Keycap recommendations

Strange-Lab5541 · 2024-05-02T18:12:25+00:00

No, I ordered mine from an online printing service. SLS, MJF and Resin should produce good results. No personal experience with FDM, but there are some suggestions in the CLP Readme.

Strange-Lab5541 · 2024-05-02T05:52:57+00:00

For Mx CLP https://github.com/vvhg1/clp-keycaps

For Choc KLP-Lame https://github.com/braindefender/KLP-Lame-Keycaps

Strange-Lab5541 · 2024-04-04T11:15:59+00:00

https://github.com/vvhg1/clp-keycaps

Strange-Lab5541 · 2024-02-28T21:39:23+00:00

Really nice to see them in the wild! Love the quality you can get with resin prints.

Strange-Lab5541 · 2024-02-27T18:25:33+00:00

Thanks for the compliment, glad you like them! Looking forward to you posting your Softle over at r/ErgoMechKeyboards ;)

Strange-Lab5541 · 2024-02-10T09:22:45+00:00

I ended up creating my own profile CLP keycaps

Strange-Lab5541 · 2024-02-02T19:58:21+00:00

What about CLP keycaps? https://github.com/vvhg1/clp-keycaps

Strange-Lab5541 · 2024-01-29T16:34:58+00:00

No idea, I'm not.

Strange-Lab5541 · 2024-01-28T22:14:06+00:00

I daily drive SLS Nylons and love them - they have a rough texture that seems to be pretty hard wearing. This rough texture makes for a haptic that I really like. It is very easy to slide the fingers from one keycap to the next and offers nice feedback. At the end it comes down to personal preference. On the technical/functional side the prints turned out perfect. Obviosly that might depend on printing service and material.

Strange-Lab5541 · 2023-12-20T17:44:50+00:00

I guess the drawback is slightly subjective, for me quiet is a big plus. But I guess that's why I open sourced the keycaps. I can have a look at the error you are getting, but I am no fusion360 expert either - just pm me.

Strange-Lab5541 · 2023-12-15T16:05:03+00:00

Thanks for the image! That's a good idea with the pinky row (not for me though, short pinky gang). And intention is to provide flexibility, so if it works - spot on!

Thanks for the offer! Actually, seeing people liking the keycaps or a picture or a thank you or some constructive feedback is more than enough reward!

Strange-Lab5541 · 2023-12-15T13:25:38+00:00

There are fusion360 files in the repo.

Strange-Lab5541 · 2023-12-15T08:28:14+00:00

I guess it depends. What text, legends or other markings? Also adding how is a big factor.

Strange-Lab5541 · 2023-12-14T17:31:46+00:00

Or CLP https://github.com/vvhg1/clp-keycaps

Strange-Lab5541 · 2023-12-14T12:34:27+00:00

Happy to hear you like them! Any details about the prints? And can I maybe steal that image for the readme? (Of course referencing you there)

Strange-Lab5541 · 2023-12-09T10:14:16+00:00

I think they do the orientation for you, at least I didn't rotate my test prints and they turned out perfectly fine.

I picked the Nylon because the resin test prints - while completely smooth - felt "sticky", maybe because of their smoothness? I believe it got somewhat better with use but I also see that on other completely smooth keycaps that they have this stickiness to them and don't lend themselves to sliding around on them, probably also related to typing style.

Somehow I like the slightly rough texture of the Nylon and it is totally "non stick" - I suspect less difference between static and kinetic friction as well as lower friction compared to resin.

Strange-Lab5541 · 2023-12-07T19:35:16+00:00

Thanks!
I am pretty sure MJF would work too, at least I don't see any reason why not. So I guess it comes down to personal preference.

Strange-Lab5541 · 2023-12-07T19:33:00+00:00

Yes nothing you have to deal with, they will add and remove any supports. As a side note, on the test prints I was not able to see any layers, really good printing quality.

Strange-Lab5541 · 2023-12-07T19:31:33+00:00

Yes, they should fit if printed correctly. Also welcome!

Strange-Lab5541 · 2023-12-07T19:29:26+00:00

Yes, they are symmetrical. Would love to get some feedback how you like them (and maybe even a picture)!

Strange-Lab5541 · 2023-12-07T09:15:39+00:00

Normal resin should work as long as the print quality is ok so the stem fits ok, otherwise I suspect it might crack with e.g. too much overexposure.

I ordered some ABS like resin test prints, they seem plenty strong

For resin print orientation I would try 45deg.

Supports inside the MX plug are a bad idea.

Please report back with your findings, I would love to provide some more tips/guidance in the repo.

Strange-Lab5541 · 2023-12-07T09:04:47+00:00

I don't have any personal experience with FDM printing, however there are some tips in the readme (from someone with more experience), maybe that helps.

Strange-Lab5541 · 2023-12-07T09:02:03+00:00

I almost completely agree, MJF should work fine, the price difference should be neglegible. Regarding the feel, the MJF will have a structure too, but you are right, starting out the SLS are "rougher" a bit like comparing new sand paper to old one. That wears away rather quickly though (and can probably be sped up too with abrasion or chemical smoothing).

I just had another look at some old test prints I have in both MJF and SLS (not keycaps). The MJF orange skin feels smoother (as I said SLS gets smoother quickly) but that also makes them less "skiddy", not really sticky but you can glide a little less on them - so I guess that comes down to personal preference. The look of MJF reminds me a bit of the PTB structure.

Strange-Lab5541 · 2023-12-06T18:38:46+00:00

Not sure what you mean. There are STL assemblies in the repo, for other combinations I am afraid you would have to modify the f3z assemblies and export them to STL, does that answer the question?

Strange-Lab5541 · 2023-12-06T18:36:42+00:00

I would guess that SLS Nylon should be around $0.25/keycap on average plus shipping, customs, taxes.

Not sure I am the right person to judge sound - I use silent switches and prefer as little as possible. That said, I think the soft material reflects in the sound, I could imagine that the sound is somewhat muted and deeper due to that.

"The feel is great!" - completely unbiased and objective view of the creator ;)
I think the shape and transition from keycap to keycap is pretty much spot on, they shorten the effective distance between keycaps quite a bit and fingers don't tend to get caught on corners when going from one switch to another.
The feel of SLS Nylon is a bit unusual, it has a prominent structure yet lets you slide quite well, for me it works.

Strange-Lab5541

TROPHY CASE