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Building a Keyboard: Part 2

blog.fsck.com

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Re: Building a Keyboard: Part 2

#21

Post by gcb »

gambiting wrote: post #3

He's really lucky he wasn't arrested by the TSA, like that guy who had a custom-made watch and got arrested for "possessing all elements needed to make bomb". Namely - a few wires and a battery. He was arrested and put under $10k bail. A Keyboard that was opened and soldered on the inside? That could earn you some nice jail time in the Uncle Sam's land of freedom. Edit: But yeah, the project looks really cool, someth…

can't see why this is downvoted... the fact that this is true and that the author replies that he actually had to extensively prepare for it... and the fact that he would be in the same trouble as the watch guy had his design had a large battery... anyway, i'm on silent ban so posting just out of habit.

Re: Building a Keyboard: Part 2

#22

Post by Kliment »

obrajesse wrote: post #11
Kliment wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please don't melt holes into that material with a soldering iron. The plastic you are using appears to be nylon, and nylon releases highly toxic fumes when melted. In addition to the nasty smell, there are some things in there that can kill you before you notice them. I highly recommend using a drill and a small file to make access holes like that. It's faster, safer, and looks better in the end.

Indeed. From here on in, I'll be using a dremel.

I recommend a battery drill and a hand file instead of a dremel. The dremel runs at such a high speed it will melt this material instead of cutting it and you will get much uglier results.

Re: Building a Keyboard: Part 2

#23

Post by Kliment »

obrajesse wrote: post #12
Kliment wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please don't melt holes into that material with a soldering iron. The plastic you are using appears to be nylon, and nylon releases highly toxic fumes when melted. In addition to the nasty smell, there are some things in there that can kill you before you notice them. I highly recommend using a drill and a small file to make access holes like that. It's faster, safer, and looks better in the end.

I'd love a citation on "some things in there that can kill you before you notice them" to update the original post with - A quick websearch doesn't find anything more than "it's carcinogenic" and the material safety data sheet doesn't call it out. ( http://www.shapeways.com/rrstatic/material_docs/msds-strongf... )

Number 5 in that MSDS contains carbon monoxide which will kill you in small quantities. The "other toxic products" include HCN (hydrogen cyanide) which will kill you before you can detect it. It is produced in very small amount, but very small amounts of it are toxic. A reply to your post which is dead for some reason posted http://www.greyops.net/2010/05/advisory-burning-nylon-thread... which has a couple more compounds that are released in low concentrations when Nylon burns.

There is a massive argument in the 3d printing community about whether Nylon is safe to print with. I would use it only in an industrial/laboratory setting with decent fume extraction and filtering and safety procedures (like Shapeways has). There is a dangerous asshole who is actually selling nylon filament for printing and telling people it's safe. He has performed some tests with an HCN detector with very questionable methodology and is now making a lot of noise about how safe it is. This is why I felt compelled to make some noise about how incredibly dangerous it can be to process it in a home setting. Note that unless you subject it to very high temperatures it's not going to decompose.

Re: Building a Keyboard: Part 2

#25

Post by kurjam »

grimborg wrote: post #24
kurjam wrote: post #13

Reading this made me feel like building my own keyboard. Maybe use a little dvorak on it... Thanks!

Me too! It seems like it's gonna be hard to obtain keycaps and shells, though..

Yeah. After butting some hours of research into this I'm afraid that would be a little too big project for me to start with currently. So from this site ( http://www.fentek-ind.com/FootPedal.htm#afs3usb ) I found a little idea which i just might try out. But instead of leg switches, I thought about adding a new modifier(s) under/near my palm rests (pressure switches I guess, but needs some testing first, what feels comfortable) to get brackets, colons, and other daily signs from the home row.

Re: Building a Keyboard: Part 2

#26

Post by obrajesse »

grimborg wrote: post #24
kurjam wrote: post #13

Reading this made me feel like building my own keyboard. Maybe use a little dvorak on it... Thanks!

Me too! It seems like it's gonna be hard to obtain keycaps and shells, though..

For keycaps, you can often find mechanical keyboards at goodwill. Failing that, there are many companies that will sell keycap sets to you (Like WASD)

For the shells, yes, those will cost a bit of money. Or you could make friends at your local hackerspace.

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