this post was submitted on 13 Aug 2023
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ErgoMechKeyboards

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Ergonomic, split and other weird keyboards

Rules

Keep it ergo

Posts must be of/about keyboards that have a clear delineation between the left and right halves of the keyboard, column stagger, or both. This includes one-handed (one half doesn't exist, what clearer delineation is that!?)

i.e. no regular non-split¹ row-stagger and no non-split¹ ortholinear²

¹ split meaning a separation of the halves, whether fixed in place or entirely separate, both are fine.
² ortholinear meaning keys layed out in a grid

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Hey! Marshall here from Skree LLC. I'm so very lazy at posting advertisements and community updates but I figured I should get off my butt and do something.

So I've been at this for about a year. The rave reviews and many customers turned friends I've made leads me to assume my work is at least of pretty good quality! I make only wireless builds unless you want something specifically custom.

My dactyls can be ordered with whatever switches you want, they're all hotswap too! I produce custom keycaps to your specifications, including font, format, size, position, etc!

I've got lots of new stuff on the horizon! Choc dactyls, choc flexible pcbs, custom MCU-breakout boards that allow for near ZERO soldering thanks to the use of FPC and JST cables! Just assembled a pick and place machine for all custom pcb manufacturing!

You can check out my reviews, customer photos, and work at SKREE.us or etsy.com/shop/TheBigSkree

If you want any custom work at all let me know! I'm always looking for fun projects!

PS: If you want kinesis board work, be it foam, switchs changed, or even repairs I'm far quicker and have no "lead time" like the current other options!

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[–] Skree 2 points 1 year ago

SK6812 Mini-E (they're the big legs, but I don't know the component name difference).

They can be per key (not supported on ZMK currently) or just treated as up facing underglow. BUT! The biggest concern I've had is the realization thaht all RGB boards on the market that use SK6812 in bulk don't seem to consider the total peak power consumption.

One color can peak at 12ma at 5v. They're often ran at 3.3 or 3.7v. 3 colors per led for 36ma per led. So on sofie type boards where there's ~30 keys per half you're pulling 1.08ma if you ran the leds at max white. This would be HIGHER if they're run on 3.3v or 3.7v due to the relationship between wattage and voltage. Yet! They've worked fine. I've had good success.

Going forward I'm swapping to SK6805 surface mounted leds. I've got the pick and place running, and the goal is to have per key rgb with underglow. That would almost 1/3rd the amperage requirements. Also gives me a little more board space I'm hoping.

Ideally, I'll have non-rgb options, up facing perkey rgb, underglow, and up and underglow rgb options (probably 2 independent rgb channels aka underglow has its own data pin). All in either Choc v1, MX, and whatever else I decide to support.

I've got a working "screw" mount solution that works! The problem is with the pcbs fitting super well (model dependent) (I've based on the standard dactyl) why bother using lots of screws when a little hot glue does the job. My first versions were wrongly sized and I ended up being extra cautious with lots of extra glue to ensure there's never a issue with pcbs coming free, but at this point I'll either cut the number of screw points down, or honestly supply it but not use it myself.

The nice thing with getting access to production equipement (my designs are all about saving my time in production) you get to save that time too.

Sorry for the silly long response!