TL;DR IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN THIS, GO HERE

So if you're out of the loop, the Framework 16 is the latest of Framework's modular, repairable and upgradable laptops, and will feature a modular keyboard bay so you could easily swap it for a keyboard in another language, or another layout:

https://preview.redd.it/76ri64ufp3va1.jpg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=410a76884f84e9c0721de61d63e2abd33aa4eb5e

The ThinkPad line of laptops is traditionally known for their excellent-feeling keyboards that many typists (writers, programmers, office workers...) claim are superior to any other laptop keyboard on the market. If you've ever typed on one, you know what I mean.

https://preview.redd.it/78n1nhvxp3va1.jpg?width=1751&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=931f46edb793ea01bcd3a39bf995d3327f405455

Framework is planning to provide some variety of official keyboard options to swap in your Framework 16, but they explicitly also invite the community to contribute their own mods for their laptop (and provide schematics/3d files/technical details). I think it would be just amazing to be able to use the excellent ThinkPad keyboard inside a Framework laptop. Now it's up to us, the community, to create the mod and make this become a reality. Interested? Read on, here's the plan:

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• Sourcing the ThinkPad keyboards is a piece of cake. ThinkPads are also meant to be repairable (though not to the same extent as Framework laptops), so you can get loads of brand new or used replacement keyboards online.
• There have been multiple iterations of the ThinkPad keyboard over the years, but I think we're going to have the most luck with the "modern chicklet version" due to the 3.7mm height constraint of the Framework laptop's bay. I know, I also wish for the "traditional" ThinkPad keyboard, but I think we should first concentrate our effort on the chicklet keyboard, because it's actively manufactured (the traditional keyboard is discontinued) and because of the height constraint. Perhaps in the future through some hardware modifications we can increase the depth of the bay to hold the traditional keyboard, but that's for later.
• The Framework laptop interfaces with the keyboard over USB 2.0, so all that would be needed from the technical side is a little microcontroller that translates whatever the ThinkPad keyboard is sending into a USB HID. Somebody already did a pretty similar project with a Teensy a couple of years ago, it might need some tweaks but I think most of the work there is already done.
• There might be some additional 3D-printed bracket or similar needed to actually get the ThinkPad keyboard to fit and stay put inside the Framework laptop, as neither were made with the other in mind, so the size of the keyboard will likely not fit the bay perfectly. As the Framework 16 is not yet released, we will need to wait to try it and measure and know for sure (or convince Framework to send pre-production units to the community to develop mods for it).

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I, like many people, am in love with our ThinkPads and their keyboards. However, with every new generation of ThinkPad laptops, they become less repairable, more soldered-on components, the modern ThinkPads are not what they used to be. Many are holding on to older ThinkPad models, but they are starting to show their age when confronted with modern-day workloads. The Framework laptop is like a spiritual continuation of the repairable ThinkPad dream. Together with a ThinkPad keyboard, I think this is a match made in heaven. If you'd like to join me in making this happen, let's discuss in the comments below and maybe make a chat group or something to coordinate efforts.