lagrange-keyboard VS orb-trackball

You can see an example in the photos of my Lagrange keyboard.

I was looking for a suitable example for a tutorial for my programmatic solid modeling CAD Gamma and a clamp seemed suitable. Well, I haven't started work on the tutorial yet, but here's a clamp-mount assembly for my Lagrange keyboard.

I had both my Expert Mouse and the Orb I'm now using, between the two halves of my Ergodox and now my Lagrange. Ergonomically, it is, I think, the natural choice, but perhaps the separation between the halves is larger than average in my setup.

As for Gamma: I wasn't really aware of CadQuery, but I did use OpenSCAD extensively, when designing my Lagrange keyboard. Gamma started as a way to address some aspects I didn't find quite satisfactory (as, to be fair, I can't say I had any real problems). Also to be fair, I used OpenSCAD through a frontend(scad-clj) translating Clojure code to its native language and some of the problems may have been due to that, but that is also one of the issues I had with OpenSCAD: why have to learn a new language when there are existing embedabble scripting languages, you might now already, of if not, which you might use elsewhere and which, having years of development, will likely be better?

This is not about the Dactyl per se, but my Lagrange keyboard supports this (or at least attempts to; it's hard to guarantee that the resulting geometry will be problem-free for a given set of parameters). The build guide goes into some detail on what you're trying to do.

I've tried it. In fact, I've designed it, I designed it as a key meant to be operated with the edge of the palm with my Lagrange keyboard. This doesn't mean it couldn't be used as a thumb key of course, but note that you could also create your own custom version of this (or other keys).

I started with an ErgoDash [1], purchased because my Microsoft/Logitech split keyboards had worn out, and at the time I couldn't find a replacement with normal (not low profile) keys. It has a few additional keys compared to the Iris. I have one at work and another at home, and to make them more similar to the broken keyboards I 3D printed angled bases. I use it for 99% of my typing.

I should probably have tried a Kinesis Advantage 2 first.

I'm partway through printing/assembling a Lagrange keyboard [2] (I'm currently stuck working out how to order the circuit boards), which is similar to the Dactyl. I will add the F1-F12 keys to my print, as they're the only thing I miss -- if a shortcut in my IDE is Ctrl+Shift+F10, it's nice for it to be that, not Ctrl+Shift+Fn+0.

I made [3] to help others see what's available.

[1] https://github.com/omkbd/ErgoDash/

[2] https://github.com/dpapavas/lagrange-keyboard

[3] https://aposymbiont.github.io/split-keyboards/

I don't use a DM, but if the question is whether something like the DM could be used as a daily driver, or whether something "less radical" would be preferable, I can say that I've been using my Lagrange as a daily driver for more than a year now. Its geometry is comparable to that of the DM and, from what I can tell, it's more aggressively curved.

I was warned by a colleague that this was a rabbit hole, then warned by people online, and I'll pass on that warning now.

I tried to help by updating and better-presenting an existing list of ergonomic mechanical keyboards: https://aposymbiont.github.io/split-keyboards/

I'm using an ErgoDash¹ with a 3D-printed tilted stand, but I intend to assemble a Lagrange² "soon".

¹ https://github.com/omkbd/ErgoDash

² https://github.com/dpapavas/lagrange-keyboard

Having spent quite a bit of time over the past couple of years designing a concave keyboard (the Lagrange) and therefore having a sort of vested interest, psychologically speaking, to say "yes, definitely!", I would say: depends what you mean by "worth it".

Additionally, I've designed a mountable pedestal for my Orb trackball. It simply mounts onto the bridge assembly as well, making the trackball reachable with a minimal pivot of the hand. It also allows the trackball to rotate in place, so it can be oriented for most comfortable operation.

I had both my Expert Mouse and the Orb I'm now using, between the two halves of my Ergodox and now my Lagrange. Ergonomically, it is, I think, the natural choice, but perhaps the separation between the halves is larger than average in my setup.

It's currently quite stable and can be used productively if you can manage to build it. It should support many platforms, but currently is developed solely on Linux. An example of what it can do, can be seen in the Orb trackball. See the project page for more details.

The Orb is a trackball, designed from scratch with a PMW3389 optical sensor, BTU mounts for the ball and Kailh Choc switches for the buttons. It's rather compact, so it doesn't have any separate wheels, but a key can be assigned to turn the ball into a set of high resolution wheels, for the horizontal and vertical directions. Apart from that, it also features a micro-USB port, so you can use whatever length cable suits your needs. See the project page for more information, including some building instructions, if you want to make one yourself and a few more photos.