tractyl-manuform-keyboard VS lalboard

This keyboard is an attempt to make a best-of-both-worlds combination between the modular (and support-saving) design of dereknheiley's compactyl manuform (with adjustable wrist rest mounts) and the trackball-enabled design of the noahprince22's tracktyl manuform, forking the firmware from Schievel1's dactyl_manuform_r_track.

https://github.com/noahprince22/tractyl-manuform-keyboard There are links for everything here, but if you plan to make it wireless I think there are other sensors which consume less battery power

The tractyl manuform from noahprince22 outputs a model with a test hand with the finger length input from base to knuckle to knuckle to tip. I've found it gives a pretty decent first impression of the alignment of the dactyl in your hand. To get it just you do need some iterations with a test model

https://github.com/noahprince22/tractyl-manuform-keyboard this one does, its quite different from a lot of other manuforms, so it might be worth just using the code that generates the slots for the daily sockets and adding to a variant you like

Tractyl Manuform

So, I followed this guide to build my next keyboard. The only difference between mine and this one is that I added an encoder to the right side, and I used 2 Elite-c instead of 2 Pro Micro.

I wrote a build guide for mine here https://github.com/noahprince22/tractyl-manuform-keyboard. Basically just some ball bearings. It's less frictiony than the Logitech trackball I tested in best buy.

Good eye! W.r.t the key placement, I was actually inspired by the lalboard, which is an open source version of the DataHand.

Drawing inspiration from the vertical actuations of JesusFreke's lalboard, the keys above and below the home row are positioned such that actuating them involves the continuation of a single motion (i.e. extending or curling the fingers) rather than two separate motions (extending then pressing down or curling then pressing down, as is the case with a conventional flat keyboard layout). Less muscle memory + shorter travel distance = quicker and more comfortable typing!

It also incorporates some novel features: * Drawing inspiration from the vertical actuations of JesusFreke's lalboard, the keys above and below the home row are positioned such that actuating them involves the continuation of a single motion (i.e. extending or curling the fingers) rather than two separate motions (extending then pressing down or curling then pressing down, as is the case with a conventional flat keyboard layout). Less muscle memory + shorter travel distance = quicker and more comfortable typing! * I've yeeted keys that I find exceed a certain (low) threshold of difficulty to press on a standard ortholinear layout. These include the (QWERTY) n and b keys, as well as all the keys outwards from the pinky column. * To make up for this lack of keys, the left side of this keyboard features a powerful thumb cluster with five keys (four of which are vertically actuated: one by the base of the thumb (actuated by curling the thumb inwards), two by the tip of the thumb (actuated by extending the thumb upwards), and another by the thumb knuckle (actuated by moving the thumb outwards)) that allow for fast level-shifting. * The right side incorporates a trackball mount with a mechanism (consisting of a switch mounted underneath the trackball) that allows the trackball itself to act as a "switch" that can be pressed down to both enable mouse movement and activate the mouse button layer. This means that you don't have to press any buttons to enter the mouse layer before using the trackball -- the action of pressing down the trackball (and thus activating the trackswitch) shifts into the mouse layer. I refer to this collective assembly as the "trackswitch". * Both the trackswitch and trackball sensor have fully parameterized mounts with mounting mechanisms that allow their distance from the trackball to be micro-adjustable. * Fully parameterized case mounts for the arduino micro and pro-micro MCUs.

Maybe build something like https://github.com/JesusFreke/lalboard

Have you ever looked are https://github.com/JesusFreke/lalboard ? Adopting thumb clusters from there might work.

On the hardware side you could use switches like in the lalboard which is modeled after the DataHand. All keys use a pair of magnets to provide the clickiness and key return force, and an IR LED and phototransistor for detecting a keypress. It would be a large change on the hardware side but good to be aware of as an option as this design is reminiscent of those two keyboards.