
Pictured you can see several different design variants in this area. Three smaller Vault35 keyboards with differing layouts, three 50% keyboards(one split), a Minivan layout in 3d printed blue, a Monorail in yellow with a handle.
40s keyboards are often individually made, with parts often designed and produced in small batches. The community is full of creative designers, many of which designs layouts and boards from scratch.
They come in ortholinear variants, for example. Ortholinear would be where the keys are all the same size. There are split models, where the keyboard separates into two pieces.
There are many advantages to them I’ve mentioned before. There are also disadvantages. I initially thought I couldn’t use anything that small, but learned to do so over time and enjoy it. A smaller keyboard minimizes the movement of your fingers, even if you have to use combinations of keys to produce the keys that have no dedicated key on the board.
In addition to some people preferring them, their size makes them ideal for travel.
The problem is, with it being such a niche market, if you don’t want to construct them yourself, even with buying the circuit board pre-made, they can be expensive…although there are some more budget options. Even keycaps often lack an inexpensive option due the fact that unless you use blank keycaps, you might not be able to find a 1U Enter Key, or one of the other keys that don’t come in standard sets.
When the keycaps cost more than the keyboard they are in, that can be a choice or merely an indication of lack of choice in the market. On two in the image above, I tried 3d printing my own keycaps. Not perfect. They have the legends on them…though you might have to zoom to see them clearly.
The reason I’ve grown to love the 40s community is because of the creativity and excitement they display. And the reason I started 3d printing parts of them is not just because there are dozens of designs out there, but because it is a way of saving money on this hobby, which can be expensive.