A 56-key hotswap column-staggered split keyboard.
I'll replace this with a proper photo once it's built, but for now heres a quick render
This is my first custom keyboard design, and my second hardware project. It was designed with a few goals in mind:
- to be functional ( not broken, hard to break )
- to be mine ( my own design, for my use case )
- to be simple ( simple to use, simple to build )
- to be something I'll actually use.
these were the basis of almost every decision I made while designing this. I chose a split layout because I already had a fairly nice 65% keyboard (the nuPhy air60 v2), I felt like anything too similar would fight for use (4). Secondly, I wanted to try and make a layout very personal to me, so this would be a truly from-scratch build (2). I used ergopad to get a rough idea of what a good layout could be for me, then I used ergogen to quickly protoype my designs until I arrived at something I could copy in keycad. For the layout and physical design of the jam56s I took inspiration from the lily58, the Corne, and the ErgoTravel, among others. My main considerations were having enough keys for macros and modifiers, while not letting it get too big. The final layout is 6x(4-key column) + a 4 key thumb cluster. ( wired as a 7x4 matrix, see below ) wiring.
The board includes:
- Per-key RGB
- 1 I2C breakout ( for an OLED )
- RJ45 split comms
- Hot-swap sockets I Chose an RJ45 jack over the more common TRRS jack as it can be safely hotplugged while the board is on. I didn't want to have to handle a USBC plug, which also seemed like overkill and ran the risk of frying the keeb if it was used for anything other than split comms.
The case is mostly 3D printed, but you can late lasercut for better asthetics and rigidity. This was my first time using fusion so it's just a little bit jank. It's kinda an open-air sorta sandiwch design, I mainly just wanted to always be able to see the PCB.
In case you want to try to build this yourself, here's the prices I got for all the components. Prices are all in USD, even though I'm in Canada. ( also includes shipping )
| Item | Quantity | Price | Source | Additional details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCB | 2x5 | 39.99 | JLCPCB | 23.6 subtotal + 12.14 shipping + 4.25 tax |
| Plate | 2 | 35.67 | SendCutSend | I Might be able to get it for cheaper locally, or in a diff material |
| Orpheus Pico | 2 | N/A | Hack Club | Can be replaced with other USCB pico clone |
| Kailh hot-swap socket | 70 | 99c | Aliexpress | This is where the welcome deal seems to be placed right now |
| RJ45 Jacks | 2 | 2.63 | Aliexpress | |
| RJ45 cable | 1 | 1.72 | Aliexpress | |
| .91 in oled | 2.22 | Aliexpress | ||
| 1n4148 diodes | 100 | 1.97 | Aliexpress | |
| 0805 0.1uf capacitor | 100 | 2.2 | Aliexpress | |
| SK6812mini-Es | 100 | 6.26 | Aliexpress | |
| TTC silent red or silent frozen | 60 | 32.7 | TorontoKeyboardMan | <alt pick is otemu silent yellow jade (0.22) or silent kitty (0.45) |
| Keycaps | 140 | 20.35 | Aliexpress | |
| M2.5 x 25mm screw | 50 | 2.28 | Aliexpress | |
| M2.5x9mm spacer | 35 | 2.78 | Aliexpres | can also be 3d printed |
| Total | 1 | 149.54 |