers, but always ending up with a compromise, I finally got fed up with it, and started designing one of my own that is just large enough to fit the purpose.

RP2040 powered of course, and with a mid mount USB type C, the design is extremely low profile and fairly barebones with no status LED, no buttons, etc. making it easy and cheap to produce. And with 26 pin, there are 23 IO pins available for matrix and other things. VBUS detection for easy use with split keyboards, but beyond that stripped of anything fancy.

The boot/reset signals are available as castellated connections next to the USB, and only really meant for the first flashing/emergency flashing, as the rest would be handled by tapping a keycode to enter bootloader from within QMK/ZMK.

Edit: Added D+/- as jumpered breakouts on pins, se below. Also added a pin high/low for assigning sides on a split (useful for handwiring)

Hey all! I've been working on a new standard for interconnecting a main keyboard pcb to modules.

What does this mean? If a keyboard pcb supports the interface via a connector and some basic wiring, it will allow you to use the available open source modules.

I designed an open source keyboard called vulpes minora to prove out the concept, along with 4 modules that you can connect to it. Even before officially announcing it, there are have been 3 keyboards that have adopted it, along with 2 modules developed (Great work by zzeneg , Ariamelon, and Ben!)

Here is a link to see the full list of supported keyboards and modules.

The VIK repository is here, and it highlights how it works, how to implement support for it (for both a keyboard and a module), along with working examples.

https://github.com/sadekbaroudi/vik

If more people adopt it, more people will be incentivized to make modules, and we'll all benefit from it. No more days of "hey, check out this cirque trackpad, let's figure out a way to hack it onto existing boards!". Instead, it will be "Hey, we should design a VIK module that supports this new cool thing!". Then people will be able to just swap in the new thing, write some basic firmware, and fold it into their existing keyboards.

Thinking out loud here, but if it starts to get popular, we could even work with the QMK folk to potentially create some standardized way of supporting modules (from a firmware perspective) in a more streamlined way.

Anyway, questions and feedback very much welcome.

If you'd like to discuss it in more depth, please feel free to join the fingerpunch discord server, and chat me up (sadekbaroudi) in the #vik channel.

https://fingerpunch.xyz/discord

There was a recent article published on kbd.news if anyone wants to look through that as well

Hi, I've been meaning to make a travel-friendly ergonomic keyboard setup for a couple years ago after starting /r/ergomobilecomputers, so far just been on a raised tablet setup with a regular keyboard (a setup I've enjoyed, but will confess I've some slight pain from using a standard keyboard with it)

What kinds of recovery stories have you experienced yourself or heard from others in using a certain ergomechkeyboard?

Were there things outside of having a more ergonomic setup that helped (i.e. just better sleep, diet, hygiene, mood) too?

Basically curious to hear some stories of how these things have helped fellow jank-embracers!

I did try searching around the original sub for 'pain' and 'rsi' but feel like it may be worth asking again on here.

UPDATE: Thanks again for all the stories so far both here and on the related reddit thread! Made me revise a brainstorm keyboard idea that could facilitate redirecting pinky use on the left control key + right arrow keys to something that uses the thumb + index finger instead.

Just a quick post to share the case I designed for my Cheapino.
Many people were curious to get the files for it so here they are.

I've never done real CAD, so I had to bash it in tinkercad.
I'll try to learn to model properly and iterate on it eventually, but I am short on time right now.
It should make it much more usable on delicate surfaces in the meantime!

https://www.printables.com/model/541536-cheapino-case-with-basic-tenting

I took a WaveShare RP2040-Touch-LCD-1.28and made a program to use it as a touchscreen. This is still very much in the beta phase but the proof of concept works. Here’s my GitHub repo for it.

I’m planning on integrating it into my next split near the thumb cluster.

Been iterating a bit on my revxlp design, and a frequent request is for a 10u/"5 col" version.

Finally did a build of the first protos, and it's working great! I want to do a few tweaks for the newly added ability to use the single color LEDs for either per -key or bottom backlighting, once that's done I'll formally release the changes.

This particular build was half soldered by our elder daughter, and she fully assembled post-soldering including keycap selection. I love the look she chose, which she said "reminded her of a sunset over the water"

• 10u revxlp
• XIAO RP2040 running ZMK
• Keycaps:
  • MBK: dyes from MKU and factory dyes from LowProKB
  • Asymplex convex 1u artisans for the bottom row
• Choc whites
• MJF nylon case print from JLC

I teased Mantis v0.3 with two previous posts. I finally finished building it over the weekend and updated the QMK firmware including RGB Matrix support. I've been typing on it all day and it's a joy to use. The layout and keymap are mostly the same as what I had on v0.2 before.

Shout-out to PCBWay for sponsoring the manufacturing of the first batch of prototype PCBs and key caps. The acrylic case plates were made locally in Toronto at Hot Pop Factory.

The design and firmware are mostly up-to-date on GitHub (still need to finalize some minor tweaks to the case plates). Here are some more pictures.

I need to spend more time with the RGB Matrix features in QMK. For now I'm using the ALPHAS_MODS mode to highlight the home row and home thumb keys.

Here is the same perspective with the LEDs off, which makes it easier to see the curves of the key well. The key cap is my own design, 3D printed in resin by PCBWay. They came out great. I only needed to remove some small left overs of supports from the bottom where it interfered with the switch stem. No big deal, my thumb nail was the only tool needed. The stems feel very solid so I was not worried about swapping key caps on and off a few times during the fit and build process. The shape and dimensions are true to the design, so they fit pretty tightly to the switches and their neighbours. The surface of the spherical dish feels slightly textured, a bit like a PBT key cap. The little holes in the keys were meant to allow light to shine through. But the material turns out to be translucent, which is nice, so I'll have the next batch made without those holes.

The key caps are designed parametrically in OpenSCAD. I generated only a single key cap profile for this build. The key well shape comes from rotating the switches in 60° increments on different rows and thumb key positions, as well as the raised PCB for the index finger and most thumb keys. I built this one with Sunset (tactile) switches that I took off one of my v0.2 builds. They sound and feel good on this keyboard, but I'm going to build a second one with linear (Pro Red) switches for comparison.

The bottom view shows the reversible split bottom PCBs that make it slightly cheaper to manufacture in small batches. The fit is really good, with basically no gap between the PCBs and a perfect fit with the single-piece switch plate. I chose the more expensive purple solder mask for aesthetic reasons. It does look nice and I like the contrast with the white top PCB and key caps. Diodes and LEDs are surface-mounted from the bottom and sit inside the sound channels that meander under the switches of the two keyboard halves. I couldn't make this design work with hot-swap sockets, so the switches are committed to this keyboard now.

I'll do a sound comparison with and without the mid-layers that contain the sound channels at some point when I build the second prototype. Meanwhile I'll finish writing a build guide and do some more work on the firmware: add support for Vial and and play with the RGB features. Then I want to design a 3D printed version of the case, which would enable a simple one-stop shop way of ordering all the non-standard components from PCBWay or other PCB manufacturers that also offer 3D printing services. If that requires changes to the PCBs, it may turn into v0.4.

It’s affordable (by ergo keeb standards) and it has all the features. split, orthlinear, thumb keys.

I like it a lot but it was quite an adjustment to learn to use it

Hello fellow keyboard enthusiasts!

Remember the teaser I shared about the Vesuveus mechanical keyboard? Well, I'm thrilled to announce that it's no longer just a concept - it's a reality!

Since the initial teaser, I've been hard at work perfecting the design and building the first prototype. The white enclosure served as the starting point, but I couldn't resist experimenting further. So, recently, I had a bit of spare time that I spent fixing some issues with the first white enclosure and printed this sleek black enclosure, which model you can find on the GitHub page!

But that's not all! I've also uploaded a type test video on YouTube featuring the Vesuveus in action! You can witness the smooth, silent and satisfying keystrokes as I type away. Check it out here and let me know your thoughts!

Please keep in mind that I recorded the video with my smartphone, so the quality might not be top-notch, but I'm sure you'll still get a good idea of the typing experience with the Vesuveus. Hope you will enjoy! 😄

If you're curious to see the progress, all the details, and the newly updated 3D models, head over to the GitHub page. Feel free to explore, build your own Vesuveus, and join me in this exciting DIY mechanical keyboard journey!

ATM, the Vesuveus is a handwired board. Once I learn Kicad, I plan to work on the PCB version too! If you're interested in getting started with handwiring, I highly recommend checking out Joe Scotto's guides - that guy is amazing at what he does!

I can't express enough gratitude for the incredible support and inspiration from this amazing community. Your works has fueled my passion for keyboards, and I'm thrilled to share this milestone with all of you.

Thank you for being a part of this journey, and let's keep the keyboard magic alive together!

I'd love to have one of these but they're not made anymore. Anyone still making / selling them?

Hi guys, this is my personal setup. Some time I just like to have a plain and simple keyboard, no extra features, no wireless, no RGB, no OLED, no knob.

This is the Atreus52 with gasket mount aluminum case, the keyboard is powered by the famous rp2040 mcu, no more worrying about memory using QMK.

This is soon to be in stocked at https://ergomech.store

In the meantime, please browse our selections of ergomech, and something might caught your eyes.

I'm in the market for a keyboard with a well/concave shape. Preferably split. I'm looking for a built board, not a kit. I'm aware of the Dacty, Glove80 and Kenisis. Am I missing any? Thanks!

KLOR is 34 keys split columnar staggered keyboard made by GEIST. I built it with Nice!Nano and without an OLED screen. Been regularly taking it with me to the office.

As the title says: I was thinking about getting into 3d printing for a long time now. The main thing I can think of when it comes to reasons for printing is keyboard building. Do you folks have any recommendations for a good entry-level printer that is able to print for example a Charybdis? Luckily I really like split keyboard which should reduce the needed print area.

[EDITED for clarity]

Hi folks. For my next wireless split build, I'm exploring battery options for easy replacement while travelling. In this scenario, the battery's reached its end of life and needs to be disposed of/replaced with a new one. However, it's difficult to receive parcels or have access to a workshop while on the move, so the dead battery should be swappable without specialised tools, and the replacement battery should be easily sourced from any local hardware store.

For some background, this just happened to me. The LiPo in my current board was directly soldered to my nice!nano (bad choice, I know). Used the board on wired mode for a while, but the USB-C port became loose at some point due to accidental dragging and unplugging (I couldn't find a magnetic USB adapter). Most local shops didn't have the 3.7 V thin-ish LiPos that I often see in wireless splits, and language barrier made finding things difficult. Fortunately, I found a replacement battery (of dubious quality), but I want to make a dedicated battery slot in my next upgrade/build in case this happens again.

I know adding JST connector is an option, but the issue is, 3.7 V LiPos can be hard to find in some countries. I'm thinking of using AA or AAA-sized batteries (one-time usage or rechargeable type). Or use an RC LiPo (7.4 V?) but step down to around 3.7 V. Not sure what additional circuit or component would be required for this.

Has anyone tried to use such batteries for your split keyboards, or have seen a project that uses them? Also, if not AA/AAA-sized batteries, what other types and/or build would you suggest for this scenario?

(Photo from: https://www.dnkpower.com/lithium-polymer-battery-guide/)

https://github.com/dlip/chouchou

Chouchou (Japanese for butterfly) is a minimalist unibody keyboard designed to be used with the Taipo layout.

It uses a cheap RP2040-Zero MCU and requires no diodes since the 20 edge pinouts it provides is the exact number of keys Taipo requires. It was created with Ergogen and KiCad.

I’ve been using a Sofle split for almost a year, probably in about 30-40% of my typing. Despite tweaking my setup as best I can, I still find the experience difficult.

One issue that seems to have a big effect is that I still think of the position of mouse in my dominant hand and keyboard with my other hand as useful.

I use it often for everything from casual surfing to editing. For example during editing you’re often selecting text with the mouse and doing some minor editing with your other hand. Split keyboards seem to really remove this efficient option since both your hands need to be used most times.

A lot of people who extol the benefits of split keyboards are comparing to traditional keyboards when your tasks are static.

Hi,

I use an Ergodox and I’d like to get a keyboard that would best fit my use case :

• alpha keys without numbers nor side column modifier (3x5 matrix for each hand)
• 3 keys for each thumb
• the inner thumb key should be compatible with a larger keycap
• compatible with choc profile
• pinky staggering more pronounced than the Ergodox (or the Corne)

I found the Chocofi that matches all of those criteria but I’m not expert, do you think there is something more suited ? Maybe a variation of the Piantor ?

Hey all.

I am currently prototyping a keyboard with the Seeedstudio Xiao BLE (nrf52840). I configured the shield config correctly & got it working. However, my RGB won’t turn on (followed the ZMK documentation on RGB underglow)

Does anybody have a pointer to a project that got RGB working with Seeedstudio Xiao BLE & RGB?

Hey everyone, I'm working on making my own trackball, and the shell design is kicking my ass because I'm also learning cad on the way.

Does anyone have a 3d scanner they can use to create an approximate model of the MX Ergo mouse so I can study it? Going off photos, I just don't see the shape.

The one in the photos is meant to be inspired by MX ergo but not a total copy, but the shape feels a bit off still. And I want to learn more to design for manufacturability.