Melon Keyboard

The shell of the keyboard case is a two tone green "rind" which stays shut via a friction fit. The key layout is 3 rows of 10 keys in a non-staggered grid pattern. The case has a footprint of only 61 x 218 mm, and the thickness of the case is only 15 mm (30 mm with MX switches and standard OEM profile keycaps). Threaded brass inserts are heat set into the case plastic and are used to screw down the Raspberry Pi Pico and circuit board.

The keyboard is powered by a Raspberry Pi Pico board programmed with KMK firmware. A 3D printed circuit board (3DPCB) is used to align MX switch sockets with hand soldered electronics components. Using a 3DPCB allowed key layout and wiring to be prototyped without buying traditional printed circuit boards.

MX switch sockets press fit into the 3DPCB enable hot swapping of switches without the need for desoldering. Mechanical switches with different actuation forces and tactile feedback were used for letter keys, number keys, and "seed" function keys.

Pink keycaps make up the "flesh" of the melon, and black "seed" keys are used for shift, space, function 1 and function 2. The legends on the top row of keys correspond to the keymap layer 1 which is activated by pressing a black "seed" key but acts as base layer letters by default.