Ergo-V-1 Split Keyboard

Ergo-V-1 is an open-source QMK powered, wired, ergonomic, split mechanical keyboard.
This repository aims to answer three questions

• Why? is this keyboard even a thing
• What? parts do you need to build your own Ergo-V-1
• How? to build one and flash a firmware

This keyboard is derived from Ergo-S-1 which means f3d file was originally made by its author

Table of Contents

• Why?
• What?
  • Case
  • BOM
  • Tools
• How?
  • First steps
  • Add ports to the case
  • Now its time to start soldering rows and columns matrix
  • Flash pro micros and prepare for final gpio soldering
  • Final touches
• License
  • Additional Attribution

Why?

Original Ergo-S-1 gives the ability to try out the closest thing to Kinesis Advantage 2 with DIY capability, which is great. But it has three flaws for my taste. This project aims to fix these three flaws of original Ergo-S-1

• Modified thumb cluster with one additional key
  • I'm not a fan of the original Maltron-style thumb cluster and prefer the Corne-style three-key layout.
    With this modification, you can use the keyboard either like a standard Kinesis Advantage 2 or with a thumb-cluster experience similar to a Corne.
    I personally use the latter, as it makes key combinations involving the pinky and thumb more comfortable.
• Improved switch cutouts, now compatible with Kailh-style switches
  • Previously, switches would get permanently stuck in the base once inserted, making prototyping difficult.
    With the updated cutouts, switches can be removed normally, and the design now supports Kailh-style switches as well.
• Unlike Ergo-S-1 this is a wired keyboard based on QMK
  • DIY wireless keyboards come with their own set of hassles (such as Bluetooth quirks, battery management) so I chose wired design instead.

What?

Case

Stl files are included in this repository.
0.4mm nozzle and PLA filament worked fine

If you don't have a 3d printer try using any 3D printing service in your area

There are also original ramp objects from Ergo-S-1 inside f3d file. You also can print and use them if you wish to

BOM

Qty	Item	Notes
68	Cherry or Kailh switches
2	Arduino Pro Micros	Ordered them from Aliexpress
68	1N4148 Diodes
12	M4 Bolts	Used 12mm tall hex sockets
12	M4 Heat Set Inserts	Used 4x5x7 sized ones
68	Cherry style Keycaps	Any keycap profile is compatible as far as I tested
10	Silicone adhesive feet	Height at least 3mm
	Insulated Wires	There are various kinds of wires for this, the build shown in the picture will use jumper ribbon cables if you are used to building handwired keyboards just go with your way
2	TRRS jack	I used PJ320a but any other one will work
2	TRRS cable	TRS will also work since the firmware uses serial
2	Momentary switch	Particular size 3x6x4.3mm (i.e. ones used on Corne PCBs)
2	USB-C Female to Female adapter	This is used to connect Pro Micro to incoming PC usb cable
2	USB-C Male to Male short cable	This is used to connect Pro Micro to Female To Female adapter
	Conductive copper tape single-sided	We will use this for columnar wiring. You can ignore this if you are doing handwiring with a traditional cable approach
	High temperature resistant capton tape	We will use this to insulate columnar copper tapes, ignore this if you did not use them

Tools

Item	Notes
Soldering Iron
Tweezers	Helpful for positioning diodes and small components
Wire cutters	For trimming diode legs and wires
Hot Glue Gun
Hex wrench for M4 bolts	For final assembly
Soldering iron tip for heat set inserts	Optional but makes insert installation easier

How?

This section walks through the build process step by step

This project shares most of the building steps from original Ergo-S-1, therefore you might also find its build guide helpful
Just keep in mind that firmware (therefore the keyboard matrix) is totally different and avoid repeating wrong parts from that guide

First steps

• Install heat inserts into the bottom case
• Install switches into the switch bases
• Hot glue switches to be extra safe

Picture

Add ports to the case

• Hot glue TRRS jack, reset switch and female to female adapter in their respective cutouts

  I suggest that, at first solder wires to the reset switch and TRRS jack and then hot glue them into their respective places, for the first half I did the opposite way and it was impractical
  Also keep in mind that you should use exact same solder pins on trrs jack for both halves

  pictures

  

  

  finally front side of the case should look like this

Now its time to start soldering rows and columns matrix

Before we start soldering, let's take a look at the matrix physical scheme This picture shows wiring schema for the right half.
For the left one, just mirror everything and you're good to go

• At first solder columns.

  I used single sided conductive copper tape but of course traditional wires will do the job too

  picture

  

• Then solder their ends to jumper wires which eventually will be soldered into the pro micro gpios
  Also don't forget to insulate each of them to avoid shorting with other components

• Now we can solder diodes and complete row. Using only the diode components is sufficient for this step
  You need to solder a single diode on each switch, make sure that anode side (light color) is soldered on one of the switches metal leg
  and cathode side (black color) is accessible for another diode to get soldered on, this way you get a kind of chain made by the diodes attaching each other with cathode ends.
  Also you need to keep in mind that direction of this chain is important and they should be going from left (pinky column) to right (index finger column), i.e. from the red column to the purple as illustrated in the schema picture

  • After finishing the diodes on all rows you can solder jumper wires to each row's end (similarly to what we did on columns)

Finished rows and columns should look like this

Flash pro micros and prepare for final gpio soldering

At first you need to flash firmware on the pro micro (sometimes you might get faulty one unfortunately and its better to test it before actually soldering it to any of the component)

• To flash it plug it into the pc
• Clone this git repo (it's a fork of main QMK branch, temporarily it will only support this (new) keyboard before sending Pull Request to them and merging it) https://github.com/VPavliashvili/qmk_firmware/tree/add_ergo_v_1_keyboard
  then navigate to Ergo-V-1 directory and follow the given instructions (it's very similar to dactyl-manuform flashing process)
• Then run the lsusb command and you should see something like this (if you are on windows/mac check the connected devices)

  Bus 001 Device 031: ID feed:97c4 wizardkeyboards Ergo-V-1

Now as we made sure both pro micros are working we can solder their pins and attach to the usb cable inside the keyboard case. As shown in the picture below

Finally connect column and row wires to the pro micro pins as shown in the schema

You will end up with something like this

Final touches

Now you can screw the top and bottom together with the M4 bolts
Install keycaps
Plug TRRS cable between two halves and then USB-C to PC
You are good to go

License

All the license information can be seen on the original Ergo-S-1 repo page under SOURCE directory
Other stuff that I added by myself also falls under same licence

Additional Attribution

Switch bases are taken from Cygnus fusion files

And of course big thanks to wizardkeybords, the original author of ERGO-S-1