Enclosure specs and Lasers

Hardware hacking
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I’ve never used a CNC laser cutter before, but if I understand correctly they can be set to act as a laser engraver… for instance, on a wooden enclosure of some sort.

I happen to have access to a laser cutter, and I have precisely the right screwdriver to remove the case from a Model01 (thanks, @jesse and @kaia!) Seems like these could go well together.

What I don’t know:

  • What are the dimensions of the enclosure? I could measure / trace to get a decent approximation, but if I understand correctly the CAD files will be released at some point.

  • Are there any known risks to burning the Model01 enclosure? e.g. Excessibly flammable or toxic finish?

  • Has anyone tried this yet? Any tips? (“Try the process and settings out on an out-of-sight section first”, got it.)

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We also have access to a laser cutter (a Glowforge in our case). We’ve been meaning to experiment with this, but have been a little bit too busy to spend the time tweaking settings just yet.

Your keyboard’s enclosure is coated with polyurethane. It should be engraveable. You always want your laser well ventilated.

https://github.com/keyboardio/Model01-Legends/blob/master/layout_card/model-01-layout-card-blank.pdf is to scale and the front to back key-to-key spacing is 18mm.

The outside dimensions of each half are 221.61mm x 181.83mm x 23.55mm. Or, at least they’re supposed to be, though tolerances on wood aren’t perfect.

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Thanks!

I’ll be a bit before I can get trained / approved, but will circle back here with results.

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What are the odds on getting the MSDS (or a product reference that one could use to find the MSDS) for the coating? (The maker space maintainers are pretty scrupulous about this sort of thing.)

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so, we have three different vendors which means three different brands of polyurethane coating. there is a reasonable chance that even if we get the MSDS, it will be in Chinese. What is your keyboard’s serial number?

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I’ve got Model01-Q #002027.

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That’s not one I have MSDS at hand for, unfortunately. Next time I talk to the supplier, I’ll try to ask them.

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I personally have access to a CNC machine and a very nice piece of purple heart wood. I am a woodworker and would love to make my own custom enclosure. Is there any way I can get a 3d model of the enclosure so I can make some prototypes by carving them using my CNC machine? Thanks,

John

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Drop us a note at help@keyboard.io?