After my failure with Lou:1c โ€“ my first keyboard and after the new PCBs arrived I started with a case to go with the PCB.

Design inspiration

I started designing several versions, and even halfway built some before I finally saw an image in a Discord channel. The image had no attribution but there was a name on the keyboard itself that pointed me towards Project Ursa, a project to create a keycap with โ€œa deep dish spherical touch area with a flat top edgeโ€ by Andreas Chlupka. You can view more of his beautiful creations on Instagram.

I really liked the idea of an outer tray with an insert that hold the keys, instead of the traditional clam-shell design or where the top part goes over the bottom part to hide it. The trend that the best looking keyboards should be as little case as possible doesnโ€™t fit me. The design of a keyboard is not just to select keycaps with the prettiest colours, the case should have shape and its own design features. So this case that Andreas made really spoke to me. And not just the shape, the colours was nice also, so my first aim was to just make a first case closely based on Andreas design and start adapting that design to my atypical mindset.

The image i saw on Discord

My version

After spending some time in Fusion 360 and letting the 3D-printer work hard. And then realizing that i needed more margins in some places and less in others, adjusting and reprinting, twice, the first version emerged.

But plastic is a bit boring, and not as nice to touch and after considering other materials to use the natural option was ofcourse fabric.

With a little help from the nice people in the fabric store and my patient wife a nice blue soft fabric was cut and sewn to fit the case. Along with some padding to make the case extra soft.

The outer tray was spray painted eggshell white and with a proper USB-cable in place the keyboard is now in use at my work.

Hindsight

Unfortunately wasnโ€™t the fabric I choose optimal for the use case. Already after a couple of months use it shows wear. It might just become a nice patina look, but time will tell.