Here’s how to make your very own customized LEGO mechanical keyboard

The wonderful world of LEGO covers everything from massive Expert building kits, to the BrickHeadz character models, collectible minifigures and even this year’s Star Wars Advent Calendar. The brand has dominated the brick building space for as long as we can remember and has products for just about any kind of builder or collector out there. Another thing we see a lot of is custom LEGO builds like this unofficial set from The Last of Us. And today we have another interesting custom design by way of master builder Jason Allemann’s fully functioning LEGO keyboard…

Most custom LEGO builds we feature are essentially user created building sets modeled on TV shows, movies, games and things of that nature. But today we have a much more functional design courtesy of Jason Allemann and his brother Roman.

This is Jason’s second attempt at a custom LEGO keyboard after his initial design from a couple years ago. This time he has chosen to start off by purchasing a standard mechanical keyboard and then block it out from there. Using a series of custom, 3D printed 2×2 LEGO plates as key switches and some serious creativity, Allemann has clearly created the ultimate LEGO keyboard here.

First up, he popped the case off of a standard Cooler Master Quick Fire Rapid mechanical keyboard, exposing just the Cherry MX switches and main circuit board. From there a simple frame was built to hold the keyboard made entirely from your basic LEGO bricks. He then had 3D printed LEGO-compatible 2×2 plates with Cherry MX stems made. You essentially just pop the custom piece on to any Cherry switch leaving you a 2×2 LEGO surface to snap anything you want to it. Fortunately, those custom LEGO/Cherry switch caps are available to everyone on Shapeways where you can get your own printed and delivered:

The key caps are essentially a 2×2 LEGO compatible plate with a Cherry MX stem on the bottom. I had them printed by Shapeways, and Roman uploaded the 2×2 version to his Shapeways store for anyone that might want to order some for their own keyboard. He uploaded both and individual one and a ring of 20, which ends up being a lot cheaper if you want to order them in quantity. 

Allemann then reached into his extensive LEGO collection for a series of flat panel pieces that conveniently snap on to all of the different custom made switch caps. He chose to only use official LEGO pieces from this point on. The LEGO baseball cap is back for the Caps Lock key and the “guy running from a dinosaur” plate for the Escape key are nice touches as well. Instead of using letter plates, he chose to create a LEGO mosaic that stretches across the entire main section of the key bed.You can see it all in action below:

Rarely do we see these kinds of things designed in such a way that really anyone could create for themselves. In this case, the design allows creators to put any LEGO pieces they want on the custom switch caps, making for what might be the most epic bespoke LEGO keyboard hack ever.

More LEGO:

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• LEGO’s latest collectible minifigures feature Mermaid Batman, Tropical Joker and more
• Countdown the holidays w/ LEGO’s 2017 Star Wars Advent Calendar
• Hands-on with the Arc De Triomphe, LEGO’s latest brick-built Architecture set
• LEGO welcomes Finn and Captain Phasma to its Star Wars BrickHeadz lineup
• LEGO Ideas Women of NASA set brings brick-built space exploration to store shelves
• Top LEGO Ideas projects to check out from October: Planetary Rover, Amelia Earhart, more
• LEGO prepares for Cyber Monday with re-release of the 6,000-piece Taj Mahal
• LEGO unveils new Boba Fett BrickHeadz set for New York Comic-Con
• Check out September’s coolest LEGO Ideas projects: Jurassic Park, Star Wars and more
• LEGO Creator London Bus set has 1,600+ pieces and is now available for purchase

Source: JKBrickworks via Gizmodo

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