2/14/2026 2 AM - DAY 0

Okay so, after a long time wanting to make something cool, i got the idea to make a keyboard, currently i use my laptop's keyboard directly which is not very ergonomic. I stumbled upon the HHKB style keyboard on my YouTube feed it looked very cool and the footprint was compact too, hence i thought it might be the best next project i can take up!

introducing pi.hhkb a HHKB layout keyboard built from scratch with love by me! i've done the basic research today for BOM, software and layout an gathered some reference, i thing i'll start with pcb design first first thing tomorrow (hopefully) , so yeah that's for Day zero, see ya'll on Day 1

PS: i can't thank the peeps at Hack Club enough for approving my pi.keeb it got me interested in hardware in the first place!!

2/14/2026 10 PM - DAY 1

okay today i spent all my time searching and finalizing design inspo, making just the normal HHKB keyboard would take out the challenge from it soo, I browsed pintrest for hours, design websites, researched keyboards and finally found the idea, my keyboard will have the hhkb layout but with a knob some indicators and a full fledged fn row!
I generally go back an forth between different creative apps, almost all of them require the fn row to switch between modes and tools, so this hhkb will be perfect for one-of-one my need!

Bit im sure there are many other people of the internet who will find this layout helpful too, so i'll be glad to solve a niche problem along the journey!

here i sketched out the final vison for the build

I decided to go with two part keyboard case design, similar to many traditional stock hhkb platforms.

also because of the raised fn row, the pcb will also be a two segment design, the upper board will have the led indicators the fn row keys and a knob that will connect via a ribbon cable or alternatively i can had solder wires to connect the main board and the segment board

2/16/2026 1 AM - DAY 2

Im absolutely astonished about myself journaling regularly

Okay today was a long day, lot's of progress done. First of all figured out all the Major components of the build, spent almost 2 hours on finding links options and components and adding them to excel

then comes the PCB part, i downloaded the necessary Libraries footprints and all, but to my surprise TP4056(BMO MOdule) did not have a readily available symbol for KiCAD so i had to make it myself, anyways this helped me the basics on how to make the symbol and stuff

I have placed all the basics, switches, microcontroller and the knob with the BMO module but haven't connected them yet

Figured out the layout, and so the plate for it, i want the plate to be (1mm)polycarbonate as 1. it's hella cool and 2. It improves sound performance

and that's ladies and gentle men day 2 wrapped

PS: also got my Fusering submission through, ordered the pi.keeb case from #print-legion and ordered the PCB from Robu hell of a productive day!

2/16/2026 9 PM - DAY 3

Hello Hello

Lots of progress and modifications today.

dropped my previous Bulky Design for a simpler sleek design with wired connections,
the knob is now located at the top right corner of the grid, i realised the two board desing would eventally be the reason of my demise so, moved to something possible

connected all the components in the shematics, the Key matrx, the Rgb Matrix and the usb breakout board

key matrix

RGB Matrix

The RGB matrix was an absolute nightmare, first of all i was not able to find any stand alone rgb diodes for the build so i found a strip from which i have to surgically remove the diodes.
Then i couldn;y find any single tutorial that can show me how to rout them so i had to painstakingly figure it out on my own (for anyone, making something similar LEAVEE THE LAST DOUT HANGING!!). But yeah at the end of the day learned a lot from it

About the Break out board, the raspberi pi pico is actually a microusb board so i had to make it usb c (like it 2026 come on!) so i had to make the footprint and the symbol of the breakout board i will be using.

Updated the Final BOM with appx totals

with that i wrap up day 3, was a fun day learnt a lot and im freaking excited for the next step, probably i'll be not working on this for the coming weeks (BOARDS EXAMS ya'll) so see you in the next entry, peace.

2/21/2026 - DAY 4

Writing this journal in exam gap days,

So i Spent like an insane amount of time yesterday making the case of the keyboard in Fusion, not something insane but it's pretty clean and cool, i got the idea of adding a plate with my logo etched in it at the bottom so added that in the design too.

The thing that took the most amount of time wa adding the mounting points and standoffs (there should be like a tutorial for this stuff it's insanely demanding), i saw a ton of HHKB keeeb build and figured out there are three primary mounting styles
1. Case mount
2. Gummy O ring Mount
3. Gasket mount
After going through HHKB pro builds and mods on yt, i figured i'll kinda do what there case does, make it a two part design, the plate will be integrated with the top and there will be the base.

with that my illegal exam session hobby allowance comes to an end, the Campfire-kolkata is coming up and i've signed up for it, if it's on a exam day im cooked, or else i might rist my career (and life potentially) to attend the hackathon with my friends.

See ya