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swill / kad

Keyboard Automated Design (KAD) is a Golang library for designing mechanical keyboards
http://builder.swillkb.com
GNU Affero General Public License v3.0
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Short Cherry stabilizer doesn't follow the Cherry Spec #14

Closed ifohancroft closed 5 years ago

ifohancroft commented 5 years ago

I don't know about the long stabilizer but the short stabilizer that gets generated when you choose Cherry Stabs Only doesn't follow/differs from Cherry's specification.

P.S. I am falling to understand the numbers of the Cherry Stabilizer draw function well, but if you wouldn't mind explaining them, I can clone the repo, fix the issue and create a pull request or I can send you all the dimensions in millimeters of a stabilizer matching perfectly the spec, so you won't have to decipher it (although, maybe it's just me finding it tedious to decipher their size specs)

swill commented 5 years ago

It is actually intentional that it is not to spec. I originally made it to spec, but there are situations where it is not ideal, so I adapted the cutout to perform better in real life. One example is with plate mounted switches. The official 2u cherry cutout is very sloppy compared to what we have, specifically for hand wired keyboards where you are not soldering into a PCB.

So in general, yes, it is not exactly to spec and that is intentional. The cutout that I use is a real world improvement to the spec which is compatible with more types of switch/plate configurations.

Let me know if you are having issues of any kind and I will help you resolve.

Thanks for taking an interest and reporting this. It is great to get feedback and engagement.

ifohancroft commented 5 years ago

Most welcome! Thanks for letting me know! I wasn't aware that there were problems with the stabilizer cutouts from the spec. Would you mind giving me examples of how the official 2u Cherry cutout is sloppy? I am planning on a build and was going to use it. I am especially interested when it comes to plate mounted builds with pcb and genuine stabilizers.

swill commented 5 years ago

If you are using a PCB, then it doesn't matter because your switch is soldered to the PCB. If you are hand wiring, then the switch is clipped into the plate and that is the only thing holding the switch in place.

The official 2u Cherry MX cutout has very limited surface area holding the switch in place when you are not using a PCB. With hand wired keyboards, there have been reports of the switch feeling sloppy and having too much movement in the plate when not soldered to a PCB. image

Using my builder, you have more material on the sides of the switch which help hold the switch in place better and reduces the movement of the switch in hand wired scenarios. image

I hope this helps clear things up. In your case, either will be fine because you are using a PCB.

ifohancroft commented 5 years ago

This definitely clears things up! Thank you very much! I will be using your cutout with PCB builds as well. I didn't think the switches use the extra clipping space but I forgot to take the centers of the sides into account, so extra clipping space is always nice! Btw can you confirm the sizes on this picture of your stabilizer as I am not sure if I got everything a 100% right. I measured them by opening the SVG in a vector program but because of snapping and rounding and things, not everything usually shows properly so I may have rounded up something or got the wrong size: tmp

swill commented 5 years ago

That looks right, but I have not gone through all of the measurements.

ifohancroft commented 5 years ago

Thank you!

TweetyDaBird commented 3 years ago

I'm trying to use these dimensions to make footprints usable for a FR-4 plate in KiCad, and getting a bit confused unfortunately. So if at all possible, could you clear up/confirm a few things for me?

Question one, what orientation are these intended for? It seems to me they as shown they are made with north-facing switches in mind, but as I said, I'm not sure.

Question two, what does this mean for the orientation of the PCB mount holes? As far as I know, the larger hole goes on the same end as the wire, which follows the LED? Is that correct?