Support for Alternative Layouts
This is a summary of how alternative layouts have been supported by kits such as Colevrak and Homing. It is not a discussion of alt layout performance and development, but if that interests you I highly recommend starting with Pascal Getreuer’s A guide to alt keyboard layouts (why, how, which one?). It’s a concise and comprehensive overview with links to some great sites that go deeper. He also has a separate Links about keyboards page. The Keyboard layouts doc he recommends explains layout goals and metrics in detail, summarizing the alt layouts discussed here as well as more than one hundred others. Sculpted-profile The majority of custom keycap sets are sculpted-profile (Cherry, SA, MT3, KAT, etc. - more on profiles generally here) so let’s start there. Because each row has a unique keycap shape, alt layouts require a unique keycap for each legend that moves off its QWERTY row. At first there were two The Dvorak layout was patented in 1936 by August Dvorak & William L....
Apr 23, 2024
Cylindrical Profiles To recap the previous article on the topic, one of the most basic ways to separate various keycap profiles is by shape (cylindrical, spherical, or flat). DCX, DCD, and DCL are all cylindrical profiles. The most famous cylindrical profile is Cherry profile, as defined by the original manufacturer of the keycaps—Cherry. GMK now owns those tools, and as such, only they can technically claim to produce “Cherry” profile keycaps. Similar keycap profiles are often called Cherry profile colloquially, but are in actuality slightly different. For the sake of not splitting hairs, all of the cylindrical profiles discussed here are “close enough” to Cherry that you would probably not be able to tell a difference from shape alone when typing. What differentiates DCX, DCD, and DCL then?
DCX - Drop Cylindrical “X” (ABS or PBT, double-shot (PBT can also then be dye-subbed as well)) DCD - Drop Cylindrical Dye-Sub (PBT, dye-sub) DCL - Drop Cylindrical Lumen (ABS, laser-ablated shine-through) Keysterine - Transparent ABS, UV thermal legends (unlikely to be confused for the others, included for completeness)
Left: DCD, Right: DCX A combination of material options and legending methods are what ultimately separate the three “DC” cylindrical profiles. DCX tooling can be used to make either ABS or PBT keycaps, and they will always be double-shot. DCX PBT can then be dye-subbed after injection, since the material is compatible. DCD, on the other hand, is limited to PBT material, single shot—so must be dye-subbed to impart legends on the caps. DCL is focused solely on shine-through capabilities, featuring a coated translucent base which is exposed in the legending process.
DCX Novelty Tooling
Spherical Profile Rounding out Drop’s profile portfolio is MT3, our in-house spherical profile developed in partnership with Matt3o. There are actually two different sets of MT3 tooling, for the two types of materials/legends available. This is one reason why kitting can sometimes be different depending on material choice for the keycap set. MT3 ABS - ABS, double-shot MT3 PBT - PBT, dye-sub
Image credit: @modest.gg Which profile is your favorite? What sets should be re-run in a new profile?