I can switch between split and traditional row staggered (if the row staggered board is not a mechanical keyboard. Apparently my muscle memory for row staggered mechanical keyboards is messed up)
But I don’t like to use a „normal“ keyboard. Everything feels far apart and only reachable by weird hand motions. I got used to having everything in reach thanks to layers
I find the Moonlander thumb cluster not that easy to reach. I have medium/large hands but relatively inflexible thumbs and use only 2 of the thumb keys. (And one of the bottom row keys as a third thumb key. If you do it that way it is probably not much different than the Iris). Personally, I would like the thumb cluster to be closer to the other keys and/or splayed.
At first it was pretty hard, but I found that it became easier once I built up muscle memory for my Colemak-DH column stagger split keyboard. Suddenly switching between the split and my MacBook keyboard started working again.
I‘m typing with 50WPM on a Moonlander with Colemak-DH Layout and still can type on a QWERTY MacBook keyboard with my usual 70-80WPM
During the initial leaning phase, switching is hard. From my experience it’ll be easier once you are able to type subconsciously on the Moonlander as well.
Speaking from personal experience here, your mileage may vary.
Dipping the fingers in dyed water and laying them on a piece of paper, measuring, printing and checking on the printed sheet.
It appears to me now that this method does not acknowledge how well your fingers are able to find their home row key while typing, or that the optimal stagger might be different for different tenting angles. Would strongly recommend to 3D print / laser cut the PCB design first and trying it out with actual switches beforehand.
I will do this for the next iteration before designing the case, and also look at some popular keyboards with a more aggressive stagger for hints. Will definitely reduce the middle finger column stagger as it is way too aggressive right now.
For some columns I slightly deviated from measurements deliberately, e.g. the inner column should be slightly lower than the index column, but it's a minor difference.
looks sleek, do you have recommendations for CNC milling services (Aluminium Case) that are affordable for low volumes?
I have a Moonlander, and while I like it I consider switching to the upcoming Dygma Defy since I like the thumb cluster more, it has a bit more column stagger (which my short pinky Finger appreciates) as well as built-in tenting and wireless options.
That said, the Moonlander is a solid choice and ZSA did a good job with their online configurator (Oryx) and the decision to choose QMK as the firmware (popular open source keyboard firmware)