Detailed breakdown of video. 0:00 to 1:32 Make mold to duplicate basic key shape. This step only needs to be done once per basic key size. 1:33 to 1:46 Duplicate basic key shape (need to do this for each unique keycap glyph). I would suspect one would make a hundred or so ahead of time. 1:47 to 1:57 Mount key shape into machining fixture. Notice that fixture allows for minor variations in base thickness, yet will result in exact placement of the key top itself. 1:58 to 2:51 Machine entire surface of key shape, leaving only desired glyph intact. This will represent shape of the first shot of resin for a new keycap. 2:52 to 3:35 Make four mold halves. Those being 1 Top half of glyph (1st shot). 2 Top half of full key shape. 3. Bottom half of glyph (1st shot) 4. Bottom half of full key shape. Includes stem to mount to key switch. Wooden dowels are for alignment and to provide an escape path for air while injecting resin. 3:36 to 3:43 Top half of mold for entire keycap (2nd shot) 3:44 to 3:50 Top half of mold for glyph (1st shot) 3:51 to 4:09 Bottom half of mold for entire keycap. Notice cavity for key stem (2nd shot) 4:10 to 4:19 Bottom half of mold for glyph (1st shot) 4:20 to 4:32 Assembly of mold for glyph. 4:32 to 4:35 Filling of mold for glyph (1st shot). 4:36 to 4:44 Removal of 1st shot from mold. 4:45 to 4:50 Placing glyph into fixture for drilling. 4:51 to 5:04 Drilling of 1st shot for flow and anchor holes. These holes will permit the flow of resin to reach all areas around the desired glyph and mechanically anchor the 1st and 2nd shots together. 5:05 to 5:09 Assembly of final mold with 1st shot inside. 5:10 to 5:11 Injection of resin for 2nd shot. 5:12 to 5:13 Removal of keycap from mold. Overall, a very nice little process. The making the molds only needs to be done once and the molds could then be reused many times until they wear out. Only the steps from 4:20 onwards needs to be done for each individual keycap.
First, awesome keycaps. But I was asking myself, if it wouldn´t have been easier to do the keycaps almost completely with the cnc instead of the molds. Is there a benefitial treat to do the molds?
@@markussteinbach8842 There's two critical issues to deal with. 1. The key stem that has to fit on the key switch. Effectively invisible, but critical for the keycap to be functional. 2. The keycap top. I could see him using CNC on white plastic and do everything about the keycap, then overcast in resin to get the double shot appearance. But in doing so, that would leave the key step in an unusable state. And hence, the keycap would be useless. If he has a 5 axis machine, it may be possible to CNC the inner white plastic if it's on its side instead of simply upright. That would allow access to both the top and bottom of the key insert. But it would be difficult, and I don't know how the side of the insert that the insert was supported by could be removed to make it invisible on the finished keycap.
@@johncochran8497 thanks for the replying. The argument for doubleshot makes sense. But what ist your opinion, If you do a sublimated keycap with a single color? My idea was to CNC the keycap in two passes. From top and from the bottom. I don't See anything where a 5 Axis CNC would bei needed. Is the surface Clean enough?
@@johncochran8497 valid question. If I want to stay OEM, that ist far easier. Other than that, would the finish of the keycap with a CNC be on par with your molding. For example, If you would want to make your own keycap design.
Congratulations you have achieved my highest applause a thumbs up and IV subscribed and left this comment at times I thought I could do this at home DIY but your skills are beyond that WELL DONE MISTER
not gonna lie, this is art. this is different from industrial process, this is how to impress and present to us, about making, crafting, and processing an art from a keycaps.. hands down
As an 'I must do every step of the process for myself' type of diy person this is exactly the thing I was looking for to figure out what I would need for this process - only tens of thousands of dollars to go and then I can make my own double shot keys!
Not that you hadn't demonstrated it already at this point in the video, but when I saw you do the final machining in that metal fixture plate I blurted out loud, "yeah, this guy is legit." That was so impressive (and I'm a hobby CNC router owner, thinking of all the ways that what did was super difficult with respect to accuracy and repeatability). Amazing work!
"Double shot" means the keycap is made in two pieces that fit together. This video was about the process for the inside bit that makes the legend for one keycap.
I was so confused by everything in this video then the end was so amazingly satisfying. So many skills and hours go into fabricating this one tiny part. 5 minutes ago I didn't know this hobby existed haha. Excited to see more!
In our next video, we will be donating a significant portion of our lives to make the numlock key. Quite an exciting key. When you press it,the number keys don't work.
Very elaborate process and incredibly educational!!! Thanks for this masterclass! (having that under "The ride of the Valkyries" soundtrack didn't hurt either :)
To anyone saying this is a waste if time. Have you never heard of a hobby before? Absolutely no one is forcing you to build your own key caps, this guy is doing it just because he LIKES doing it. Just like how some people likes to play games, do sports, work on cars, or literally anything else.
In the beginning I was like "Legos? Wow maybe I can do this." Then they pull out the million dollar automated drill scribe and I'm like "maybe not..." 🥺
@@keymacs Ikr, that makes you understand why the food delivery business is huge, why make when you can order, or why clean when maids exists, etc. Whats the point of having unique things when you can have a bunch of generic ones with 2 clicks.. Btw, nj! was cool to watch the process, had no idea.
The use of Lego here makes me feel dumb for building things out of Lego as a kid when all the while I could have been using it for practical things like this.
Holy mother of god what did i just watch 🤯 i saw the videos thumbnail and said no way he is gonna make it 5 minute. I saw the video and my mind is blown how simple and high quality, steps were shown in this video. Nice work, definitely earned the sub.
This is a great video. I work as a machinist at a place where we make all kinds of injection molding tools for a lot of different industries, so I know a thing or two about the precision and attention to detail that go into these things.
@@jamespfitz Well, it's not cheap, I'll tell you that for free. The machines I work with in "my" area are pretty decent for finishing parts. I think they have a base price of $500K (give or take, exchange rates, etc.) And that's without a decent amount of carbide mills, fixtures, and so on. Consistent 0.003mm tolerances and polished surfaces are hard to achieve for most hobbyists.
Jesus christ, the dedication for every cap is insane. The fact that these are hand poured at every stage is mind boggling. Do you have to recast a new legend mold everytime?
You ever just completely zone out while reading a book and by the end of the chapter, you have no clue about what the crap you just read? Yeah. That was me about 30 seconds into this video.
Wow! I have a new found appreciation for the keycaps. The effort and the thought that goes in. TBH I got lost multiple times in the video, not being sure of what was really going on. 🙌🙌🙌
Next level is: triple shot. That's where you add a label to the FRONT of the keycap, using a different color (such as yellow). Extremely expensive, if you can even find a place that makes them, but great for 60% keyboards due to the extra functions each key must support.
Love watching a video and thinking: "OK, I can do that. I can do that. I can do that. Shit CNC. And now there are parts he didn't show the making of, are they 3d printed? Those look like toothpicks I can handle tha... wait. Is that milled block just for pushing the toothpicks out? Do I need to buy needles?! Can you just BUY needles?! Where did this metal plate come from?! Another one?! IT'S PART OF A MOUNT FOR THE CNC?! Ugh, guess I'll have to keep buying my keycaps like a chump."
The whole video shows a method of creating keycaps called double shot. Basically you have two sets of materials, one for the legends (in this case it's the custom logo) and then the base. It creates a very durable and smooth keycaps which legends wouldn't wear with time unlike legends that are printed or painted into the keycaps (though nowadays people have discovered very good printing that's very durable too). It also takes much longer process, like these three keycaps took him three days to make. So he first created the custom logo legend sculpt (the whole process of the first half of the video with the machine cutting), then he created a mold for the custom logo legend (the thing with the wooden pins) so it can be fit into many keycaps molds afterwards. After that, he uses the freshly made legend mold to make the actual legend for the keycap (where he shot white liquid into the mold) and cleaned it up after it dries (the machine cutting in latter part of the video). Finally he put that cleaned custom legend into an actual keycap mold, shotting inside it with black liquid, which hardens and wraps the legend snugly and beautifully. Thus, the method being called double shot. One shot for the legend, and one shot for the rest of the keycap.
That was a ride that I was not ready for, the result might not have seemed to be worth the effort for y'all but, maybe that was never the point of the experience.
Wow. Neat to see this and actually have a representation of what double shot injection means. Shows exactly why the quality would be better and why the price is so much higher
Note, however, that the classic injection molding (ABS/PBT) is much different from this resin casting process. It typically runs on large automated machines and the demolding time is in seconds rather than hours but, yeah, it is substantially more expensive than pad printing or lasering.
Наука
Detailed breakdown of video.
0:00 to 1:32 Make mold to duplicate basic key shape.
This step only needs to be done once per basic key size.
1:33 to 1:46 Duplicate basic key shape (need to do this for each unique keycap glyph). I would suspect one would make a hundred or so ahead of time.
1:47 to 1:57 Mount key shape into machining fixture. Notice that fixture allows for minor variations in base thickness, yet will result in exact placement of the key top itself.
1:58 to 2:51 Machine entire surface of key shape, leaving only desired glyph intact. This will represent shape of the first shot of resin for a new keycap.
2:52 to 3:35 Make four mold halves. Those being
1 Top half of glyph (1st shot).
2 Top half of full key shape.
3. Bottom half of glyph (1st shot)
4. Bottom half of full key shape. Includes stem to mount to key switch.
Wooden dowels are for alignment and to provide an escape path for air while injecting resin.
3:36 to 3:43 Top half of mold for entire keycap (2nd shot)
3:44 to 3:50 Top half of mold for glyph (1st shot)
3:51 to 4:09 Bottom half of mold for entire keycap. Notice cavity for key stem (2nd shot)
4:10 to 4:19 Bottom half of mold for glyph (1st shot)
4:20 to 4:32 Assembly of mold for glyph.
4:32 to 4:35 Filling of mold for glyph (1st shot).
4:36 to 4:44 Removal of 1st shot from mold.
4:45 to 4:50 Placing glyph into fixture for drilling.
4:51 to 5:04 Drilling of 1st shot for flow and anchor holes. These holes will permit the flow of resin to reach all areas around the desired glyph and mechanically anchor the 1st and 2nd shots together.
5:05 to 5:09 Assembly of final mold with 1st shot inside.
5:10 to 5:11 Injection of resin for 2nd shot.
5:12 to 5:13 Removal of keycap from mold.
Overall, a very nice little process. The making the molds only needs to be done once and the molds could then be reused many times until they wear out. Only the steps from 4:20 onwards needs to be done for each individual keycap.
First, awesome keycaps. But I was asking myself, if it wouldn´t have been easier to do the keycaps almost completely with the cnc instead of the molds. Is there a benefitial treat to do the molds?
@@markussteinbach8842 There's two critical issues to deal with.
1. The key stem that has to fit on the key switch. Effectively invisible, but critical for the keycap to be functional.
2. The keycap top.
I could see him using CNC on white plastic and do everything about the keycap, then overcast in resin to get the double shot appearance. But in doing so, that would leave the key step in an unusable state. And hence, the keycap would be useless.
If he has a 5 axis machine, it may be possible to CNC the inner white plastic if it's on its side instead of simply upright. That would allow access to both the top and bottom of the key insert. But it would be difficult, and I don't know how the side of the insert that the insert was supported by could be removed to make it invisible on the finished keycap.
@@johncochran8497 thanks for the replying. The argument for doubleshot makes sense. But what ist your opinion, If you do a sublimated keycap with a single color?
My idea was to CNC the keycap in two passes. From top and from the bottom. I don't See anything where a 5 Axis CNC would bei needed. Is the surface Clean enough?
@@markussteinbach8842 If you're going to do dyesub for the legends, why not simply start with easy to purchase blank keycaps?
@@johncochran8497 valid question. If I want to stay OEM, that ist far easier. Other than that, would the finish of the keycap with a CNC be on par with your molding. For example, If you would want to make your own keycap design.
I love how this video quickly goes from "huh this could be a diy" to "ok way out of my league and budget but I'll still watch"
Really once they pulled out the cnc shaper I was just like "And you used LEGO in the last part *why* ?"
@@andrewcleary9952 because legos are neat
@@andrewcleary9952 the eject technique was mind blowing are you kidding
Cncs aren't that pricey, this is surprisingly easily diyable
very cool
this was the coolest thing i have seen in the keeb world hands down.
How do you watch every keycap or keyboard related video on youtube?
Keyboard
@@lilrowbear With his glarses
DUDE, how much effort do you want to put into making keycaps ? Keymacs : "YES"
Maximum Effort
channel shouldve been called keymax
All
Congratulations you have achieved my highest applause a thumbs up and IV subscribed and left this comment at times I thought I could do this at home DIY but your skills are beyond that
WELL DONE MISTER
YES
not gonna lie, this is art.
this is different from industrial process, this is how to impress and present to us, about making, crafting, and processing an art from a keycaps..
hands down
As a former toolmaker, maintenance fitter, industrial manufacturing and electronics engineer; I approve! Very impressed!
Did you have Ride of the Valkyries playing for every tool change?
Thank you!
Imagine just how much lego these big keycap factories must have!
"I get paid by the hour"
Me : why are we watching this ?
My brain : shut up! Just keep watching...
95% of the video I didnt know what was going on...
I'll never complain about keycap prices again
still faster than waiting for GMK Groupbuy sets lol
truer words have never been said
As an 'I must do every step of the process for myself' type of diy person this is exactly the thing I was looking for to figure out what I would need for this process - only tens of thousands of dollars to go and then I can make my own double shot keys!
i had no idea what was going on and then it was suddenly done
This quickly went from, "Oh cool, maybe I could give this a shot..." to "Oh.".
Not that you hadn't demonstrated it already at this point in the video, but when I saw you do the final machining in that metal fixture plate I blurted out loud, "yeah, this guy is legit." That was so impressive (and I'm a hobby CNC router owner, thinking of all the ways that what did was super difficult with respect to accuracy and repeatability). Amazing work!
Thanks!
Really makes me appreciate how affordable a mass produced set of double shot key caps can be!
I don't understand what the heck is happening and yet I still watched the whole thing
Jaw dropped seeing how much effort it takes for small-scale manufacturing! Thanks for sharing your craft!
Yall know hes a pro since he has that tool to pull lego bricks
Me during the first half: wtf is he doing
Me during the second half: wtf is he doing
Me at the end: wtf was the point.
@@anthonyellison4737 after hours of binging on his channel: wtf is he doing
wtf
Me : hmmm maybe I can learn on how to make keycaps
Also me a minutes later : ayo wtf
There are easier ways
His childhood was spent in a different zone with Legos.
A part two with more detail about the processes involved would be great.
I agree. The last few steps went by very fast.
yes please
*starts with Lego*
*Ends with precisely cut metal piece out of a CNC made specifically to place Keycaps before milling them*
starts with "this looks easy enough to try at home"
ends with "nevermind, I don't own a production line"
This video is the epitome of “Now draw the rest of the ****ing owl”.
I have absolutely no idea what is happening but I like it
"Double shot" means the keycap is made in two pieces that fit together. This video was about the process for the inside bit that makes the legend for one keycap.
@@gyozakeynsianism My keyboard box says it's "double shot pbt" so it means it's like the one in the video but with different material?
@@DrinkWater713 I believe so. The ones being made in this video appear to be and sound like they are of amazingly job quality. Drool-worthy.
That's a lot of steps but at least the symbols will never wear off, they're solid.
I was so confused by everything in this video then the end was so amazingly satisfying. So many skills and hours go into fabricating this one tiny part. 5 minutes ago I didn't know this hobby existed haha. Excited to see more!
the first thing that should tell you you are nuts if you are seeing someone making custom ALPS keycaps... what a madlad!
So that's why they made Legos pricier over about 10 years or so
Still don't know which ones were moulds and which were the actual keycaps
In our next video, we will be donating a significant portion of our lives to make the numlock key. Quite an exciting key. When you press it,the number keys don't work.
That's some steady hand pouring the red.
No wonder they cost more than the keyboard
Very elaborate process and incredibly educational!!! Thanks for this masterclass!
(having that under "The ride of the Valkyries" soundtrack didn't hurt either :)
Hi Sam
@@esra_erimez Hey Esra!!! Nice to bump into you around here! :D
What a cool mold making process, and such clean results. I bet you learned a ton making these. Thanks for sharing.
To anyone saying this is a waste if time. Have you never heard of a hobby before? Absolutely no one is forcing you to build your own key caps, this guy is doing it just because he LIKES doing it. Just like how some people likes to play games, do sports, work on cars, or literally anything else.
And for 5 min and 57 seconds I was completely and totally enthrawled.
This was sick! But consider adding captions next time, I barely understood what was going on, so a bit of explanation would be great.
Its interesting how lego is tight enough to not get solicon spill
The silicone I use has relatively high viscosity.
@@keymacs ah i forgot the vicosity part of liquids
did you have a stroke?
@@keymacs Hey, what resin did you use for the actual keycaps in the end?
@@anoopjayan2510 Smooth-Cast 310
In the beginning I was like "Legos? Wow maybe I can do this." Then they pull out the million dollar automated drill scribe and I'm like "maybe not..." 🥺
The machine (Nomad Pro by Carbide 3D) is affordable (now starting at $2,800).
This seams like he could have skipped a ton of the steps he took in the beginning by just going straight to the cnc.
I wish I had the same motivation and effort during my school times.
Ahh so this is why these keycap group buys are taken 2 years. MFers are making the key caps one by one with Legos!
I mean, I want to say life's too bloody short, but equally found the whole process fascinating
Might be the most satisfying thing I've ever watched
I have no idea what I watched and how we arrived at that keycap in the end but I watched the whole thing.
Exactly my feeling 😅
I thought only me didn't understand a thing
Yeah wtf
Started watching for curiosity, stayed for the Valkyries.....
the level of work you put in... danm...
Meanwhile in China some child is stamping out 5000 an hour of these for 9c a day.
He just showed the actual use of lego
i love things that are nearly impossible without cnc precision and pretty much trivial with it.
Moral of story : Buy instead of make your own keycap
Or: Take the red pill and start appreciate fine things. ;-)
@@keymacs Ikr, that makes you understand why the food delivery business is huge, why make when you can order, or why clean when maids exists, etc. Whats the point of having unique things when you can have a bunch of generic ones with 2 clicks.. Btw, nj! was cool to watch the process, had no idea.
*cries in gmk group buys*
Wait im confused.. did u make a mold to make another mold to make another mold to make another mold to make a keycap?
Wait, I am confused, … another ‘mold to make another mold’ comment-seriously?
Lego for the mold set up is genius.
The lego thing, is purely geniusness !
The use of Lego here makes me feel dumb for spending ages making card boxes around my parts to be molded. Thanks for the idea.
The use of Lego here makes me feel dumb for building things out of Lego as a kid when all the while I could have been using it for practical things like this.
And now I will not ask why these keycaps are so expensive.
Geez, no wonder keycaps are $1-$2 per keycap, home boy gotta build a whole Lego set to produce em
lmao underrated
Im so high that i forgot what i was watching because of all the effort into making that
Holy mother of god what did i just watch 🤯 i saw the videos thumbnail and said no way he is gonna make it 5 minute. I saw the video and my mind is blown how simple and high quality, steps were shown in this video. Nice work, definitely earned the sub.
Start off with everyday lego now lets all head over to our everday milling tools xD
This is the only explanation I’ll accept for these gmk wait times
OMG such precision and quality! Just wow!
This is a great video.
I work as a machinist at a place where we make all kinds of injection molding tools for a lot of different industries, so I know a thing or two about the precision and attention to detail that go into these things.
And the per unit cost of manufacturing
@@jamespfitz Well, it's not cheap, I'll tell you that for free.
The machines I work with in "my" area are pretty decent for finishing parts. I think they have a base price of $500K (give or take, exchange rates, etc.)
And that's without a decent amount of carbide mills, fixtures, and so on.
Consistent 0.003mm tolerances and polished surfaces are hard to achieve for most hobbyists.
Now I understand why my GMK sets are taking so long to get here. This one guy has a lot of work to do!
this is much more expensive than GMK
Jesus christ, the dedication for every cap is insane. The fact that these are hand poured at every stage is mind boggling. Do you have to recast a new legend mold everytime?
The molds are reusable but have a limited life. From 10 to 15 casts without a visible degradation.
Beautifully, masterfully done. I'm at work, sitting between two 3-axis routers and this made me want to try this out lol
You ever just completely zone out while reading a book and by the end of the chapter, you have no clue about what the crap you just read? Yeah. That was me about 30 seconds into this video.
keycap lore
gmk still hasn’t shipped my set i bought over a year ago can i just make the set myself jezus
This was the most satisfying thing I have ever watched.
Alright, fine, I won't complain about keycap prices any more.
Well… that explains the price.
Wow! I have a new found appreciation for the keycaps. The effort and the thought that goes in. TBH I got lost multiple times in the video, not being sure of what was really going on. 🙌🙌🙌
i liked it within first 30 seconds because you're using legos as a mold box. freakin heck ya!
I was so confused about the whole process until the last 10 secs
Next level is: triple shot. That's where you add a label to the FRONT of the keycap, using a different color (such as yellow).
Extremely expensive, if you can even find a place that makes them, but great for 60% keyboards due to the extra functions each key must support.
I am on it sir. I hope to release the video in late Sep.
Moulding a mould out of a mould and moulding thatvmold into another mould
That is a lot of mould, I agree. The good news is I am working on another process-this time with less moulds and more crazy machining.
@@keymacs Cant wait to see it
@@keymacs when will you be updating us about that?
When gmk takes too long so you just make your own gmk sets
Cool video but somehow feels unnecessarily complicated.
Using lego like that... Nice
holy crap so this is how the resincasted double shot keycaps were made for your keyboards
this is incredible ngl
Thanks!
This is incredible. 👏🏻👏🏻
Why no check mark? Are you real or fake?
@@It_needs_to_be_said Channel has legit links to social media pages
@@RapidReelTV lol I never even looked, I usually just join a GB and leave, thanks.
Does Lego approve of this?
Love watching a video and thinking: "OK, I can do that. I can do that. I can do that. Shit CNC. And now there are parts he didn't show the making of, are they 3d printed? Those look like toothpicks I can handle tha... wait. Is that milled block just for pushing the toothpicks out? Do I need to buy needles?! Can you just BUY needles?! Where did this metal plate come from?! Another one?! IT'S PART OF A MOUNT FOR THE CNC?! Ugh, guess I'll have to keep buying my keycaps like a chump."
😅 All parts are machined. Some of them are manufactured in other videos on my channel.
Exactly i was thinking
You demonstrated every step and I still don't understand LOL
The whole video shows a method of creating keycaps called double shot. Basically you have two sets of materials, one for the legends (in this case it's the custom logo) and then the base. It creates a very durable and smooth keycaps which legends wouldn't wear with time unlike legends that are printed or painted into the keycaps (though nowadays people have discovered very good printing that's very durable too). It also takes much longer process, like these three keycaps took him three days to make.
So he first created the custom logo legend sculpt (the whole process of the first half of the video with the machine cutting), then he created a mold for the custom logo legend (the thing with the wooden pins) so it can be fit into many keycaps molds afterwards. After that, he uses the freshly made legend mold to make the actual legend for the keycap (where he shot white liquid into the mold) and cleaned it up after it dries (the machine cutting in latter part of the video). Finally he put that cleaned custom legend into an actual keycap mold, shotting inside it with black liquid, which hardens and wraps the legend snugly and beautifully. Thus, the method being called double shot. One shot for the legend, and one shot for the rest of the keycap.
MAGIC, that's all.
That was a ride that I was not ready for, the result might not have seemed to be worth the effort for y'all but, maybe that was never the point of the experience.
Once you have them molds though you can reuse them over and over again
Those close up shots with those smooth, soft touch-ish finishes are beautiful in some weird way
Lego: Listen up nerds, we have more use than just causing mayhem to your foot
Staggering amount of work for one key lmao
Yeah but the molds are reusable
Bro this is industrial level
Epic...
The cocktail stick ejector pins .. that tickled me.
Good video, should be shown to students.
Well done man.. !!!
I watched the whole thing just because I could tell this took a ton of effort
I watched it hoping it would be cool in the end.
I was wrong.
Wow. Neat to see this and actually have a representation of what double shot injection means. Shows exactly why the quality would be better and why the price is so much higher
Note, however, that the classic injection molding (ABS/PBT) is much different from this resin casting process. It typically runs on large automated machines and the demolding time is in seconds rather than hours but, yeah, it is substantially more expensive than pad printing or lasering.
Wow, best use of Legos I have ever seen. Makes me appreciate the caps even more than I already do. And I want that one too.
wow, that came out so clean
Why is the whole process so overly complicated? Why is the music so unnecessarily intense? How did I even get here in the first place?
Box of chocolates?
Popcorn
I understood nothing but I can appreciate the effort
"I used the mold to make the molds"
Respect for the amount of work you put into this.