Polished Amethyst

Total Time Spent: 15 Hours

7/4/2025-7/5/2025 Log 1: A Fresh Start

I decided that I was not happy with my original keyboard design, and while I liked the aesthetic of the keyboard, it had a lot of flaws. So, I decided to start completely fresh.

In this new design, I wanted to make a few changes.

Cleaner silkscreen: No mess of random numbers and labels everywhere, if there is silkscreen it is either decorative or has a real purpose

OLED Screen: I want an OLED screen built in along with the rest of the features in the first version

Better Case: I want a case that is more than a rectangle. Something open frame perhaps.

I opened KiCAD and dove right into the schematic.

This has north facing per key LEDs, a 10x10 matrix, rotary encoder, and screen all set with footprints. A Pi Pico is the controller for this entire project.

From there, I went to the PCB editor.

I laid out my keyboard layout, and started putting the leds on the board, but only made it halfway.

Time Spent: 5 Hours

7/6/2025 Log 2: Finishing the PCB:

I did more work on the PCB, including adding a few new things, along with routing the entire PCB. This took me the WHOLE DAY.

I added in a ground pour to better connect my ground lines, and added in a 330 Ohm resistor in the LED data line to improve the signal integrity of the data line. I also added in a 1000uF capacitor to stabilize the power going into the LEDs. I did end up having to restart everything halfway through to redo the traces for the pico as I wanted to flip it to the other side.

From there, I exported the board and started putting it into CAD.

After exporting the board in, I started to populate the board with switches and keycaps, along with my board. I am going to mount my board from the bottom to work with the case style I am thinking of.

TIme Spent: 6 Hours

7/6/2025 Log 3: Finishing Touches

I finished up both my case and added on some nice silkscreen to my PCB.

These decals add a little bit of personal branding into the pcb and will help it stand out in the case.

Regarding the case, I went for an open air design to really show off the pcb.

The PCB bolts in with 6 brass standoffs at the edges. However, due to concerns of the PCB bending in the middle during heavy use, I added spots to place more standoffs that, while do not bolt into the pcb, still support it from force from above. I have added many places to put said standoffs to spread the load from use. The case itself will be printed in hopefully one part on a belt printer, and has a 5 degree slope to permit better typing posture.

The best thing about this being printed is I can easily reprint it to tweak the angle. Not pictures here, but there will also be some friction feet to keep the keyboard in its location. I also put the raspberry pi pico upside down for better packaging.

Without further ado, here is the finished product.

TIme Spent: 4 Hours