In this blog, I usually talk about topics like the firmware, electronics, product design, and all that kind of jazz but not many words have been said about the mechanical side of things. To give you a glimpse into this world, let me show you some pictures of András, mechanical engineer extraordinaire assembling our latest prototypes.
Not many people would think that 3D printed objects can be extremely malleable but pretty often this is exactly the case. We used to use Objet polyjets to print the case as opposed to our more recent SLS case. As it turns out, if you leave an object made of such a photopolymer resting in an unfavorable position it changes its shape significantly according to the forces that act upon it. We weren't particularly mindful about this problem so András had to put weights onto the the case to make it even.
But it's not enough in itself. The weighted down case must be heat gunned so that it'll "remember" its current shape.
Making the metal guides that hold the two keyboard halves together is also more difficult than one might think, especially for one-off prototypes. First up, András had to grind the steel pin so that it could be shoved into the sleeve.
And then, it had to be oriented before fitting it into the hole.
Next up, the pin was interference-fitted into into the sleeve for the shaft to be securely held.
All these steps resulted in the male part of the guide.
After finishing with the above and taking care of many more problems we ended up with the inner assembly.
Looks like a shining armor of a noble knight, worths all the sweat in the world!
