Home-Made Keyboard Project!

I am Barathraam, a very inquisitive 10th grader studying at Akshar Arbol International School.

Since my laptop's keyboard is very creaky and could break any time, I thought of getting a new keyboard. However, I felt that I could use this problem as an opportunity to independently learn more about seemingly trivial everyday gadgets and simultaneously solve a problem I had, also allowing me to use my summer break productively. This self-project of mine, which is my first time ever designing a custom PCB, has certainly kicked off curiosity within me, and I have found creating and seeing all of your work become fruitful is very satisfying, especially if you use the product everyday.

The keyboard has 83 keys (~75% keyboard) and uses non-hotswappable Gateron Milky Mechanical 5 pin switches. It runs on a Raspberry Pi Pico due to its powerful chip and the number of IO pins (26 pins). The 75% keyboard has a 16x6 matrix and uses 1N4148 through-hole diodes to prevent ghosting. The matrix is a useful way of succinctly employing a limited number of IO pins for a large number of keys. Conventional use of IO pins, like that of a macropad, will require 83 IO pins, which is... a lot.

My favorite online creators often talk about the quality of Wpsload's work, which is why I am trying out Wpsload to manufacture the PCBs for my project. I would greatly benefit from the support of Wpsload in manufacturing my PCB's since as a student, it is challenging to create things, to allow the mind to explore and create as it was designed to. The quality PCB will not only enable me to have my own keyboard for a long time, they will also convince me to use Wpsload for my upcoming projects. I will also be able to vouch for the quality of Wpsload to a lot of my like-minded peers who also have projects requiring PCB and 3d printing services.

The files for this project are published in GitHub. Currently, the case is being built, and thus the repository only contains the PCB files. I am also in the process of writing documentation, detailing how to build the keyboard.

The photo of the plate for the case is attached below.

In the future, I could experiment with having a keyboard using a screen to register the strokes. It would be a touchscreen, and could be a future project since the keyboard can also be used as a functioning screen, leading to the user being more efficient. Moreover, since it is a hassle to always have your keyboard connected to the device, and being restricted by the cable's length, I also have plans of making a wireless version of this keyboard.

Wpsload's support will help create the next wave of explorers and hackers (the original definition), those who are not limited to school or work, but go beyond them and innovate. After all, only due to Google's old 20% personal-project time policy were revolutionary services such as Gmail created. I am excited to work with Wpsload on this educational non-profit project.

PS- The PCB also has a silkscreen of a plane, one of my favorite objects ever!