In the custom mechanical keyboard world, it's extrely hard to find a keyboard with a numberpad, because apparantly, numberpads are evil. OK, I may have made that last bit up, but if it were actually true, then this keyboard places that evilness smack dab in the middle.
The MidEvil layout is a spin-off of NoPunIn10Did's Jabberwocky keyboard. I personally love this layout because it's split, angled, ortholinear, ISO-friendly, and base-kit-friendly. For MidEvil, I removed the F row, added a numberpad in the middle, and a large 4" 320x480 display on the left to balance the board out.
Keyboard Layout Editor (KLE) link
![](https://private-user-images.githubusercontent.com/800930/274618949-4c9ed22e-2058-478e-86d4-d0328ce30bf2.jpg?jwt=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpc3MiOiJnaXRodWIuY29tIiwiYXVkIjoicmF3LmdpdGh1YnVzZXJjb250ZW50LmNvbSIsImtleSI6ImtleTUiLCJleHAiOjE3MjU2NjEwMzYsIm5iZiI6MTcyNTY2MDczNiwicGF0aCI6Ii84MDA5MzAvMjc0NjE4OTQ5LTRjOWVkMjJlLTIwNTgtNDc4ZS04NmQ0LWQwMzI4Y2UzMGJmMi5qcGc_WC1BbXotQWxnb3JpdGhtPUFXUzQtSE1BQy1TSEEyNTYmWC1BbXotQ3JlZGVudGlhbD1BS0lBVkNPRFlMU0E1M1BRSzRaQSUyRjIwMjQwOTA2JTJGdXMtZWFzdC0xJTJGczMlMkZhd3M0X3JlcXVlc3QmWC1BbXotRGF0ZT0yMDI0MDkwNlQyMjEyMTZaJlgtQW16LUV4cGlyZXM9MzAwJlgtQW16LVNpZ25hdHVyZT1iODJlZWQ2MDI0ZWMzZDViOTgyMTY5ZmNjZWQzMTIyMzdjMWFlOGNlZDdhMWUxMTM1N2QyZGNmMjg4MTZmNzM3JlgtQW16LVNpZ25lZEhlYWRlcnM9aG9zdCZhY3Rvcl9pZD0wJmtleV9pZD0wJnJlcG9faWQ9MCJ9.QqXgINaICPZtWRTt0_Yv0IJxjUMFnMVu-KNO3h9W2xA)
![](https://private-user-images.githubusercontent.com/800930/274619014-d27a6905-97bb-446e-9c1f-f2a4682264af.jpg?jwt=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpc3MiOiJnaXRodWIuY29tIiwiYXVkIjoicmF3LmdpdGh1YnVzZXJjb250ZW50LmNvbSIsImtleSI6ImtleTUiLCJleHAiOjE3MjU2NjEwMzYsIm5iZiI6MTcyNTY2MDczNiwicGF0aCI6Ii84MDA5MzAvMjc0NjE5MDE0LWQyN2E2OTA1LTk3YmItNDQ2ZS05YzFmLWYyYTQ2ODIyNjRhZi5qcGc_WC1BbXotQWxnb3JpdGhtPUFXUzQtSE1BQy1TSEEyNTYmWC1BbXotQ3JlZGVudGlhbD1BS0lBVkNPRFlMU0E1M1BRSzRaQSUyRjIwMjQwOTA2JTJGdXMtZWFzdC0xJTJGczMlMkZhd3M0X3JlcXVlc3QmWC1BbXotRGF0ZT0yMDI0MDkwNlQyMjEyMTZaJlgtQW16LUV4cGlyZXM9MzAwJlgtQW16LVNpZ25hdHVyZT0wNjg3ZDRhYjMzNTcxNzllOGViMDdjODZhZDgyOTA2MTZjYzJlODAxZDg4MGFkYzA4ZTExN2YxNDM2N2FhOGY4JlgtQW16LVNpZ25lZEhlYWRlcnM9aG9zdCZhY3Rvcl9pZD0wJmtleV9pZD0wJnJlcG9faWQ9MCJ9.TW59B8UjjxbY5PLgOCnBxFKMC3qqnR8KSD_VcVFxM8I)
Below is a list of components I used for my build.
Part | Count | Notes |
---|---|---|
RP2040-Plus/Pi Pico | 1 | Link (Plus supports USB-C) |
BAV70 diodes | 48 | |
ILI9488 Display panel | 1 | Link |
Stabalizers | 3-8 | |
Hot swap MX sockets | 89-95 | |
MX switches | 89-95 |
The RP2040 develoment board can be soldered directly to the bottom of the PCB. But for this particular build, I used Mill Max sockets instead to place it on the top with the components facing down (towards the PCB). This is because I wanted to keep the bottom thin, and I had enough room under the LCD display.
For the case, I had to split it in half because my lasercutter was too small to cut the full length of the keyboard in one piece. I would recommend avoiding this if possible since it's extremely difficult to line up the acrylic layers. Because of this split design, I opted to use Weld-On (acrylic cement) to hold everything together instead of screws+stands-offs for added rigidity. I would also recommend avoiding this since arcylic cement can be messy and difficult to work with.