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Building a Custom Keyboard

Overview​

In this tutorial, we'll walk through building a custom keyboard using tscircuit. We'll start by creating a simple 4-key macropad with pushbuttons and a microcontroller. We'll then replace the pushbuttons with mechanical switches and diodes, then expand on our simple keyboard to a full 60% keyboard design with custom mounting holes and "matrix scanning" to detect key presses.

Starting Simple: A 4-key Pushbutton Macropad​

Let's start by creating a simple 4-key macropad with pushbuttons. Pushbuttons are commonly available and builtin to tscircuit via the <pushbutton /> element.

Building Large Keyboards with Matrix Scanning​

A keyboard is essentially a matrix of switches that are scanned by a microcontroller to detect key presses. Each key consists of:

  • A mechanical switch
  • A diode to prevent "ghosting" (unwanted keypress detection)

The switches are arranged in rows and columns, with the microcontroller scanning each intersection to determine which keys are pressed.

Building the Circuit​

Let's start by creating a basic 2x2 matrix keyboard: