The 3D-Printed "Keyboard Thingo" Is a Hot-Swappable Gadget-Filled Desktop Organization System
From ultra-wide and VFD displays to handy USB ports, Nick's work-in-progress Keyboard Thingo is a real desktop powerhouse.
Mononymous maker Nick has been working on a modular, high-tech computer peripheral system — dubbed, for its position above the eponymous input device, the Keyboard Thingo.
"Keyboard Thingo [is] a desktop organization system that will implement modular components with ongoing support for new components," Nick explains of the work-in-progress project. "The main idea of the thing is a modular platform that primarily holds a keyboard and accepts modular components. These are anything that makes sense to attach to a keyboard. Or, loosely make sense, even. So far I have about half a dozen different modules."
Those initial modules included an ultra-wide LCD display, a classic vacuum-fluorescent display (VFD) for live system stats, a handy USB port, and a power switch for shutting down the connected PC — but the project soon grew from there. A rail system with pogo pins allows modules, now including a customizable Stream Deck-inspired macropad and an HDMI-connected touchscreen display, to be swapped out at-will.
"I am inquiring with PCBWay about having a simple PCB designed and manufactured, which will function as single port USB hubs that can be daisy-chained," Nick says of a potential upgrade to the system. "They also will use JST sockets instead of USB A sockets, as those are what my internal wiring now uses, and also because USB A connectors are large and have no purpose as an internal connector."
The project's progress can be followed on Hackaday.io, where a STEP file for the system is also available.
