DIY Staggered Columnar Keyboard (Semi-Ortholinear)

A custom columnar-staggered (semi-ortholinear) keyboard replacement for the Framework Laptop, created by community member dosssman¹.

Overview

The project replaces the standard laptop keyboard with a custom columnar-layout design. The main challenge was the 3.8 mm height constraint, too thin for standard mechanical switches¹. The prototype uses Cherry MX Ultra Low Profile switches with 3D-printed receptacles for reusing the original scissor-switch mechanism, a 6×5 copper-tape matrix, and an Elite-C running QMK¹.

Status

Only the right half was prototyped to save time and materials. Framework provided two input covers to support continued development¹.

Footnotes

1. DIY Staggered Columnar Laptop Keyboard (Semi-Ortholinear Prototype) — Framework Community ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴