The latest articles on DEV Community by Drilon Mecuku (@drilon241). https://dev.to/drilon241 https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F405444%2Fb7f3cdde-15c6-4727-b830-9b12ff5185d4.png https://dev.to/drilon241 en Drilon Mecuku Sat, 10 Jul 2021 19:33:45 +0000 https://dev.to/drilon241/mechanical-keyboard-first-build-v2-diy-kit-2664 https://dev.to/drilon241/mechanical-keyboard-first-build-v2-diy-kit-2664 <p>TL;DR<br> My journey so far on building a mechanical keyboard. Hard and fun parts that I faced while building a custom keyboard.</p> <h2> Why </h2> <p>I have been using keyboards since I was 14 when I wrote my first characters on a notepad file and haven't stopped since. I am using one as I am typing this post and I think it's one of the most underrated components of what people prefer to refer as a computer. <br> But it wasn't until 3 years ago (2018) when I joined a new company and a new team that I first heard the term mechanical keyboard.<br> As soon as I saw one of my new team mates keyboard I was fascinated. It looked so neat , powerful and the sound of those mechanical keys was music to my ears. He had build a 60% keeb with ansi layout and blank pbt keycaps - a work of art. I was hooked and immediately started asking a millions questions and ended up doing a lot of reading and got even more hooked.</p> <h2> How </h2> <p>After a few weeks of research I decided I wanted to build my own keyboard.<br> <strong>first build (v1)</strong><br> I will describe the whole process in steps and try to be as concise as possible. </p> <ol> <li>Research (<em>lots of hours</em>)</li> <li>Order the parts/components (<em>less than an hour</em>)</li> <li>Start building the keyboard (<em>couple of days</em>)</li> <li>Success (<em>nope</em>)</li> </ol> <p>Unfortunately my first attempt failed as I did a couple of mistakes when trying to solder my keyboard and ended up deforming the pcb to a point where it wouldn't fit the case. Sad times :(</p> <p><strong>Three years</strong> after my first attempt and a lot more research I decided I wanted to have another go at it. <br> <strong>first build (v2)</strong></p> <ol> <li>Research (<em>lots of hours</em>)</li> <li>Order the parts/components (<em>less than an hour</em>)</li> <li>Start building the keyboard (<em>couple of hours</em>)</li> <li>Success (<strong>YESSS!!!!</strong>)</li> </ol> <p><a href="https://media.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Ftu7wmsmx7txo391gl6fl.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Ftu7wmsmx7txo391gl6fl.png" alt="First build v2"></a></p> <h2> Lessons learned </h2> <h3> Hard Parts: </h3> <ul> <li>Lubing stabilisers , it was hard. People posting videos online (thank you) make it look so easy but it's not. It requires a lot of practice and patience.</li> <li>Screwing the pcb to the case was a test of my patience. The screws are so small and it does need a professional screwdriver otherwise you end up spending a lot of time trying to fit them in.</li> </ul> <h3> Fun parts: </h3> <ul> <li>Hot swappable pcb is a game changer (<em>for newbies</em>) </li> <li>Fitting the keycaps was very satisfactory.</li> <li>Typing the first few letters from a newly build mechanical keyboard.</li> </ul> <p>It's a great hobby but very addictive. It makes you appreciate the importance of typing - very powerful.<br> For any keyboard fans my build is Hot Swappable 60% with ansi layout, DSA blank PBT keycaps and Gateron brown switches.</p> <p>Next step on my keyboard journey is programming multiple layers of keys and doing less typos. More on that soon...</p> productivity mechanical keyboard