TS65 Split Mechanical Keyboard Case by fardog

Last crawled date: 3 years, 1 month ago

This is a minimal case for the TS65AVR, which is fully 3d printable. It aims to be:
Easy to print and build
At the intersection of "small" and "comfortable", and not much larger than the PCB
Reasonably good to look at
Easy to iterate on
The keyboard's original name was "Sandwich", explaining the filenames. However "Sandwich" tends to have a specific meaning among mechanical keyboard folk—so I wouldn't describe it as such—but it is, in the sense that you sandwich the top, bottom, and key plate. The advantage is you can change the case around the plate without having to de-solder the keys, so long as you're happy with the plate design. This design came out of a conversation with my friend @coddingtonbear, who has also designed a keyboard around this idea.
The Fusion 360 .f3d is included so you can make changes as necessary.
Parts
The assembly and fabrication of the PCB isn't covered here; it's assumed you've assembled that (except for the keyswitches).
You'll need:
8x M3x16mm socket cap machine screws
8x M3 square nuts
Assembly
The key plate can be used with or without stabilizers—I'd recommend with—and the keys must be inserted through the plate, then soldered. If you want to reprint the plate, you'll have to de-solder the keys, so do some testing to ensure you're happy and save some work.
The bottom case has inserts for the M3 square nuts; ensure you clear the inserts and screw holes for any stray plastic after printing, then insert the nuts. They should hold firm enough in place to allow you to work on the rest of the keyboard.
Press they key plate into place in the bottom case; you may need to do a bit of wiggling as it's a tight fit. On the right-hand side, it's best to insert the top of the plate first, as the USB 3.0 Micro B port protrudes from the back of the PCB a bit. When pressing down, press on the keyswitches and not the plate itself, as pressing on the plate is likely to dislodge the keys. They "float" somewhat, however hold firmly as a typing surface once the keyboard is assembled.
Put the top case in place and insert the bolts, sandwiching the pieces together.
Feet
The keyboard tilt is provided by the feet, which I printed in TPE (eSUN eLastic) to give them some grip. It's sufficient but not great; I'll probably redesign them in the future.
They can be attached with superglue; it's not elegant, but it works well.
Firmware
The TS65AVR runs qmk_firmware, although since it's not a purchasable PCB it is not a maintained keyboard in the firmware. The original author's fork of qmk is very old, but I have a relatively up to date fork of qmk with support for the keyboard. It's patterned off @coddingtonbear's fork although he has a lot more features defined in there. Use either, they'll both work.
Updates
2018-09-19
Fix cutouts for Cherry MX Stabilizers
2018-10-13: v1.0.0
"Final" release version.
Fixed Fusion 360 file by rebuilding the left-hand side; both sides are now in matched drawings/steps, and easier to edit
Resolved a number of tolerances to ensure fit is better
Rixes to port cutouts to better suit a wider variety of cables