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ijprest / keyboard-layout-editor

Web application to enable the design & editing of keyboard layouts
http://www.keyboard-layout-editor.com/
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I've done my amazing design: and now? #272

Closed pioz closed 4 years ago

pioz commented 4 years ago

I've just downloaded the JSON with my new keyboard design from the web app. Now I want it real. Where I can buy the keyset using the layout made with keyboard-layout-editor?

guest20 commented 4 years ago

It might be easier to design a keyboard based on keycaps you have or to just rely on one of the generic sets of caps - 40% 60% TKL etc. Getting a bag full of custom injection moulded caps is a pretty costly.

As a good next step for hardware to have a look at http://builder.swillkb.com/ you can get it to generate the plans to cut a plate and case... then you just need some switches / wire / diodes / controller and you're good to go.

A good next step for firmware is this guy: https://github.com/qmk/qmk_firmware

ijprest commented 4 years ago

To my knowledge, nobody will directly take the output from KLE and manufacture keycaps from them.

Signature Plastics used to have an editor/designer on their site that was based on KLE (and customized for their capabilities), but I can't seem to find it now... it might be gone. Regardless, I think it was intended for people setting up group buys with large minimum orders... and guest20 is right in that it would be prohibitively expensive for a one-off set.

Your best bet might be WASD keyboards, who will print custom sets using a UV-printing technique. It's not as durable as dye-sub or double-shot (like Signature Plastics does), and they have a limited range of keycap colors... but it's much cheaper. Unfortunately, AFAIK they don't have any direct way to import data from KLE.