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oliviahanley / wren-keyboard

A split ergonomic "system keyboard" with options for numpad, nav cluster, and more.
MIT License
74 stars 2 forks source link

Hot-Swappable mounts for Kaihl Chocs #2

Open easymac opened 2 years ago

easymac commented 2 years ago

I'm very interested in building a wireless, low-profile version of this design. I'm new to PCB design and building keyboards, so I was hoping you could expand on some notes from your readme:

I think you could get a Nice!Nano to full compatibility with some creative soldering from the mid-board I/O pins to the appropriate pins on the Elite-C footprint, but I haven't spent any time on this myself.

If I'm reading the Wren schematic correctly, it seems like only one of the extra pins provided by the Elite-C is in use and that it would be as simple as connecting the one COL9 / F0 pin to one of the nice!nano's mid-board P1 punch-throughs. Am I reading it wrong?

There isn't hot-swap support yet, in large part because I didn't want to deal with the structural considerations of those sockets.

I'm not sure what you're referring to by "structural considerations". Is this the physical strength of the board? Swapping the Wren's MX footprints for Kailh Choc hot swap footprints seems easy, but I don't know what the concerns might be so I'm don't know where to begin my research.

Sorry for the beginner questions :)

oliviahanley commented 2 years ago

Hey! No problem at all--happy to answer what I can.

Yep, you're reading that comment right. That jumper wire should be all you need to get a nice!nano set up in hardware, though software of course is a different story. I have a version of the PCB I'm working on right now in the nice!nano-compatable branch that actually incorporates a dedicated footprint for socketing (and probably a dedicated battery connector), but that's on hold for me until i can fully wrap my head around ZMK. Feel free to take a look, though.

On the second point, the way the keyboard works right now is that the PCB is essentially "floating"--the standoffs pass right through and just connect to the top and bottom plates. As a result, the solder between the switches and the PCB is what actually keeps the PCB in place relative to the top plate and ensures a solid connection. I thought about incorporating hot-swap sockets in the design process, but I was a bit concerned with the possibility that they wouldn't exert enough force on the switches to hold the PCB up and you'd end up with a droopy PCB that kept dropping connections. I'm not sure how big of a concern that is--I don't have any experience with hot-swap to draw on--but I figured better safe than sorry since I don't change switches often.

Really excited that you're interested, though! Creating a choc-compatible version should be as easy as swapping the footprints and designing a new plate, and if it'll work structurally hot swap should work similarly. I'll be happy to merge in any finished product, too, if that's something you're interested in.

(Let me know if you have any other questions, too--happy to answer any that I can.)