Modding Project all-plexi keyboard --KONG is a god!! -- no really! he is!!!

@bsodmike you could have said it was your g/f lol



@kong


apparently the dxf is corrupted.. could i send you a 2D design for you to cut? ofc i would pay you for labour etc

 

What format?

 

ok what ever format you want i only have a 2d image so you can have the one in this post (its full size) but you would not have to cut the circles or the small numlock light holes... do you have msn?? mines malcs85@hotmail.com

 

I've added you to MSN, but you're offline! The piccy means nothing to me. What exactly am I supposed to cut for you? Is it the keyboard ouline, or the keys, or both?
You explain, I'll cut!

 

Ok, so i will cut the outline first, from this you can get the idea, and see if you like the work. As someone pointed out earlier, the edges will come out a little cloudy.
So is that keyboard one solid piece, or two pieces, with the PCB in the middle of the sandwich? Oh so many questions! If it is a sandwich, I have a sheet of 2mm polycarbonate which may do, at least for a prototype. Come to think of it, I think I have a sheet of 3mm acrylic knocking around somewhere?!

 

ooh 2mm polycarbonate sounds nice would it work with 3mm acrylic as keys?? i think that the acrylic would refract the light from the LEDs better than the polycarbonate -- containing it more... wow... this should look amazing


now i need to work out that circuit in full and where all the contacts are going to go etc... where can i get some conductive paint from?? i am planning on using that stuff to do the traces on a big piece of acrylic but i need to get a prototype of the casing made first, and that working with the existing traces before i can fully design the circuitry



by the way i have been doing lots of work in school atm with capacitors so i am fully clued up on what to do with that i think that the 45 microfarad capacitors from RS that i was planning on using should work has anyone got any tips for soldering smt components?? should i get a special soldering iron that is very accurate or something is there any kind of special tools that i should have??

 

Soldering surface mount compents requires a steady hand, pencil tiped soldering iron and a pair of good guailty tweesers is recommended.

Ensure that you tin wherever the component is to be placed, then to make the joint place the component in position and heat the joint to attach. You should not need to add anymore solder as the excess already present should be enough to complete the joint. However, if the joint looks suspect, use some very fine solder... not the stuff you find at your local DIY store.

 

how do i tin it well?

 

You apply a little fresh solder to both the solder pad, and component, before solding them together.

I make a habit out of this, and it makes soldering much easier.

 

for soldering SMD i use soldering paste (is it called that?) and also use flux (??)...

 

Smilodon, how do I use soldering paste? I have a box of Soldering paste or "Lötpaste" as it is in German in the basement, but I have no idea what I am going to do with it. It smells lemon btw. How do I use it?

 

ah... just had an idea... would i be able to use an e-luminex keyboard to hack apart and use the plexiglass keys on that?? -- or am i being a bit too presumptious

 

if u figure this out ill pay u to build me one...but like Zaps idea with the fade out

 

That is Why This Is Taking So Long... i would have had it finished ages ago but i need to work out a lot of design things to do with the fading lol

 

I know Zap was talkin bout a trickle charge for his LAN PC for the batteries to keep the outter LEDs glowing...what about a similar process to the keys...they get a trickel charge...or possibly slow down the rate at which the keys snap back just enough that the LED gets fully lit and is noticable...

 

what i am trying to do is that the LED snaps on then fades away to nothing because first off, i want to stop too much power being drawn.. second.. it would look cool

 

Just use a bigger resistor... the current will be limited and therefore fade will last longer.

 

but... the LED will be dimmer :S

 

Well it's a trade off...

Only way around it is to use a microprocessor to control the LED brightness... I.e. the Microprocessor uses PWM to control the LED brightness.

Kane

 

ah well i will have a play around as soon as i order some smt capacitors