Print, Build, & Wire Your Own Keyboard

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW TO BUILD YOUR OWN 3D-PRINTED, MECHANICAL, ERGONOMIC KEYBOARD.

Everyone who uses a computer uses a keyboard. The difference is, some people are happy with a $20 membrane board, some are happy with a $200300 mechanical board. Then you have the enthusiasts.

There’s never been a better time to be in the latter two categories. The mechanical keyboard space has never been so inclusive of end users and enthusiasts. Five to 10 years ago, anything smaller than a TKL board meant you were entering the enthusiast space. You’d be buying an HHKB, Ducky, Vortex/POK3R, or similar. Today, these names are far more popular, and many purist keyboard enthusiasts regard some of them as entry level. But they played a big part in shaping off-the-shelf boards.

Nowadays, all the top brands offer a 60-percent keyboard. Companies such as Glorious have taken it a step further by making hot-swappable boards more accessible. But how can we go even further? How about building a keyboard from scratch? Printing our own case, with custom wiring, flashing it ourselves, then crossing our fingers, and hoping it works. We like that idea.

Of course, this is PC Powerplay. We’re n ot g oing t o go the easy route and build a 60 percent, TKL, or even a full-size board. Heck, if we did that, we might still have a full head of hair after the coding process. Instead, we’re building a split keyboard. A Dactyl Manuform, to be exact. A parameterised, concave, columnar, ergonomic board. And we explain how you can, too.