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mechanicalkeyboards·Mechanical Keyboardsbytoothpaste_sandwich

Tux keycap?

Has anyone made a half-decent Tux keycap to replace the ubiquitous Windows key with? I found this 3d-printable one but I can't say I'm crazy about its looks... I mean, look at this:

(To be clear, this is not my keyboard.)

Maybe the way to go is a generic penguin-themed keycap?

View original on thebrainbin.org

Comments14

DannyMac

sh.itjust.works

On my keyboards, since they're Mac compatible, I use the looped square cap (AKA the Mac command key) that comes with it. Luckily, they're the same size as the Windows key.

toothpaste_sandwich reply

thebrainbin.org

Yes, I have that as a keycap for my keyboard as well... But even less than Microsoft do I want to be associated with Macs, really 🙈

eldavi reply

lemmy.ml

i stopped buying hardware intended for windows a few years back with none of them having a windows key and now it's a nice reminder to me of my "sacrifice" every time i actually do see a windows key. lol

als

lemmy.blahaj.zone

I got these Xenia ones printed in an FKCaps order for my keyboard build. https://xenia.efi.pages.gay/#story--146380339052957948

toothpaste_sandwich reply

thebrainbin.org

Ah, yes, I had heard of Xenia before! Must say I prefer Tux, myself 😅

IndigoGolem

lemmy.world

It looks out of place as a sculpted key next to keys with printed legends. I think what would be better is a slightly simpler picture of Tux with thicker lines that can be filled in like a normal key legend. Or the lines could be filled in with a different color on the printer, for printers that support that.

But no, i haven't seen any better Tux caps. I also haven't looked, so for all i know they're out there. I could probably throw something together in Blender if people really want this.

IndigoGolem reply

lemmy.world

I forgot how frustrating Blender's boolean modifiers can be sometimes. I did try but Blender crashed my computer.

I'm about ready to give up on solving this problem that i have no personal stake in, but here's what i was planning to do.

Open a blank keycap model in Blender and import that SVG.
Convert all the line segments to meshes and join them into a single object.
In edit mode, extrude Tux to make him 3D.
In object mode, line him up with the top (or front, i guess) of a key and shrink and rotate him so he sticks into the cap.
Select the key and make a boolean difference modifier on it with Tux. This should cut a Tux-shaped hole into the cap.
Export as STL and import into a slicer program for 3D printing.

I found suitable caps for MX and Choc V1, though i didn't get around to trying the Choc files.

The SVG i used is based on the flat one here, and my monochome single-object version is here, since i can't upload an SVG in a comment here. It's text but you can copy that into a plain text editor (xed, Notepad, etc.) and save it as an SVG file.

On the custom keyboard i'm designing, my plan is actually to use U+2756 ❖ as the legend for my super key if i ever put legends on the keys. That key doesn't have a standard symbol but this one works well enough.