The manufacturing bottleneck here is wht most ergo keyboard projects skip scissor switches entirely. I tried prototyping smth similar last year with hand-assembled mechanisms and the tolerances were insane—everything fell apart within hours. The tradeoff is interesting tho: trading modularity for quieter typing and a lower profile makes sense if the end product is actually something users stick with long-term.
> I tried prototyping smth similar last year with hand-assembled mechanisms and the tolerances were insane—everything fell apart within hours
Exactly, it's unfortunate it's difficult to do but I believe that's part of why we don't see many of these in the niche ergo keyboard category
> The tradeoff is interesting tho: trading modularity for quieter typing and a lower profile makes sense if the end product is actually something users stick with long-term.
Agreed, it's hard to say until we build it. To me it's obvious since I love the feel of laptop keyboards and the ultra low profile design that scissor switches enable
I like the feeling of scissor switches on my MacBook keyboard and I think it would be a great choice for an ergonomic keyboard regarding feel and sound, but a quick thought.
How much harder is it to fix/change scissor keys compared to hot swappable keyboards that allow you to switch the keycaps and switches if something becomes defected? Ergonomic keyboards like the Naya ergonomic keyboard have a modular low profile keyboard that can do this (plus they claim to have “silent”
> How much harder is it to fix/change scissor keys compared to hot swappable keyboards that allow you to switch the keycaps and switches if something becomes defected?
Very challenging although it depends on how we design the scissor switch keycaps. Some are easier to remove and as a result they are easier to snap in. That's not our focus though
Our goal is to design the keyboard such that the default switches are excellent. We're not trying to build something for folks who want to customize and tinker with their keyboard
> Ergonomic keyboards like the Naya ergonomic keyboard have a modular low profile keyboard that can do this (plus they claim to have “silent” switches).
Looks like they are using Kailh PG1232 Mini-Choc. We could pick mechanical switches that are less loud however the other two problems remain
1. They aren't ultra low profile (~1mm) like scissor switches are
2. We can't get custom sized switches that'd fit the half sized arrow keys we want for a familiar laptop keyboard layout
Not to mention that mechanical switches are quite expensive which is probably part of why that keyboard is retailing at over $500
The manufacturing bottleneck here is wht most ergo keyboard projects skip scissor switches entirely. I tried prototyping smth similar last year with hand-assembled mechanisms and the tolerances were insane—everything fell apart within hours. The tradeoff is interesting tho: trading modularity for quieter typing and a lower profile makes sense if the end product is actually something users stick with long-term.
> I tried prototyping smth similar last year with hand-assembled mechanisms and the tolerances were insane—everything fell apart within hours
Exactly, it's unfortunate it's difficult to do but I believe that's part of why we don't see many of these in the niche ergo keyboard category
> The tradeoff is interesting tho: trading modularity for quieter typing and a lower profile makes sense if the end product is actually something users stick with long-term.
Agreed, it's hard to say until we build it. To me it's obvious since I love the feel of laptop keyboards and the ultra low profile design that scissor switches enable
I like the feeling of scissor switches on my MacBook keyboard and I think it would be a great choice for an ergonomic keyboard regarding feel and sound, but a quick thought.
How much harder is it to fix/change scissor keys compared to hot swappable keyboards that allow you to switch the keycaps and switches if something becomes defected? Ergonomic keyboards like the Naya ergonomic keyboard have a modular low profile keyboard that can do this (plus they claim to have “silent”
switches).
> How much harder is it to fix/change scissor keys compared to hot swappable keyboards that allow you to switch the keycaps and switches if something becomes defected?
Very challenging although it depends on how we design the scissor switch keycaps. Some are easier to remove and as a result they are easier to snap in. That's not our focus though
Our goal is to design the keyboard such that the default switches are excellent. We're not trying to build something for folks who want to customize and tinker with their keyboard
> Ergonomic keyboards like the Naya ergonomic keyboard have a modular low profile keyboard that can do this (plus they claim to have “silent” switches).
Looks like they are using Kailh PG1232 Mini-Choc. We could pick mechanical switches that are less loud however the other two problems remain
1. They aren't ultra low profile (~1mm) like scissor switches are
2. We can't get custom sized switches that'd fit the half sized arrow keys we want for a familiar laptop keyboard layout
Not to mention that mechanical switches are quite expensive which is probably part of why that keyboard is retailing at over $500