FDM KeyCaps

cults3d

These are the FDM versions of my 3d printable keycaps! there are a couple different options you have when deciding to decorate your keyboard with these 3d printed click clacks. First, you can use the keys I have already gone through the trouble of adding the legends since I made all the keys for a 104 key keyboard. If you don't want legends on your keyboard I already did you the favor of downloading all the keys as blanks! If you want legends but just don't like the font or design I made I still have you covered, all the step files for the different keys are also included so you can make your own legends (I recommend using the emboss tool on fusion 360 for legends and cutting in .4mm since it wont be sanded away easily). I also designed custom sanders for each type of keycap to perfectly sand the dish (except for the spacebar because a piece of sandpaper works fine). The way I went about sanding my keycaps was using 400 grit to make it smooth then polishing with steel wool. you can polish your keycaps to any grit you would like but I will warn you that if you just do 400grit on abs your fingers will polish the keys you use the most very quickly and it will be a very noticeable difference. For the sanders if you would like to use hardware you need 4 m3x10 and 4 m3 hex nuts To fill in the legends I used testors enamel paint in glossy black and used a toothpick to put the paint where I wanted it and then squeegeed the excess. You will probably need to do 2 coats. to put the keycaps on I recommend first making what I call a "stem tool" which I made out of steel round stock and a file. You want to file it down so you have a rectangle that is about 4mm x 1.27mm. It is preferential to be a little over sized rather than undersized because the point of this tool is to clean out the inner cross of the stem and stretch the plastic so it fits properly. You might be wondering why I didn't design one to print, well the simple answer is if you have two things of the same hardness they will wear each other down and the tool would be useless if the dimensions kept changing. Feel free to try to 3d print one though and let me know how it turns out! For the keys with the bumps you just have to secure the bump with glue and then shape it to however you desire with files and sandpaper. I would strongly recommend printing extra bumps since they are very easy to lose. I would also recommend gluing the bumps after doing the legend and before the final polish so they stay exactly how you would like. If your keycap feels gritty when you press on it you can try sanding down the inner walls of the keycap or popping off the 4 little dots at the bottom of the stem where the support connected with a knife. if that doesn't work try printing the key again because sometimes that's just what you gotta do. Sound test: https://youtu.be/jydfTbz02PY