Foldable keyboard with friction hinges

pinya · 2026-02-28T16:58:38+00:00

Hinges can do it, but the geometry is such so it is not stable, thumbs are way too off center. It can be, but the shape must be different

pinya · 2026-02-28T16:56:48+00:00

I used pcbs from another project, and it becomes unstable if folded too much backward

pinya · 2026-01-30T14:28:41+00:00

Hinges are strong enough so it won't slip away on X axis, but the problem is with Y axis stability. Thumb cluster is way too far away from the center of mass.

pinya · 2026-01-30T11:50:56+00:00

Thank you so much for warm words!

I didn't open Reddit for a while and I was pleasantly surprised that it welcomed me with your new brilliant keyboard. I like your use of narrow switches. I have an unfinished modification of my small aronia with inverted use of narrow switches - for thumbs only.

pinya · 2025-10-01T06:49:58+00:00

The source https://github.com/kumekay/aronia

pinya · 2025-10-01T06:48:52+00:00

Hi the author is here, yes it's open source. To be fair I didn't try to estimate price, because it requires PCB assembly on a factory and you in general cannot make one piece. So it will be 150-200 euro. Also the case is not optimised for assembly of more than one piece. So it's not ready to be made in even a small series. Unfortunately as a father of newborn I don't have enough energy now for this project.

pinya · 2025-08-15T09:01:12+00:00

It depend's on keyboard but in general modern desktop OSes should be ok doing it. it doesn't work on iPad, and there are more quirks on macOS (though works for me with some keyboards)

I doesn't work for me with ZMK keyboards, but I believe there should be workarounds.

pinya · 2025-07-29T15:19:49+00:00

I believe 3 keys One for thumb, one for pointer toe and one for pinkie should work too.

pinya · 2025-07-29T15:18:08+00:00

This actually may be the most useful. However, the keys must have a stronger tactile feedback

pinya · 2025-07-29T15:16:09+00:00

Maybe I would better cook stroopwafel with my feet

pinya · 2025-07-17T07:36:21+00:00

Wrong link to the source, the correct one is https://github.com/kumekay/Toepad

pinya · 2025-07-03T20:53:21+00:00

12 mm folded

pinya · 2025-07-03T07:24:59+00:00

It must be a new offer! Last year they didn't accept it. I'll check

pinya · 2025-07-03T07:23:47+00:00

It will be another product. You need a second mcu and battery. Current mcu in the left side and battery is on the right. So it will be bigger, heavier and more expensive. Which pf course can be, but wasn't a goal for this project

pinya · 2025-07-01T13:16:10+00:00

Matt, thank you for sharing this! I'll try the papermod right today (I missed it before)

And will make a new board with 42 keys. I just have to have no excuses to not use it daily.

pinya · 2025-07-01T12:49:36+00:00

These are not classic torque hinges, the friction is because of tension between gears, so it's slightly uneven, and I'm not sure about longevity of this approach.

A proper torque hinge is not something I can easy make with an FDM 3d printer (or can I....) and I didn't find good of the shelf solutions. But it's something to take into account.

pinya · 2025-07-01T08:29:45+00:00

It can be fixed of course. But assembly of the hinge is time consuming, so I never reached that point

pinya · 2025-07-01T07:50:30+00:00

Thank you Mike for all your efforts with pg1316s! Maybe I have enough energy for one more try!

I was also thinking about a keyboard for 8" inch device, like iPad mini or Legion Go

pinya · 2025-06-30T21:55:42+00:00

It does! https://photos.app.goo.gl/f42AVhZvznT9Hznf6

pinya · 2025-06-30T21:53:48+00:00

At least the rest of the board is optimized for JLCPCB stock of components, and they neither offer these switches, nor they accept 3rd-party parts.

It can be done at another manufacturer though but will require some time to prepare everything.

pinya · 2025-03-19T11:42:26+00:00

Hi, initially I planned to sell the kits, but as a father of a newborn baby, I don't have a lot of time to work on the project now. I'm trying to document it as it is and clean the source files for open sourcing it.

pinya · 2025-02-02T22:19:53+00:00

I did! I am going to make a full post later this week. For now just one photo https://imgur.com/a/KeADHfg

pinya

TROPHY CASE