For those wondering about the name, the Star Trek Next Generation character "Data" had/made a daughter he named "Lal"
You get a gold star :D
Lalboard – A 3D-printed keyboard inspired by the DataHand
41–47 of 47 posts
Re: Lalboard – A 3D-printed keyboard inspired by the DataHand
#42Seems like they could easily turn the PCB into something you can just order online instead of this labor some vinyl cutter technique. https://github.com/JesusFreke/lalboard/wiki/Vinyl-Cut-PCBs
Yeah, it's in the works :)
The vinyl cut thing was super useful during the prototype stage, while things were still in flux, and the much shorter turnaround time was advantageous. Although it turned out to be a little side-project all its own, so not entirely sure if it was worth it. But it was a fun side-project none-the-less. And that's what counts in my book, at least!
Re: Lalboard – A 3D-printed keyboard inspired by the DataHand
#43Earlier quoted context omitted.
From: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=41422.msg2706316#msg270... > Most of the parts are printed from a PLA with a low amount of metal-fill, which I found to have exceptional opacity So, I'm guessing that they wanted the keys to have a bit more weight that the metal-filled PLA would provide? I'm not sure why the opacity of the material matters so much, but the author mentions that a few times. Edit: nope, not we…
Mmh, I wouldn't have used copper-fill on something that goes directly in contact with skin. I had issues with light leakage with thin layers of poor-quality PETG (with light shining through as a dark-green halo), but I've printed microscope light-shields with plain black PLA and PETG with only 1.5mm thickness. I'd surprise me if the leakage from the material would be greater than the light that comes in from the hing…
I'm honestly not convinced it's actually copper filled. The listing says it is, but its density says otherwise. Regardless, it was the most opaque thing I had on hand, so.. :)
There's some good info on opaque filament that people have found on this thingiverse object: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1662956. Personally, I've also had good luck with eSun's black PLA, although it was a fairly old roll, so who knows if their formulation is still the same. And their black PETG definitely isn't very opaque.
Re: Lalboard – A 3D-printed keyboard inspired by the DataHand
#44If the maker read this... How long did it take you to complete this very cool/useful project? What approaches did you try that did not work out? How long would you say it would take you to make an extra pair? (trying to find out how many weekends I should block)
It was a matter of many months, although not 100% all the time on it. I started with trying different designs for a single "down" key mechanism, then just kept broadening the scope - creating a single "cluster" of 5 keys and doing a little proof of concept with the electronics on it. Figuring out the thumb mechanisms.. figuring out the handrest, and the adjustable cluster mounting mechanisms, etc. I wouldn't say there was any particular "failed approach" per say, just a lot of little failed design details along the way, that were changed/improved over the course of the design.
It would probably take me about 40 hours (of me time - not including 3d printing, etc.) to make one from scratch at this point. For someone trying to figure it out for the first time, I would double or triple that at least. But once I finish some design tweaks I've been working on, which include some actual fabbed pcbs, it shouldn't be as bad.
Re: Lalboard – A 3D-printed keyboard inspired by the DataHand
#45Kudos to the maker here. This looks gorgeous, and very close to the datahand ads I remember. The datahand was a keyboard fetish of mine, although I always wondered of actually usable it would be, especially considering the learning experience. Keep in mind this keyboard requires chording to obtain all normally usable symbols readily available on a traditional keyboard. Making a clone of my advantage pro (my current a…
Thanks! :) It does technically require chording, but honestly not much more than a normal keyboard. Just a few extra "shift" keys, more or less. And normal textual input is pretty much all non-chorded. I'm a tiny bit biased, of course, but I do find it quite usable. Even (or especially!) for gaming. But yeah, I've been using a datahand, and then later my lalboard as my primary keyboard at home and work for probably g…
What about the general experience writing code, or performing some seemingly mundane tasks such as ctrl/shift combinations for selections and commands?
I would guess this would still work pretty fine with a modal editor such as vi, but become potentially annoying in most other places where editing happens.
Re: Lalboard – A 3D-printed keyboard inspired by the DataHand
#46Earlier quoted context omitted.
Mmh, I wouldn't have used copper-fill on something that goes directly in contact with skin. I had issues with light leakage with thin layers of poor-quality PETG (with light shining through as a dark-green halo), but I've printed microscope light-shields with plain black PLA and PETG with only 1.5mm thickness. I'd surprise me if the leakage from the material would be greater than the light that comes in from the hing…
I'm honestly not convinced it's actually copper filled. The listing says it is, but its density says otherwise. Regardless, it was the most opaque thing I had on hand, so.. :) There's some good info on opaque filament that people have found on this thingiverse object: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1662956 . Personally, I've also had good luck with eSun's black PLA, although it was a fairly old roll, so who knows…
As I wrote before, I frequently go mostly with some gradation of grey nowdays. I keep a selection of fingernal varnish colors for finishing touches. They dry quick, cheap, are available in any shade you need in small volumes (so you can have variety over quantity). Especially the "gel" variants often require a single coat. I wonder if this could also work for shielding, just in case you're going to repeat the print :)
Re: Lalboard – A 3D-printed keyboard inspired by the DataHand
#47Earlier quoted context omitted.
Thanks! :) It does technically require chording, but honestly not much more than a normal keyboard. Just a few extra "shift" keys, more or less. And normal textual input is pretty much all non-chorded. I'm a tiny bit biased, of course, but I do find it quite usable. Even (or especially!) for gaming. But yeah, I've been using a datahand, and then later my lalboard as my primary keyboard at home and work for probably g…
What about the general experience writing code, or performing some seemingly mundane tasks such as ctrl/shift combinations for selections and commands? I would guess this would still work pretty fine with a modal editor such as vi, but become potentially annoying in most other places where editing happens.
It takes a while to relearn that. Just normal typing isn't too hard to pick up - the muscle memory generally transfers reasonably well from a normal keyboard. But the cursor control stuff has to be completely relearned. But it's only annoying during that transition period. You do eventually develop the muscle memory for it, and it all becomes just as easy/automatic as on a normal keyboard.
I don't use vi unless I have to, so I can't comment on usability there, but I don't have any issues in normal text editors.
And for gaming... it seriously freakin' rocks :). As long as you're okay with a straight across "asdf" (or aoeu in my case) -- (back/left/right/forward) movement scheme, instead of the wasd cross. Having 20 keys right at your fingertips and all 3 modifiers available on the thumb is pretty much ideal for gaming. I generally customize the key mapping in the firmware per-game, and I'll usually have 2 or 3 modifiers mapped to the thumb, and often some "synthetic" modifier keys for even more combinations.
It's also great for numeric input - I find I have much much better muscle memory for that on this than I even did on a normal keyboard, since the numbers are such a long reach from the home row.