The Dactyl is a parameterized, split-hand, concave, columnar, ergonomic keyboard.

This fork is an experiment in changing the mounting style of the dactyl. Originally designed as an integrated-plate/tray-mount keyboard, this version creates a bottom-mount dactyl variant.

• This guide from Thomas Baart can tell you more about keyboard mounting styles.

Other changes include:

• thinner plate.
• snap-in Alps keyswitch and stabilizer cutouts.
• reversion to 1u outer keys from 1.5u keys in kennykaye fork.
• wider bezels to accommodate mounting hardware.
• more column stagger.
• more space in bottom case to accommodate Alps switch depth.
• separation of top plate from top case.
• post-processing of top case STL files in Blender (still a work in progress, but case seems to fit)

You will need:

• 70 Alps SKCM or SKCL keyboard switches
• 4 Alps stabilizers (optional)
• 66 Alps-compatible 1u keycaps
• 4 Alps-compatible 2u keycaps
• 18 M3 screws
• 18 heat-set m3 screw inserts
• diodes
• wires
• 2 pro micro microcontrollers (ARM -can- be done via serial but it's still rather experimental in QMK)
• soldering iron
• solder
• time, specifically
• a lot of time
• patience

Setting up the Clojure environment

• Install the Clojure runtime
• Install the Leiningen project manager
• Install OpenSCAD /// Recommended: 22-12-2019 builds from here
• Install Blender or any other STL editor

Generating the design

• Run lein repl
• Load the file (load-file "src/dactyl_keyboard/dactyl.clj")
• This will regenerate the things/*.scad files
• Use OpenSCAD to open a .scad file.
• Make changes to design, repeat load-file, OpenSCAD will watch for changes and rerender.
• When done, use OpenSCAD to export STL files
• Smooth out rough edges with Blender or your STL editor of choice

Tips

• Some other ways to evaluate the clojure design file
• Example designing with clojure

Pregenerated STL files are available in the things/ directory.

Masks for the flexible PCBs that aderath used are not recommended due to changes in dimension from his original design.

A very rough guide for the brave is here - It will be improved over time (TODO)!

Copyright © 2015 Matthew Adereth

The source code for generating the models (everything excluding the things/ and resources/ directories is distributed under the GNU AFFERO GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE Version 3. The generated models and PCB designs are distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License Version 3.0.