Media

Inspiration and/or examples of working principle

I found this video which shows how the slider would ideally perform, just that you can press down on it and it can be set to allow movement "infinitely" in either direction.




Tetrinsic is the merge of the above motorized sliding potentiometer and the SmartKnob View:


The visible area is designed to be as minimalist as possible, so that things like an LCD backlight can be used for designs:


The cool thing about Tetrinsic is that you don't have to remove a magnetic top layer (as seen in Flux) or hotswap out the switches (on a more traditional keyboard) if you want to change tactility. Just tune it to your precise tastes in software.

Navigation

The title tag system is explained here, and the table is updated when a change occurs. Notable logs have bold L# text.

L1
[M] Test log 1
L2
[P] Printed concept in resin
L3
[M] Wider and shorter
L4
[R] Redesign options
L5
[A][R] Motorized Switches
L6
[T] Force sensor instead of magnets?!
L7
[M] Switch mounting hardware
L8
[P][M][R] Sensors and drivers
L9
[R] Sourcing chips
L10
[T] Other uses of Tetrinsic
L11
[M][T] PCB concept (and project name)
L12
[M] PCB Schematic
L13
[T] PCB schematic... fails.
L14
[M] I/O Expander
L15
[M] Direct ADC connection
L16
[T] Using a microcontroller
L17
[T] Tetrinsic as master control
L18
[M] Starting the PCB
L19
[M] Populated MCU
L20
[M] PCB Rerouting
L21
[M] 1000 Pages
L22
[M] Motor Pad
L23
[M] 40mm Long
L24
[M] PCB slowly being rerouted
L25
[P] Micro Motor and Belt
L26
[M] Updated CAD issues
L27
[T] Thinner solution idea
L28
[T] Ball chains?
L29
[T] To LED or not to LED...
L30
[T] TFT, angle sensor and 16MB flash
L31
[M] The All New Tetrinsic 2.0: Initial concept
L32
[M] Load Cell Simulations
L33
[T] USB Connection?
L34
[R] Looking at the start of Plover
L35
[P] Chain in a channel
L36
[A] Mining for a solution... ends, in 30 days.
L37
[T] Even thinner? Solution required.
L38
[T] Current Tetent layout
L39
[T] Focus on obtaining TestCut?
L40
[M][R] CAD redesign... started.
L41
[B][M] Initial BOM made
L42
[M] Tetrinsic Gen 3X1 Concept
L43
[M] Drawing a theoretical layout
L44
[T] Bolt reinforcement under LCD?
L45
[T] Sloped Tetrinsics?
L46
[T] Space for an off-the-shelf load cell?
L47
[T] Mounting options
L48
[M] Sculpting a look
L49
[M] Mining for a flat-top solution
L50
[T] Joysticks for thumbs?
L51
[R] Taking load cells out of pocket scales
L52
[A] A solution... failed, in the time provided.
L53
[T] Cutting the load cell
L54
[P] LCD and Steel Tubes
L55
[T] LCD-down mounting
L56
[P] Small 500g Precision Scale Teardown
L57
[M] Load cell update
L58
[M] Detailed modelling started: LCD Holder
L59
[M][T] ESP32-S3 MINI and other changes
L60
[R][T] Plans going forward
L61
[M] Slow foundations
L62
[M] Chain Pathway
L63
[M] Chain aligned
L64
[M] PCB on side?
L65
[L] First symbol in Fusion360 Electronics
L66
[L] ADC schematic entry
L67
[L] Created BMI160 footprint
L68
[T] Tetrinsic Taic: Solar panel variant
L69
[L] BMI160
L70
[M] Solar Cells
L71
[M] Photovoltaic cell implemented
L72
[R] Solar Cells: Polycrystaline and Amorphous
L73
[L] MP6543 BLDC Controller
L74
[L] ESP32-S3-MINI-1U component
L75
[L] Pins and the GPIO Matrix
L76
[L] LBS147TC-IG01 (1.47" LCD) Pad
L77
[L] 580KV Motor Pad
L78
[L] Tetrinsic Pad
L79
[L] MIP LCD and Not Enough Pins
L80
[L] BMI160 3D package and 74HC595 output extension
L81
[L] Expansion Pins
L82
[T] Looking ahead: USB Type-C system
L83
[R] Are better components now available?
L84
[L] DRV8311P Motor Controller Component
L85
[T] Eliminate interconnects?
L86
[L] Updated Schematic with New Components
L87
[L] The start of the PCB
L88
[L] Component alignment and solar pads
L89
[L] Vias (and other DRC things)
L90
[L] The Magic of QuickRoute Airwire
L91
[L] Milestone: PCB Fully Connected
L92
[L] 3DPCB
L93
[L][R] Trace Polishing, USB and the AAT101 capacitor
L94
[L][T] PCB pre-assembled with passives?
L95
[L] Increased vias to 0.3 : 0.45mm
L96
[L] Silkscreen Issues
L97
[M] Single Path 3.2mm Edition
L98
[B][M] Pulley, sprocket, slider mount and BOM
L99
[R] LT6911C HDMI to MIPI in a QFN Package?
L100
[P] 3.2mm Ball Chain (and 100th log)
L101
[P][T] Scribe Tool, 2.4mm Chain and Aluminium PCB Load Cell?
L102
[P] 2.4mm and new 3.2mm chain
L103
[M][T] SLS 3D Printed Skeleton?
L104
[M][T] Aluminium PCB Skeleton?
L105
[M][R] Applying tweaks from Tetent Concept
L106
[R][T] 1.56" AMOLED and LCD backlighting
L107
[M] Frame connector and pressure plate pusher
L108
[A] New LCD background image and renders
L109
[M][L] Dual 1.14" PCB (and prototype's CAD and eCAD finished)
L110
[R] RS60N11M9A0E Motorized Potentiometer
L111
[M] Increased skeleton size
L112
[M][P][X] 3.2mm ball chain splicer jaws for SN-28B
L113
[P] Maun 5066-160 Ball Chain Plier
L114
[M][P][T] Printable Concept
L115
[M] Front Sprocket
L116
[T] Minimum radius issue!
L117
[M][P] Test Tetrinsic
L118
[M][P] Solid State TestTetrinsic
L119
[R] Linear Motor
L120
[T] Tightrope / Abacus Inspired Concept?
L121
[P][T] Interwoven Tetrinsic? (and steel tubes arrived)
L122
[A] Interwoven Tetrinsic possible?
L123
[M] Concept 3.2X2 modelling... started.
L124
[M] 500gf Simulation
L125
[M] 2mm rods instead of 1.5mm tubes
L126
[A] Motor. Is. Missing!!!
- Start Playing: The Chaos Crew - Thunderbirds Are Go
L127
[R] Looking for a new brushless motor
L128
[T][R] Concept Fantastic4
- Rather juicy log for Log 0x80 if I do say so myself
L129
[R] Electromagnetic simulators
L130
[T] Face-worn input device?
L131
[T] Linear hall sensors and water resistance
L132
[X] Plotting finger movements
L133
[A] Details page before 14 Jan 2024
- Contains an overview of the concepts before Fantastic4
L134
[R] Coil All Around belt linear motor?
L135
[R] Frameless VS Slotless BLDC
- FSR instead of load cell?
L136
[B][M][R] Custom 16mm Slotless?
- Tested max needed finger force and speed
L137
[R] 1656 18W BLDC and controller considerations

Preface

Finding out about hall effect switches and their potential double-action feature, I started researching double-action switches. 

Small tactile switches (0.6N, 1.6N) do exist, but from pressing my camera's shutter button, their second actuation force is too high for all but the thumb. I discovered Riskable's Void switches and how the design could allow for adjustable actuation force without the need for an electrical connection to the keyboard PCB. Magnets seemed to be quite cheaper than buying 0.8N and 0.5N tactile switches, and allows for LED backlighting because the components needed are smaller.

On Sep 14 2022, I changed the design to center around a mini BLDC motor connected to a 2GT belt that also acts as the keycap surface. This was inspired by various open source projects (namely the SmartKnob View) and uses the motor and force sensors to simulate different sliders and tactility, as well as make the weight and amount of actuation points software adjustable. 

The motor is also used to reduce the learning curve as much as practically possible, as my main question I thought of when learning to touch-type was "Where is the key? What finger do I use to press it?"