Custom PC Keyboard and Cable

I made this PC keyboard inspired by Titanfall mechs. My last keyboard broke and wasn't easy to fix. I got mad on how electronic products are not built to last so I decided to learn and make my own keyboard.

- Epomaker GK108/GK108S Kit as the board:

You can buy a different board but make sure it's hot swappable. Hot swappable means that you can change the keyboard switches without soldering or unsoldering the switches. Why would you like this feature you ask?

Well less work for assembling the keyboard and if you need to change switches you don’t need to became and expert welder.

- Gateron milk yellow switch:

You can buy a different type of switches, it depends on your taste. I recommend Gateron switches since they are less expensive. If you want to enhance the light diffusion get the Gateron milk version since they are transparent. Check this video for more info on switches.

Also check that the switches are compatible with the board you bought. This means that you need to check the number of pins of the switches and the board in the details.

- Keycaps YMDK Double Shot 108:

I’m repeating myself. Same as before: choose the one that you like, consider that you need keycaps that are compatible with the switches that you buy. Don’t panic! This means that they just need to be “X” keycaps as the switches. The above picture is self-explanatory.

- Personalized ESC keycap:

There are a lot of personalized keycaps. You can choose a different one, the best website to buy this keycaps is on etsy. Here is another example. As before, check for the compatibility with the switches.

- Spray cans:

I’ll show and explain how to paint the keyboard, but I think that there are better ways to paint your keyboard. If you have time and patience try to find a better technique to paint your keyboard. Water dip for example. These are the following colors that I used: anthracite grey RAL 7016, Light Ivory RAL 1015 and mandarine orange 0652. 

- Paper masking tape

- Keycaps remover

It should come with the epomaker kit.

- Screwdriver

- OPTIONAL Windows Paint or a similar app:

If you are planning to paint the keyboard with different colors or pattern, I suggest you do some tests. Use this picture below and use Paint or similar programs to test and visualize how your custom keyboard is gonna look like before you paint it.

- OPTIONAL GX Aviator Connector:

- OPTIONAL Paracord 550 type III:

The paracord will be the new USB cable coating. It need to be longer than the USB cable. For example if you buy a 3 meter USB cable you need a 3,5 meter paracord.

- OPTIONAL rod:

It can be a long pencil too.

- OPTIONAL Hair dryer:

- OPTIONAL USB 2.0 type C typa A cable:

The board kit usually comes with a USB cable for connecting the keyboard, check the details before ordering. Otherwise, if you want a DIY custom cable you need to buy USB cable.

- OPTIONAL Solder kit:

Soldering Iron, heatshrink tube, tin, pliers, soldering helping hand, lighter, multimeter, cutting pliers, wirestripping and insulating tape.

Insert the switches on the board and the keycaps over the switches.

Be careful! You need to avoid bending the switches' pins.

Insert the USB cable to the now mounted keyboard and connect it to your PC. 

Test that the keyboard is functioning properly and that you have installed the latest drivers.

You can easily test your keyboard on this website. If you can’t connect to the internet use a word processing software like Microsoft Word Wordpad etc.

If a key is not functioning, the switch is not properly allocated inside the board. You need to check if it is correctly positioned or if the pin is bent.

If your keyboard is working properly, disassemble it. It's not important that you disassemble everything, you just need the frame

Remove the keycaps and the switches with the keycap remover.

Unscrew the keyboard screws with the screwdriver and disassemble the keyboard. Take pictures of every step so you can easily reassemble it later if you forget how to reassemble it.

OPTIONAL Open the picture with Paint or a similar app and color the picture until you find a color and pattern combination that pleases you. I tried different combinations before picking the one tI liked.

Choose the first color that you are going to use and cover the parts that will have a different color with the paper masking tape.

Spray the color over the keyboard and leave it to dry for 60 min, the amount of time you need to wait can vary it depends on climate conditions (check the spray can instructions for more details).

If you are satisfied with the first coat, remove the tape and cover the part that you painted. To prevent the adhesive tape from removing the color, I suggest you cover the painted part with writing paper and paper masking tape. Be careful! The masking tape must adhere with the keyboard frame. You need to avoid cracks and darts. If you leave cracks the color will spread in the already painted parts.

Repeat the step for the remaining parts to paint.

Reassemble the keyboard and enjoy your new custom self-made keyboard.

Continue reading if you want to do the usb cable too.

Refer to this YouTube video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8grrD17BB0w

Get a rod and roll the cable on the rod until you have reached your desired length and cut the cable.

Measure the two parts of the cable.

Now you need to measure and cut the paracord.

For example, if the two parts of the USB cable measure 70cm and 30cm the paracord needs to be 100cm and 50 cm. If there is extra paracord after inserting the paracord in the USB cable just cut the extra. It’s important that the paracord is always longer than the cable because when you insert the paracord in the cable the paracord will shrink.

Remove the paracord yarn cord and insert the paracord in the cut cables.

Insert the heat shrink tubes at the ends of the USB cables and shrink them with a lighter.

Check the picture for the color and the pattern used or make a custom one. As stated before, using a color spray can is not the best option but I'm not an expert painter.

Use the wire stripper to strip the USB cable. You should have 4 cables inside the 2.0 USB cable.

Open the GX Aviator connector and solder the cables on it. Use the previous video as a reference and these pictures. Consider that the color of the wires in the USB cable sometimes are different. If you have doubts on the position of the GND Data+ Data- and Vcc wires, use the short-circuit function on the multimeter.

If you put the multimeter plugs on the end of a cable the multimeter will either beep or show 0 (depends on the model). If it beeps it means that you made a short-circuit.

Connect the aviator connector and the USB cable to the keyboard and PC. Test the keyboard.

If everything works, you can now coil the cable.

Is not easy to explain how to coil a cable it’s easier if you see it for yourself. The following video explains it very well. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_51q2zR35TE

To coil the cable you need to roll the cable on a rod and heat it with a hair dryer for 5 min (depends on the temperature of the hair dryer, the thickness and material of the cable). You could use a heat gun. I tried both and find that the hair dryer is better suited for this work. During my research I read that to reshape the cable it's necessary to reach high temperatures but with the hair dryer (that has a lower temperature compared to the heat gun) you can get the same or a better result in my experience.

To make the coiled cable springy you need to reverse the coil. As mentioned before, it's easier to see than to explain.