howdy pony !

this is it im done with my case

this is it we’re done with the designing phase ,
things i did:

• changed the 3d model of the pi pico with a usb c
• cut out the upper case heatset insert hole
• cut out space for the screw head sticking out at the plate
• cut out the usb-c charger hole
• rounded the case edges
• oooo idk if u notice but there’s a big hole on top of pico
  and that’s there on purpose so i can add a clear acrylic plate there.
• oh yeah and the text there also have space below to insert some light dispersing material.

tomorrow is repo day people

im going go over yer tutorial now

once you finish your pcb and it all checks out , now it’s time to create an enclosure for it . first export the stp file from kicad(there’s an option for you to export the silkscreen). then go to your software and import your stp file into your cad software.when i did this process i did encounter an issue where the stp file fail to translate(FUSION) so big L but there’s a work around. first i go to onshape and import and translate the file there. then we export the file that is just translated by onshape into fusion and voila success

there’s many type of different design and mounting style to choose from and of course the more fancy you want it the harder it gets (to model :P ) i used the bottom mount layout , it’s sort of a balanced options out of all the style . but hey what matters is personal preference do you like it thocky or creamy or clicky ? so choose what you want.

either way i don’t really have much advice for this. much of it drawing sketch and basic math . it’s not hard and not easy, there’s definitely a learning curve and there will be a lot of failing before something stuck. fact btw when i was pushing to finish this keyboard for keeb i sat down for almost 6 hour and i felt like the ash baby afterwards (ps i didn’t make it).

so trial and error buddy when you fall seven times, you stand up eight !!!

wassup Every Pony

it’s me again with another devblog

now the schematics is out the way, it’s time to move on to the actual PCB , this by far the longest process for me, you have take lots of things into consideration.

when you first open the PCB editor , the first thing you do is import the parts you place in your schematics (there’s a button for that) then you would wanna go back to Keyboard layout editor to download the JSON File of your layout , then go back to kicad and open the plugin manager then download keyboard layout placer. you then go back to the pcb editor and open the plugin , there you will be able to insert your JSON file then the plugin will do the placing for you how cool is that ? there also an option to add more parts to be auto place.

when you finish that you would need to draw out your pcb board edge with that we first select the edge cut layer then select whether the draw line tool or rectangles tool, left click and drag then voila you define your pcb borders.

FOR RGB LED and HOT SWAP sockets

you need to flip those to backside of the board for them to work.

you also need the 5v trace to be thicker, how thick ? there’s a tool for that (PCB Trace width calculator) , a standard usb 3.0 output 0.9amps at 5v while usb 2.0 outputs 0.5 amps at 5v, check your usb port before deciding.

now here comes the actual complicated part , routing it all together

in a basic pcb you have two layer the front and back , so you have two layers to work with, you route wire by pressing x , to switch to the backside press v

note

v is also use to place vias
vias are like channel that connect the front trace to back trace and it works the other way around. utilize them to the fullest extend .

placing ground plane

adding a ground plane is quick and easy
press the draw filled zones ,select which layers have the most or both, set the net as GND and draw.
a ground plane is like a filter of some sort, idk go google it. therefore adding one is good practice.

DRC

this is the most important thing you need to do everytime you finish making a change, the DRC checks for everything unconnected traces , shorted wires , parts clipping , silkscreen clipping. so i would advise you to run the drc everytime you finish a task, so you can fix the issue.

customizing your board

you can customize your board and add art using SVG and SIlkscreen. silkscreen is a non conductive layer use to add text and cool arts.

woah now that’s a long read

but there’s more

What i did this past few day

so this few days i just been doing CAD , the plate finish , i got the top case rough shape finish and i almost finish the bottom case just the usb-c port left. i went through three different design variations and eventually settle down for the design for the bottom case (in picture). i also model my own custom rotary encoder knob. i want to import a knurl design at first but then the model i import was too large and when i scale it down it won’t fit. either way we’re getting close to finishing the design phase.

Hello every Pony

im back again with more things to share.

so now that you figure out what fancy features you want for your keyboard it’s time to make it come to fruition.

you would need to first create your PCB first and to do that i use KICAD. the first step is to create your schematics first (it’s like instruction telling your component which wire goes where).In My schematics i use the PI PICO as my brain of my keyboard and i created a keyboard matrix based on the layout i want . so the Pi pico have a limited amount of GPIO pins if wire all our keyswitch to our pico we would need a dozen of pico and we don’t want that. so we create a keyboard matrix. i also added in a GPIO expansion chip mcp23017 to accommodate those other fancy feature i have.This stage is very crucial as any mistake make here will be a big headache when you wire your actual pcb.

some tools that i found very useful: Keyboard layout editor.com, Marbastlib(KIcad plugin)

so what i did today, i continue working on my keyboard cad files today, boy o boy is tiring , i have to manually place and align each keycap and it took a while bcs im such a perfectionist. anyway i decided to use a top mount layout for my keyboard so there will three layer a bottom case , the plate and the upper case. im so impatient , i want to finish this quickly !!!

anyhow , everything i just said was oversimplified , remember to do your own research. until next time stay cool every pony

hey ya guys

since i started project sometime ago i will tried to retell what i did and also include some ongoing process like what i did etc.

so what do you do when you want to make a keyboard ?
you do tons of research of course.
keyboard format 60% 75% TKL etc
features like knobs ,backlit and display
Hot swappable ? or simply solder it on?
all this have to be taken into consideration

ultimately i choose to go with the 75% format ,with all kinds of fancy features(knobs,oled display,rgb backlit,hot swappable).
below is an early sketch of what i want in my keyboard

// so today i went back to the pcb and added more graphics cause why not , i got more time now

what’s up Guys

alright so i may have been gone for a few days but now im back with a new project. RAINBOW DASH KEYBOARD yeah it was originally gonna be submitted to #keeb but i miss the deadline so im going to submit to Stardance instead. so currently i have Logged 40h 16min with lapse and i have finished designing the PCB and now currently designing the case for it. everything before this devblog will be in my github REPO ie timeline, pcb ,sch and case so definitely go through my repo.

the features ; so this keyboard will have hot swappable backlit keyswitch with a rotary encoder, oled screen and a custom 3d case to go with it