3D Printing Keycaps! - Was it worth it?

I decieded to 3D print some keycaps. I like Keyboards as a hobby, and if you do too, know it can be expensive. Let me know down in the comments below, would you 3D print your keycaps too?

Thanks for watching!

LINKS AND STUFF
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[blackhand]

I've done this and the results are great. I didn't have to do much sanding either, only doing so if there are sharp edges. I used the cheapest no-name brand PLA I could find aswell.

Printers nowadays are pretty fast. A single keycap would print at 5 minutes. I used an Ender 3 v3 KE to do mine. Made layer lines partially invisible by using fuzzy edges. Afterwhich, I sprayed it with a primer, no sanding. Once dry, sprayed it with whatever color I wanted. Afterwhich, I used waterslide decals to place the the text. Sprayed with a matte top coat to keep the decals in place. All done within two days.

[HeffaKLumpeN]

Thank you for showing an honest side to 3d printing. Its never just to push a button and out comes a new keyboard in 6 minutes. Enjoied the vid. Subbed👍 🤜🤛 keep printing bro.

[Prestonification]

would definitely recommend cleaning the bed before printing especially if you haven't printed in months.

[dredgewalker]

If you're going to print keycaps then do it with a resin printer. I already tried with fdm and I needed to do a lot of postprocessing to get rid of the print lines while the ones I printed in resin just needed some sun exposure and filing on where I removed the supports and they were ready to be used.

[backpackvacuum]

I've considered doing this. If you also printed a sanding "profile" / holder that is the convex version of the key cap top, you could use that to sand them smooth with good consistency. You'd just have to make sure you slice them with a thick ceiling.

[artem]

3D printing tip: apply glue stick to the COLD bed

[raughboy]

I would gladly 3d print entire set of keycaps because i can make set specificaly made some uses. Keycaps you can buy are good but manufacturers do not offer enough options to customize them or if they do they charge obscene amounts of money for it. I know pbt keycaps are most durable but if i had 3d printer i would 3d print them and if they break i'd reprint them again and just extrude broken or worn out caps into filament using extruder, For nice and smooth fdm print of keycaps petg seems like a good option.

[xEndkoNx]

I want to do this but with double extruder and transparent filament for the rgb.

[sabresister]

This was really clear and helpful, thank you! Now I have to figure out what resin printing is 😂

[nicolasalvarado]

Maybe using abs and acetone smoothing would work

[xXIamJAEXx]

Maybe the odd escape with a model or item on top would be fun to print, or even clear TPU could work I will try that!

[sarunastautvydas]

You're not alone my glass bed is the same.

[xConundrumx]

As it happens just scraped a stack of my GKtwo resin printer build platform. Just have to sand the bottom (supports) and hey presto. Can even do embossing on it with great results.

[freepics]

I lament the idea that you forgot to do these prints with ironing on, it could have made the finish look a lot better whilst saving a lot of sandpaper in the process.

[quaen]

nice video but i want a time lapse all the keycap tho

[opencorners]

25hrs of printing - how much does this affect the electric bill?

[BigToro]

I have printed a spare L keycap as the original keycap broke, and some other keys for fun, also from what have learned along the way is that you want to print the keys with flat top surface and use ironing if you want them to feel as good to use as possible.

[bimog]

Hello. I need to 3D print some keycaps on the ender 3V3 ke, but it keepsfailing. The strucutre it self is great, but the steam. OMF. dosen't fit!!! I tried e.v.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. it doesn't work.

[BWtalks]

Resin printing would also improve print time because printing 20 key caps would have taken just as long as 1

[jikuzo]

Do you think I could 3D Print a laptop keyboard keycap? I have 1 missing keycap but since my laptop is old, I unfortunately cannot easily find a replacement. So, I was hoping to 3D Print one instead.