Support for Alternative Layouts
This is a summary of how alternative layouts have been supported by kits such as Colevrak and Homing. It is not a discussion of alt layout performance and development, but if that interests you I highly recommend starting with Pascal Getreuer’s A guide to alt keyboard layouts (why, how, which one?). It’s a concise and comprehensive overview with links to some great sites that go deeper. He also has a separate Links about keyboards page. The Keyboard layouts doc he recommends explains layout goals and metrics in detail, summarizing the alt layouts discussed here as well as more than one hundred others. Sculpted-profile The majority of custom keycap sets are sculpted-profile (Cherry, SA, MT3, KAT, etc. - more on profiles generally here) so let’s start there. Because each row has a unique keycap shape, alt layouts require a unique keycap for each legend that moves off its QWERTY row. At first there were two The Dvorak layout was patented in 1936 by August Dvorak & William L....
Apr 23, 2024
ponoko.com or similar to cut the plates (simplest would be top/switch plate, standoffs & bottom plate), teensy or ProMmicro for controller, and whatever switches & caps you want.
http://www.keyboard-layout-editor.com/#/gists/2430845ab496005143aca86be86f16d4
- a good guide for creating the layout & converting it to files to cut the plates https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/4l0p41/guide_detailed_guide_to_making_a_custom_keyboard/
- a good guide about how to wire everything up https://deskthority.net/workshop-f7/brownfox-step-by-step-t6050.html
- a good guide about programming the keyboard https://deskthority.net/workshop-f7/how-to-build-your-very-own-keyboard-firmware-t7177.html
shy of building your own, the only board i can think of that's close is the IBM 122 model M or F (buckling spring). but the number pad is on the right instead of the left. the 122 was nicknamed the battleship because of it's size. Unicomp is still making the 122, new, with USB or PS2 connectors http://www.pckeyboard.com/page/category/PC122
I'd say for me to do it that would probably be double the man hours a good person could, so if its under $300 i think it could almost be a better idea to source out the job :)