We’re back for 2018, and today we’re going to do an exciting mechanical keyboard build,
and is another highly recommended DIY kit.
In 2017, KBDfans have really pushed hard and have taken the custom keyboard scene by storm
with a load of new products.
However this is one of the older ones.
Recently I did a video on the TADA68 which is one of the most popular go to mechanical
keyboard kits on the market.
But that one was a 65% keyboard.
This time round we have the KBD75 which is often recommended when people ask for something
like a custom tenkeyless keyboard, even though it is a 75% keyboard.
Alright so here’s most of the parts for todays build.
I got mine with a bunch of other keyboards, so there may have been a keycap puller.
And I think there was some like extra diodes and underglow LEDs.
Here’s the metal case, and it’s pre-assembled to keep the parts from moving around.
And this is a good time to stick on the feet to protect the bottom during the build.
The case is comprised of 3 pieces.
We have the 2 aluminium pieces which sandwich an acrylic piece in the middle.
And this thing is of course very solid feeling and reasonably hefty.
The standoff screws are already in place, and on the inside we can see that there is
still some protective layer over the acrylic.
So I’m going to take the case apart to get rid of that.
The case is held together simply by a couple of Philips head screws.
I’m not entirely sure if you should take the protective layer off, but it makes sense
to.
And you really have to be careful here because the acrylic is very very snappable.
This is 2mm thick acrylic and is completely clear, and this is for that bit of underglow
lighting.
But yeh, it’s not frosted or anything, which is the more usual thing to do for that diffused
look.
And here’s the aluminium pieces.
These are CNC milled and are done beautifully as to be expected.
And since they are solid pieces of aluminium, they have no flex at all, at least by hand.
But as we can see, they aren’t the bulkiest of pieces, so they aren’t overly heavy.
Alright, now to the PCB.
This is a 75% PCB, and is made for MX style keyswitches, which include Cherry MX, Gateron,
Kailh, and all the other clones.
We have the SMD diodes and resistors already soldered on, so all that’s required is that
you solder in your keyswitches, and 2 pin through hole LEDs if you want.
We also have 16 RGB LEDs for the underglow lighting, with 1 line at the top, and 1 at
the bottom on the underside of the PCB.
Although this PCB has quite the curve to it.
I really don’t know how bad of a thing this is, but everything works and I mean, it will
be straightened when it’s built.
And funnily enough, the aluminium mounting plate which has this brushed silver finish
to it, is also curved, but in the opposite direction.
So they kinda counteract each other, but yeh, still these pieces should be straight.
Alright so first you should test your PCB.
And then we can get on with the build.
The first step is to put on the stabilisers.
These stabilisers don’t come pre-assembled, but they’re very easy to put together.
And this is a perfect time to lube your stabilisers.
Dielectric grease and Super Lube are often recommended.
The KBD75 supports a couple of different layouts.
One example is this, which includes a 7 unit spacebar, and 1.5 unit alt and control keys.
And yes, we do get a 7 unit stabiliser included with the kit.
However I’m going for a more standard 6.25 unit spacebar, which all keycap sets will
accomodate, and then a bunch of 1 unit keys to the right of that.
Because there are several positions keys can go, make sure you get them in the correct
spots before soldering by putting some keycaps on and putting them in place.
Alright so now to the soldering.
I’m going to be using Gateron Yellow keyswitches, which are medium weight linear smooth switches.
Now remember that our plate and PCB are bent in the opposite directions, so we have to
press these pieces together when soldering.
In this case I just pushed the 2 pieces together by hand, and soldered like so.
But that requires me to reflow the joint.
Or you can use small clamps.
And soldering is a piece of cake as per usual, and you shouldn’t be scared of it.
You basically just want a shiny concaved cone joint.
I won’t be going through soldering over and over again, but my friend JUJU has a great
video specifically on soldering mechanical keyboards which I’ll put in the description,
so definitely check that out to make sure nothing goes wrong.
Okay, so at this point hopefully no mistakes were made with your layout and stuff.
But classic me, I did mess up which you may have picked up on earlier.
And it’s one of the worst mistakes because it’s a stabiliser.
I put in the right shift stabiliser, meaning that there is no room for an up arrow key.
I was just going through the motions and was completely oblivious.
I put the keyboard together just to test it out, and these stabilisers are pretty bad.
Like legitimately some of the worst stabilisers I’ve ever come across.
They’re super rattly and for some reason, just really really scratchy.
Even though I didn’t lube them, I don’t think lube can save these stabilisers.
And with this sort of mistake, to replace the stabilisers I have to desolder every single
keyswitch, which is the absolute worst thing ever.
If these stabilisers were decent, I’d just rip out that one stabiliser, but I figured
for this sort of keyboard, I should put in better ones.
To replace them I have these much better GMK screw in stabilisers.
One issue with some cheap stabilisers, is that they can get pulled out accidentally,
when you take off keycaps.
So rather than having a 1 way clip, we have a hole, and we screw it in from the other
side of the PCB.
And I also did clip and lube them up.
Alright so, once again I soldered in all the keyswitches, but I put in some Zealio’s
for the arrow keys and a Kailh Box White for the escape key.
I also put in the white LEDs.
And as we can see, I now have 2 switches where the shift key would be.
When you’re dealing with irregular compact form factors, you usually have irregular keycap
sizes.
That is, compared to a standard ANSI layout.
I went with this DSA keyset from KBDfans.
The DSA profile is a uniform profile, which makes things easier, as any key can go on
any row.
And this has 145 keycaps, including everything you need, and will cover majority of keyboards.
I don’t know how this was laid out before, but I’m pretty sure I have all the keycaps
in there, they just may be out of order.
So we have several sized spacebars.
A whole bunch of different sized modifiers, these enter keys, and all the other ISO stuff
you need, and yeh, all you see here.
These are made from PBT plastic and are laser etched, which is probably why they’re a
bit cheaper.
And it comes in a couple different colourways, but I went with this super clean and sleek
grey and white which I feel compliments the uniformity of the keycaps themselves.
They are approximately 1.4mm thick, so a decent thickness.
And they have a rough-ish texture all the way round the keycap.
Rather than smooth on the sides like Signature Plastics DSA keycaps.
So besides that they are laser etched, these are thicker and don’t scratch up like the
SP DSA keycaps do.
So yeh, I think these are absolutely great value for what you get.
Especially when you’re looking for full compatibility on the cheap.
And now to screw it all back together.
On the base we have this sheet thing, going between the PCB and the aluminium.
And it’s pretty thick, and seems like a bit of polypropylene or something, rather
than paper or cardboard.
One thing that I didn’t do was put the acrylic piece in first before screwing in the PCB.
So yeh, I just had to be careful when stretching it to fit.
And here it is.
And in my opinion, it is absolutely stunning.
The KBD75 is available in a couple of case colours, but I feel that silver really accentuates
the metal look beautifully.
It’s a very simple enclosure, being just a rectangle from the top view with somewhat
small bezels, but they still hold a presence.
The edges are slightly rounded to give it that softness.
Looking at the side profile and we have the acrylic piece which lets that underglow lighting
shine through.
And yeh, it’s completely clear and isn’t frosted, so it’s not really diffused nicely.
Plus we also do see the screw threads which I would prefer not to see, especially that
one in the middle, but these are little things that many will be fine with.
And to close it off, we have the bottom aluminium piece which angles the keyboard slightly,
and it’s also a very clean angular design that gives that case some sharpness and edge.
As usual there are no flip up feet for these types of boards, so we do just have these
feet here.
But again, the bottom is just solid and clean.
And finally for the case, we do have the mini USB port on the rear.
I’m super glad that I grabbed these keycaps for this build.
I think the grey and white colourway pairs up with the silver case so well.
And the uniformity of the DSA profile matches the sleekness of the keyboard.
The typeface or font also goes with the theme.
The white backlighting just serves as an underglow for the keycaps, as these are of course not
shine through keycaps.
I’m always a fan of white backlighting because of its neutrality and its ability to pair
with any setup.
But yep, again, there really is no other LED colour choice for this build.
The LEDs get pretty bright, and start to penetrate through the keycaps, so I like to keep it
pretty low.
And then the underglow.
These are RGB LEDs so we can have a bunch of different colours, effects, and modes which
is always fun.
The keyboard itself is a 75% as the name suggests, and this one in particular has 84 keys.
That means it only has 3 keys less than a standard 87 key tenkeyless keyboard.
So in terms of primary functionality, it essentially is a tenkeyless keyboard, but just more compact
by about 2 columns laterally.
And that’s why it’s a solid recommendation for a custom mechanical keyboard build for
people just coming into it, since it doesn’t stray too far from a normal keyboard, and
isn’t as crazy expensive as some tenkeyless custom kits.
The keyboard is customisable via the QMK firmware, so you can chop and change things with the
keys and the layout as you wish, and that goes for the lighting as well.
By default the keycaps that are on here are representative of what the keys are.
Therefore we’re missing the primary insert and delete keys.
And also the 2nd Windows or Menu key to the right of the space bar.
So it’s a very easy keyboard to adapt to.
I put Gateron Yellow keyswitches in, which are medium weight linear switches, with no
bump or click.
I have 65g Zealios for the arrow keys, and a lonely Kailh Box White escape key.
And here’s how it sounds.
It’s a pretty loud keyboard, relative for linear boards.
And this is a combination of the keycaps and case.
The full aluminium construction brings out a sharper sound in my opinion, which can come
off as louder than usual.
And the keys also have a bit of a harsher press to them.
I’m also very happy that I got rid of those pretty rubbish stabilisers that the kit came
with.
These GMK screw in stabilisers are much nicer.
I don’t know if they will change stabilisers in other rounds, or if they already have.
But I’d definitely recommend not using them, if they’re the same as mine.
Overall I’m super pleased with how this turned out.
While this is not cheap, it’s still towards the cheaper side in terms of metal custom
builds, and its constant availability is a plus, rather than waiting on group buys or
something.
I feel the minimal silver case, white and grey DSA keycaps, white backlighting paired
with the underglow, all come together to create a very cohesive looking build.
So if you’re looking for a readily available custom build that is pretty much a tenkeyless
keyboard, then this might be the one for you.
If it’s a bit too much, then you have the TADA68 to fall back on, which has a very similar,
but shorter 65% form factor.