I forgot how frustrating Blender’s boolean modifiers can be sometimes. I did try but Blender crashed my computer.

I’m about ready to give up on solving this problem that i have no personal stake in, but here’s what i was planning to do.

1. Open a blank keycap model in Blender and import that SVG.
2. Convert all the line segments to meshes and join them into a single object.
3. In edit mode, extrude Tux to make him 3D.
4. In object mode, line him up with the top (or front, i guess) of a key and shrink and rotate him so he sticks into the cap.
5. Select the key and make a boolean difference modifier on it with Tux. This should cut a Tux-shaped hole into the cap.
6. Export as STL and import into a slicer program for 3D printing.

I found suitable caps for MX and Choc V1, though i didn’t get around to trying the Choc files.

The SVG i used is based on the flat one here, and my monochome single-object version is here, since i can’t upload an SVG in a comment here. It’s text but you can copy that into a plain text editor (xed, Notepad, etc.) and save it as an SVG file.

On the custom keyboard i’m designing, my plan is actually to use U+2756 ❖ as the legend for my super key if i ever put legends on the keys. That key doesn’t have a standard symbol but this one works well enough.

It looks out of place as a sculpted key next to keys with printed legends. I think what would be better is a slightly simpler picture of Tux with thicker lines that can be filled in like a normal key legend. Or the lines could be filled in with a different color on the printer, for printers that support that.

But no, i haven’t seen any better Tux caps. I also haven’t looked, so for all i know they’re out there. I could probably throw something together in Blender if people really want this.

It’s been an interesting project so far. I’ll probably write about the whole process once i’m done as someone who was new to this stuff. The community here and in adjacent Lemmy communities is kind and helpful.

I’ll just say that i started by drawing up a design for what the final board could look like in Inkscape. I started with squares for each key that all looked about the size of a keycap.

If i were to do this again i’d definitely do some stuff differently. I still think Inkscape is a good place to start (or GIMP, or a pencil and paper. Whatever you like to use for drawing.), but some parts would have been easier if i’d made the keys there actual size. That was before i knew how to set Inkscape’s scale to match my monitor, so that 1cm in the program at 100% zoom is 1cm on my screen. If i’d done that i think i could have imported the drawing into KiCad as a reference.

I also think i’d use a different CAD program. I didn’t know of any when i started this besides KiCad but it has been quite frustrating to work with. I had to reinstall it in version 7 instead of using the current v9 because so much stuff just doesn’t work or doesn’t work easily in newer versions.

I hope not with how much it cost after shipping.

Thanks. Traces are updated, DRC passes, and i’m ordering the board now.

JLC PCB, only because i already have an account with them. Are you trying to start your own custom keyboard?

That’s the plan, yeah.

Kailh Choc V1. I’m very used to super flat laptop keyboards so i picked those over the taller MX switches.

I see upvotes. Does that mean it’s fine?

Can i wire up every row to a ground pin as well as a normal IO pin or do i need to do something more with that?

Not without moving some switches to fit the trackpoint and diodes to fit the Pico. But how hard can hand wiring that one part be⸮

I’m still not clear on how the ground should work. Is it enough to just wire every row to a ground pin as well as a normal input pin?

It’s a one off, just for me to use. The case i just finished designing has room for the Pico, trackpoint, and wires to those under where the PCB will go.

How does the ground plane usually work on keyboards with only 2 layers? Would it be enough to just connect everything to a ground pin instead of paying for a third layer?

Yes, but i’d think people who are excited about mechanical keyboards would want to use their mechanical keyboards to talk about their mechanical keyboards.

But i’m mostly into this for the ergonomics. Maybe some of the people here like having mechanical keyboards more than using them.

So it’s social media for mechanical keyboard enthusiasts, but it’s an app for phones which generally can’t have keyboards plugged into them. Interesting choice.

I wanted to use USB-C so everything is hot swappable. From what i’ve read audio cables aren’t great for that.

I do have a USB hub already so i could just make these 3 separate boards instead of a 3 part split. It would mean a few more wires on my desktop but i don’t mind that too much. Especially if i make the pad wireless.

My current layout for an ANSI board moves the home row up and i type the bottom two rows (space & QWERTY ZXCV…) with my thumbs, so i don’t think it’ll be too bad. If i’m wrong i can move all those characters to other keys on the hyper layer.