Micro Planck - Fully 3D Printable Low-Profile Mechanical Keyboard

I am a big fan of mechanical keyboards, the feel, the sound, the tactile nature. I thought it would great to design a custom, small size 3D printable keyboard which could be easily used when travelling whilst still providing the same level of functionality as a full scale mechanical keyboard.

Full detailed build instructions available on Instructables!

Custom PCB can be ordered from PCBWay Here (Gerber, Schematics and Board Layout also available)

Features

• Small - 23cm Wide x 9.5cm Tall (8.3cm excluding the PCB head) x 2cm Deep
• Powerful - QMK firmware used for custom key layout, layers, LED control and much more
• Versatile - Customisable firmware layout, changeable keycap design, fits all 4 varients of Gateron KS-33 switches
• Custom PCB - Integrated microcontroller and all required components, only needs firmware to be flashed (can be done over USB)
• Beautiful - Choose your own look and colour schemes with the customisable frame, plate and keycaps

Parts

• 3D Printed Parts -
  • Bottom Shell - holds the PCB with cutout space for components
  • Plate - has perfectly measured offsets from the PCB to allow switches to easily click into place
  • Clear Cover - printed in transparent PETG so you can see the custom PCB and LEDS (settings included for great quality finish)
  • Top Shell - provides a clean finish and lets everything screw together
• Electronics -
  • Custom PCB - designed to be manufactored with all components (except keyswitches)
  • Gateron KS-33 - works with red, brown, blue or banana varients
• Sundries -
  • 4 x M3x12mm Countersunk Screws
  • 2 x M3x8mm Countersunk Screws

Printing - Shell

The print profile has the elements of the shell seperated out into the different coloured sections as seen in the build pictures. The bottom shell and plate are printed together, and the plate is printed seperately (I do these in different colours, but the choice is yours! The clear cover has to be printed on it's own with quite specific parameters to get the final results to be as transparent as possbile. I have included all the relevent settings for this plate, but in summary (layer height 0.1mm, line width for everything 0.5mm, speed 20mm for everything, no top shells, no bottom shells, 1 wall loop, 100% infill with aligned rectilinear pattern, you will also need to change your filament flow ratio a bit higher 1.01 worked well for me).

Keycaps

The keycaps have been uploaded as a different model as they also work independantly with any Cherry MX style switches, they can be found here - https://makerworld.com/en/models/740810#profileId-673219

Build

The build is quite a simple process and doesn't require anything aside from the parts listed above, a soldering iron and a screw driver.

1. Align the plate ontop of the PCB and screw in four corner screws all the way through until the plate is held tight to the the PCB
2. Click the keyswitches through the plate ensuring that the pins are not bent and align with the PCB correctly
3. Solder both legs for all the keyswitches onto the PCB
4. Remove the temporary screws from all four corners once soldering is completed (the plate and PCB should still be bound together)
5. Place the PCB and plate onto the bottom shell and use the M3x12mm screws to screw through from the back in the corners, and the two M3x8mm to screw from the back into the plate (don't over tighten these as they can push through the plate).
6. Place the clear cover over the top of the PCB aligning with the top two screw holes, and continue screwing the top corner screws until they bite into the clear cover.
7. Place the top cover over the outside edge, alligning it with the screwholes using the cutout keys to assist you. Finish screwing all the four corner screws until everything is tight (again don't over tighten these, once the head of the countersunk screw is just below the level of the back they will be tight enough.
8. (OPTIONAL) - To fully secure the top cover, a bit of superglue can be used to glue the lock and key sections together, be warned though, once this is done full disassembly won't be possible without breaking some of the shell.
9. Add the keycaps to the top of the switches (keycap models available here - Keycaps Here

Software

This project uses the very popular QMK Firmware to handle all of the keyboard controls, and the link provided will give plenty of information on the capabilties of the firmware along with how to use it if you want to make further customisations/alterations. In short you will want to download the following two utility programs from their website:

• QMK Toolbox
• QMK MSYS

To just use the version of the firmware which I have already built and compiled, simply download the “micro_planck_default.txt” file and save it as “micro_planck_default.hex”. This file can then be flashed to the keyboard via USB using the QMK Toolbox utility program.

If you want to customise the design yourself (different layers, different use of the LEDs etc), then use the other files along with QMK MSYS to customise the keyboard to your hearts desire:

• keyboard.txt - Rename file to “keyboard.json” - contains the parameters of the keyboard layout/microcontroller pinout
• kaymap.txt - Rename file to “keymap.c” - contains the keymappings for my default layout

Closing summary

This is a fun project which can teach you a bit about electronics, and let you pull the curtain back a bit on how mechanical keyboards actually work! I would love to see some other people's designs, custom QMK approaches and bespoke keycaps. If ANYONE has any further ideas, suggestions, improvements or variations they would like to see, then I would love to hear about them, so please post them in the comments.

Happy building!