I designed it in Fusion, 3d printed several prototypes, and then had a manufacturer CNC these out of aluminum. It was a huge learning experience.
I’m a little biased since I designed this keyboard, but the main layout was inspired by the Vault 35 HHKB which has been my favorite layout for quite a while!
Last week I sent this purple Qazimodo prototype to my good friend (chellekeebs on Instagram) and she took these amazing photos of it. Love how it looks with Lilac Dreams.
I was very close to not doing a purple case but I’m so glad I did!
Haha totally understand!
It’s not for everyone but you do get used to it surprisingly fast.
I first got into 40s because I wanted more free desk space and then I moved to a 35%. My friend always said my 35 didn’t have enough keys so I designed this layout as a joke but enough people liked it that I decided to actually make it.
In my default layout, QAZ are mapped to Esc, Tab, Shift and I use the keys on the right for macros.
Does this mean you won’t be joining the GB?
It’s my daily driver. I was using the original prototype up until this one was delivered. Same layout, just a slightly different case design.
Haha you are correct, I have used it with QAZ on the right side.
My friend always says my Vault 35 doesn’t have enough keys so I made this layout on Keyboard Layout Editor as a joke and then he said I should make it a real keyboard and then I posted it on the 40s discord and they said I should make it a real keyboard and next thing I knew I was making 3d printed prototypes and shopping for manufacturers.
It’s very ergonomic, I swear.
Made some design updates based on feedback I received from a couple fellow keyboard designers and I just received the first two prototypes this week. Super happy with how they turned out.
This is a really good read, thanks for sharing it! I'm currently in the process of deciding how to move forward with the sale of the keyboard I designed so this is all really relevant information for me.
Here it is! (Sorry I’m guessing imgur wasn’t really what you had in mind when you said not a centralized platform)
Honestly it was a joke that got out of hand
Oh yeah I can upload it to imgur or something
Haha it was at my wife's family cottage for decades and we tried to sell it in a garage sale but nobody wanted it so it's been sitting in our basement for several years. I had a SNES and N64 hooked up to it for a while but didn't play them much so now it's back in the basement.
Also getting a screenshot of a typing test on it was kind of a huge pain and I probably did it in the most convoluted way possible. But in the end I was super happy with how the shot turned out, especially since a friend of mine made this insanely cool video out of it.
This was an actual typing test using the QAZ keys over on the right side which is less horrible than I imagined it would be. I probably got lucky, though, because there weren't many Q's or Z's in my test.
I'm almost always on Mac so I don't need Ctrl much but it is in a layer when I do need it.
It’s honestly really useful having the three keys off to the right. You can just map them to macros or something.
Top: KBt RE: 66, Akko Mod 005 Middle: Zoom 65, Qazimodo Bottom: Vault 35, Daisy 40, mISO 34
Qazimodo interest check is now open!
Qazimodo is an aluminum Vial-compatible QAZ-ish keyboard with an exploded right column of 3 keys, inspired by the Vault 35 HHKB.
Details:
- Aluminum case
- Top mounted
- 3 degree typing angle
- POM switch plate (subject to change)
- STM32F072-based PCB
I started designing the Qazimodo in February and just got the first aluminum case from the manufacturer a couple days ago. Very happy with how it turned out.
Vault 35 by MechVault
- Lubed Banana Milk Tactiles
- Akko Cream MDA keycaps
- Everglide stabs