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Hike News

【IC】MeowTool X1 Keyboard

类型: IC
作者: RivieraS
发布时间: 2021-03-09 12:27:40
更新时间: 2021-03-26 03:31:45
原链接: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=111617.0



Hello everyone, My friend Sirius, the author of Unigo66 and Uni660, bring us a new design.
MeowTool X1 is different from him previous design style, it is a moderate-looking keyboard.
Design inspiration:
This time we challenge the design of the big keyboard, the full-size keyboard was my initial design direction.
I wasn’t willing to do the traditional 104, so I changed the layouts slightly,
and also added a small OLED screen in the upper right corner as an additional design point. ——Sirius



Specs:
1.Style
The front of the MeowTool X1 is designed with a large forehead and wide bezel, the style is overall on the retro side.
2.Curve
The lines on the sides of the keyboard use a curved transition to erase the sense of boundaries and give the MeowTool X1 a more affable feeling.
3.OLED Screen
The OLED screen can be used with the software to present small animated gifs, time, and hardware information, etc.
4.Material
The material is aluminum alloy, with a large size mirror stainless steel base plate.
5.Structure
The material of plate is FR4, it has good flexibility. To make the force of plate more even when typing, I have modified the traditional TOP structure by using two auxiliary metal strips for fixing. The overall structure of the keyboard will be similar to a combination of TOP and SANDWICH. And I tried to do as much as possible to hide the screw for sentire appearance of the MeowTool X1.
6.Back of the Keyboard with Ambient Light
To facilitate the production and assembly of the keyboard, the tail part of the MeowTool X1 was made into a separate sub-part, and inserted even light strip between it and the shell. Through the 30 RGB lights on the PCB, and the chamfered refraction inside the shell, a silky smooth and even RGB flowing ambient light is made. And it is barely visible on the front, which maximizes the retention of the keyboard’s vintage feel. I also made use of the remaining RGB lights, leaving a glowing kitty below the spacebar. The only problem that may arise is that there are too many lights, and if the keyboard uses the hub may encounter the problem of insufficient power supply, we recommend that you use it directly connected to the computer or a hub with power.
7.Data transfer
Due to the large size of the keyboard, I judged that Bluetooth wireless is not needed, so I cut out the wireless function that was standard in my previous works, which I deeply regret.
8.Software support
For the convenience of customers, this kit uses LNE Lab’s PCB and supporting software for editing and management. The software covers functions such as online brush upgrade, and visual RGB light effect editing.
More photos:



TBC

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