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Comment by rychco | Hacker News Reader

I've been toying with the idea of designing my own keyboard too. I'm in love with the keeb.io iris & ergodox EZ. They're both pretty awesome, but now I'm thinking I would love to be able to take my split/iris everywhere by using choc low-profile switches & a case that would let me snap the two sides together, face-to-face, such that I could slip it in my backpack along with my laptop (and maybe some extra keys here & there).

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If you don't need to have the halves be fully separated, you can have an easy time designing a custom PCB, assuming that you can get good/accurate footprints for the switches you want to use.

The below PCB is meant to be 'like a Preonic, but with 2x2u spaces, and full 5x12 grid'. Diode placement is aesthetic, but serves as a way to fill the 'dead space' between the main halves.

https://i.imgur.com/Krd3dfE.jpeg

https://i.imgur.com/78KWmuV.jpeg

Whether you use 2d design to make a stacked/layered case, or 3d printing, you could probably jank-design a top cover to go along with your own custom build.

The latest iteration of the Preonic already supports 2x2u configuration. But some extra space between hands would be welcome.

Oh, but here's the thing: I wanted 5x12, and 2x2u. I also wanted to make it compatible with existing 5x12 keymaps, for ease of firmware tweaking.

I have an assembled proto, and while it was rough around the edges, it was fun to use. The case was made of laser-cut sheet metal bolted together with standoffs, and the switch plate had a cutout in the center to show off those banked diodes.

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