Synth Labs 060 · Aaron Hong

Overview

This is the first custom mechanical keyboard I've designed from start-to-finish.

More details on it are available here:

Early concept render of the keyboard in copper, with a flip-up panel and a rail along the top.

The 2019 concept

These are renders of the initial concept, which I had made in 2019, before I had any skills in CAD or manufacturing. I sketched it out on a piece of paper first, then rendered them roughly using Autodesk Maya, since that was what I was familiar with coming from a game-dev background.

Top-down concept render: cream keycaps in a copper case with a black display strip.

Concept render from the back with the display panel raised.

The rail in particular takes inspiration from 80's rack-mount synthesizers.

Concept render highlighting the rail along the top edge.

The fins on the back takes inspiration from rear-diffusers from sports cars.

Concept render from behind, showing the row of fins.

I later simplified the design to remove the screen.

Simplified concept render in silver, without the screen.

Rebuilding it in Fusion

In 2020, while I was between jobs, I learned how to use Autodesk Fusion, and recreated the design using that. Already, this felt way closer to something achievable.

Fusion render of the keyboard from the back: a translucent case with red fins.

Fusion render from above with black, white and pink keycaps.

I refined the dimensioning on the side profile quite a lot. I tried to lean in more to the triangular shape, trying to capture a sharp shape, kind of like a fancy shoe.

I figured out with the fin design that I'd need to make the USB port vertical to facilitate this.

Close-up render of the fins with a vertical USB-C port between them.

So I came up with the idea to use a daughterboard for the USB connection, using a specific component that allows it to reach through.

Render of the open case with a small daughterboard behind the fins.

Close-up render of the USB connector reaching through the case.

While I had some of the important things figured out, the internal construction is quite barebones. Basically just a huge empty cavity.

Render of the case from below: one large open cavity.

Exploded render on yellow: keycaps, plate, PCB, case and fins.

First CNC prototype

I sent the design to a CNC supplier to have it manufactured. Here are some of the photos of it before surface finishing.

The CNC-machined case with its brass plate, before surface finishing.

When I received it, it was quite amazing to see my design in person!

Holding the machined aluminium case outdoors, underside up.

The case held at an angle, showing the fins along the back.

However, there were also issues, such as this surface-finish blemish.

As mentioned earlier, the interior is very barebones and a pretty bad design honestly. Here's a closer look at it, since this is something that gets improved dramatically in later iterations.

The bare interior of the first prototype case.

I built the keyboard out as much as I could anyway, which felt pretty awesome to see. However, it was far from ready in my eyes.

Too many quality control issues when it comes to surface-finish quality and manufacturing tolerances. I ultimately decided not to go with this CNC manufacturer.

The poor interior design also made the sound and feel of typing just seem very hollow. I knew it needed a lot of improvement after this.

The first prototype built up with yellow, grey and white keycaps.

Trying other manufacturers

I shopped around trying other manufacturers and small improvements to the design. Here is another one.

A second prototype in white with a copper plate and rails, laid out on a desk.

Still it wasn't quite there yet.

The white and copper prototype on a desk beside another keyboard.

A black prototype case with a brass plate, photographed at the factory.

Feedback and redesign

Later, I decided to post on Geekhack to get feedback from the mechanical keyboards community. I also wanted to focus more on improving the design as well. Here are some of the renders I made for that.

Render for the Geekhack post: white case, gold rail, black and white keycaps.

Render in white with pink and mint keycaps.

I made some significant changes to the interior, raising the floor of the interior to match the typing angle of the board. This also meant having a cavity where the USB daughterboard was housed.

Render of the revised case interior with a raised floor.

This made quite a massive improvement in typing sound and feel.

Render of the revised bottom case with the daughterboard cavity.

In yet another revision, I've removed all exterior-facing screws, in favor of putting the screws through the front (under the keycaps). This gives the keyboard a seamless appearance, with all the screw holes nicely hidden.

I've also revised how the rear weight and top rail is mounted, and made dimensioning changes to the gasket system to improve its feel.

Standoff holes were also added to the plate, allowing it to be rigidly attached to the PCB. This makes the switch hotswapping a bit more robust.

The silicone feet were also changed to match the pill-shaped feet used on the Solo Macropad, giving it more of a cohesive identity with the rest of my brand.

I also got in contact with 0xCB (keeb.supply), who helped me quite a lot with the PCB design!

And I also got in contact with Keebwerk, who became my manufacturer.

Wide exploded render: rail, case, plate, PCB and fin weight.

A prototype that worked

With Keebwerk, we were able to get another prototype manufactured. This one was fully-functional, and was the first one with quality that I deemed good.

It was so nice to see these quality improvements, and also to see my design improvements had worked out nicely.

Keebwerk prototype: a white case with a black PCB installed.

The prototype from the back, showing the fins.

Close-up of the gold rail and PCB in the prototype.

Fully built, I could finally enjoy typing on it, and it was sooo nice!

The finished prototype on a windowsill with black and white keycaps.

The finished prototype on a dark wooden deck.

At this point, it felt like this was the one. So we started to push for final production.

Refinements before production

Still, I did want to take anything I could learn from this last round of prototypes and make whatever improvements I could think of before the final production. And so I did.

I added a cover on top of the daughterboard cavity, which helps acoustics.

I also refined the standoffs for the case assembly, so that they are easier to assemble for the soldered PCB variants.

Here's a closeup of that new daughterboard cover.

Close-up render of the cover over the daughterboard cavity.

I also added acoustic foams. They are just two sheets of PORON foam, which I've added specific cutouts to so that they form-fit around the bottom of the PCB.

This allows it to occupy as much air space as possible, without getting in the way of anything mechanically. This also improved the typing sound quite a lot.

Render of the case with form-fitted acoustic foam.

Production

Here are some pictures of the final production.

Production unit from the back, showing the fins.

Production unit in white standing on end, with blue keycaps and a copper rail.

And finally, here's a picture of my own personal unit that I still use daily.

My own unit in dark grey with round keycaps, by a window.