Piantor Raspberry Pi Pico Split-Keyboard Build

Hardware

Keyboard

Published

March 31, 2023

Modified

April 12, 2023

Piantor is a RP2040 (Raspberry Pi Pico) microcontroller based split keyboard…

…the PCB design and the corresponding cases are open source under GPLv3
…the layout is based on the Cantor Keyboard and supports 42- or 36-keys
…the build uses a direct pin connection per switch and does not require soldering of diodes
…therefore assembly is beginner friendly and supports both hot-swap sockets, and soldered-in switches

A Pre-soldered Piantor is available from Beekeeps (USA)

Parts

All components can be sourced from different suppliers…

…print the PCBs using Gerber files derived from the KiCAD PCB designs
…3D print the case bottoms and switch plates from the STL files
…alternatively buy the Piantor Split Keyboard Kit from Keycapss (Germany)

Low profile Choc compatible switches with fitting keycaps.

The PCB design supports Choc V1 switches (designed by Kailh)

…to be precise PG1350 series low-profile metal contact switches
…note that the PCB is NOT compatible to MX-style switches
…choc hot-swap sockets can be soldered to the PCB backside to support hot-swap of switches
…switches need corresponding Choc keycaps

TRRS cable to connect both halves, specifically a 0.5mm TRRS cable 4-pole (..TRS not supported)

Screws (GB823 M2), 4mm (no switch plate), 6mm (with switch plate (required for for hot-swap)), 7mm (with o-rings)

Build

Quick Start Guide to Build a Piantor (Raspberry Pi Pico)…

…flash the Vial firmware on both Raspberry Pi Pico
…hold down BOOTSEL while reconnecting the Pico to USB
…copying the .uf2 firmware to the USB mass storage device

Solder both Raspberry Pi Pico and the TRRS barrel jacks to the respective PCBs…

Microcontrollers (here Rapsberry Pi Pico) and TRRS jacks soldered to the PCB

…connect both side via the TRRS cable (before the next step!)
…connect the left side of the split keyboard (controller) to a host using USB
…short some of the switch contacts using a wire to test both sides

# the device be visible on the USB bus
>>> lsusb | grep bee
Bus 001 Device 017: ID beeb:0001 beekeeb piantor

Disconnect the boards…

…use the switch plate and two switches
…add the switches to the plate and carefully fit it to the PCB
…make sure to not bend the switch pins
…the switch case requires a little bit of force to fit on the PCB
…solder all switches to the PCB, two pins per switch

Reconnect the keyboard and test all switches for functionality.

Customization

Download Vial fro the Github release page…

wget https://github.com/vial-kb/vial-gui/releases/download/v0.6/Vial-v0.6-x86_64.AppImage

# make the AppImage executable
chmod +x Vial-v0.6-x86_64.AppImage

Configuring udev rules for VIA and Vial on Linux…

export USER_GID=`id -g`

# ...write the configuration file
sudo --preserve-env=USER_GID tee /etc/udev/rules.d/99-vial.rules <<EOF
KERNEL=="hidraw*", SUBSYSTEM=="hidraw", ATTRS{serial}=="*vial:f64c2b3c*", MODE="0660", GROUP="$USER_GID", TAG+="uaccess", TAG+="udev-acl"
EOF

# ..restart the service
sudo udevadm control --reload && sudo udevadm trigger

Start the Vial AppImage GUI application…

Vial with the default key mapping for the Piantor

Configure a keyboard layout following instructions in the Vial User Manual.

The Vial Piantor source code is available on GitHub to rebuild the keyboard firmware.

References

Beekeep, Ergonomic Keyboards
https://beekeeb.com

Introducing the Piantor keyboard, Beekeep
https://beekeeb.com/piantor
https://showcase.beekeeb.com/piantor-keyboard
https://docs.beekeeb.com/piantor-keyboard
https://beekeeb.com/piantor

--- title: Piantor Raspberry Pi Pico Split-Keyboard Build categories: - Hardware - Keyboard date: 2023/03/31 date-modified: 2023/04/12 --- Piantor is a RP2040 (Raspberry Pi Pico) microcontroller based split keyboard... - ...the PCB design and the corresponding cases are open source under GPLv3 - ...the layout is based on the [Cantor Keyboard](https://github.com/diepala/cantor) and supports 42- or 36-keys - ...the build uses a direct pin connection per switch and does not require soldering of diodes - ...therefore assembly is beginner friendly and supports both hot-swap sockets, and soldered-in switches A [Pre-soldered Piantor](https://shop.beekeeb.com/product/pre-soldered-piantor-split-keyboard) is available from Beekeeps (USA) ## Parts All components can be sourced from different suppliers... - ...print the **PCBs** using Gerber files derived from the [KiCAD PCB designs](https://github.com/beekeeb/piantor/tree/main/pcb) - ...3D print the **case [bottoms](https://github.com/beekeeb/piantor/blob/main/case/bottom.stl) and [switch plates](https://github.com/beekeeb/piantor/blob/main/case/switch-plate.stl)** from the STL files - ...alternatively buy the [Piantor Split Keyboard Kit](https://keycapsss.com/diy-kits/237/piantor-split-keyboard-kit?c=17) from Keycapss (Germany) ![Low profile Choc compatible switches with fitting keycaps.](images/switches-caps.jpg) The PCB design supports **Choc V1 switches** (designed by Kailh) - ...to be precise [PG1350 series](https://deskthority.net/wiki/Kailh_PG1350_series) low-profile metal contact switches - ...note that the PCB is NOT compatible to MX-style switches - ...choc hot-swap sockets can be soldered to the PCB backside to support hot-swap of switches - ...switches need corresponding **Choc keycaps** **TRRS cable** to connect both halves, specifically a 0.5mm TRRS cable 4-pole (..TRS not supported) Screws (GB823 M2), 4mm (no switch plate), 6mm (with switch plate (required for for hot-swap)), 7mm (with o-rings) ## Build [Quick Start Guide to Build a Piantor (Raspberry Pi Pico)](https://docs.beekeeb.com/piantor-keyboard/quick-start-guide-to-build-a-piantor-raspberry-pi-pico)... - ...flash the Vial firmware on both Raspberry Pi Pico - ...hold down BOOTSEL while reconnecting the Pico to USB - ...copying the `.uf2` firmware to the USB mass storage device Solder both Raspberry Pi Pico and the TRRS barrel jacks to the respective PCBs... ![Microcontrollers (here Rapsberry Pi Pico) and TRRS jacks soldered to the PCB](images/piantor-pcb.jpg) - ...connect both side via the TRRS cable (before the next step!) - ...connect the left side of the split keyboard (controller) to a host using USB - ...short some of the switch contacts using a wire to test both sides ```sh # the device be visible on the USB bus >>> lsusb | grep bee Bus 001 Device 017: ID beeb:0001 beekeeb piantor ``` Disconnect the boards... - ...use the switch plate and two switches - ...add the switches to the plate and carefully fit it to the PCB - ...make sure to not bend the switch pins - ...the switch case requires a little bit of force to fit on the PCB - ...solder all switches to the PCB, two pins per switch ![Board assembled with switches](images/piantor-switches.jpg) Reconnect the keyboard and test all switches for functionality. ## Customization Download Vial fro the [Github release page](https://github.com/vial-kb/vial-gui/releases)... ```sh wget https://github.com/vial-kb/vial-gui/releases/download/v0.6/Vial-v0.6-x86_64.AppImage # make the AppImage executable chmod +x Vial-v0.6-x86_64.AppImage ``` [Configuring udev rules for VIA and Vial on Linux ](https://get.vial.today/manual/linux-udev.html)... ```sh export USER_GID=`id -g` # ...write the configuration file sudo --preserve-env=USER_GID tee /etc/udev/rules.d/99-vial.rules <<EOF KERNEL=="hidraw*", SUBSYSTEM=="hidraw", ATTRS{serial}=="*vial:f64c2b3c*", MODE="0660", GROUP="$USER_GID", TAG+="uaccess", TAG+="udev-acl" EOF # ..restart the service sudo udevadm control --reload && sudo udevadm trigger ``` Start the Vial AppImage GUI application... ![Vial with the default key mapping for the Piantor](images/vial.png) Configure a keyboard layout following instructions in the [Vial User Manual](https://get.vial.today/manual). The Vial Piantor [source code](https://github.com/beekeeb/vial-qmk-piantor) is available on GitHub to rebuild the keyboard firmware. ## References Beekeep, Ergonomic Keyboards <https://beekeeb.com> Introducing the Piantor keyboard, Beekeep <https://beekeeb.com/piantor> <https://showcase.beekeeb.com/piantor-keyboard> <https://docs.beekeeb.com/piantor-keyboard> <https://beekeeb.com/piantor>