Neito Rev 1.0 Keyboard build guide

The default content of group buy order

This is what you should have received if you participated in the original group buy. This example is the amounts for a single keyboard:

• 1x Neito Rev 1.0 PCB
• 1x Neito acrylic case pieces (in the color you ordered)
• 1x minigrip bag with keyboard stand parts and type-c support piece
• 1x small minigrip bag with these parts:
  • 8x 6mm brass M2.5 hex standoff
  • 8x 6mm stainless steel screw
  • 8x 12mm stainless steel screw
  • 4x 16mm stainless steel screw
• 1x piece of felt pad

Install felt pads (optional but recommended)

We enlarged the switch-cutouts in the plate from 14x14mm -> 14x14.15mm. This did make the switches be looser in their spots but the cutouts are still too tight with some switches. One build with Durock Koalas was too tight and required the felt pads when again another build with Boba U4 worked fine. Your mileage may vary but I recommend installing these in tactical spots as marked red on the image.

You can see the white felt pads if you use a clear case, but when you have the keycaps installed, none will be visible. You might not need to use the exact spots as in the image nor use even all posts, the most important ones are ones in the middle as that’s the spot where the acrylic plate bends the most.

This issue is a common issue with 3mm layered acrylic cases as switches are meant to have a 1.6mm plate, not 3mm as in our case.

If you don’t use felt pads, there is a risk that the switches will push the plate towards the PCB, hence making the keyboard not sit flush. In this situation we had used felt-pads but not by the space-keys. This made the switches push the plate, but once assembled, the downward force of pressing keys is enough to push the plate into position in this case.

The worst place to have the plate being pushed is around the middle of the PCB as there the plate support is weakest.

Adding switches

After having the felt pads in place, put your plate on the top-side of the PCB and start inserting the switches. Make sure you press the switches fully in, the 5-pin mount requires some force that the switches are well set.

I’d recommend at first to solder all switches and after that the optional rotary encoder. This is because if you have switches AND the encoder installed unsoldered, your keyboard won’t lay flat on the table for soldering.

Install Type-C support piece

When you have all the switches soldered, you should be able to insert the Type-C support piece by sliding it around the port. If you didn’t use felt or otherwise don’t have the plate being flush with the switches (meaning the plate should not lie on the PCB), you need to get that sorted out first. Using excess force could break the Type-C port, be cautious.

Install the rest of the case

Flip the keyboard face down and add carefully the two middle layers. These layers have a little gap by the Type-C port so that they clamp around the Type-C support piece. Add the 6mm hex standoffs and then the bottom plate.

At this point, you should decide if you want to go for a flat profile or if you want the keys to be at an angle.

For a flat profile, tighten the bottom plate with 6mm screws.

For an angle, add 3 or 4 “legs” to the backside. Screw bottom plate with 6mm screws and use the 16mm screws the the “legs”. Due to slight variations in thickness and screw lengths, you might be better off with 3 or 4 legs.

Flip the board around, add hi-pro layers and tighten everything from the top side with 12mm screws.

Getting VIA running

VIA is the software that you can use to edit the keymap of the keyboard. The current version of VIA doesn’t support changing what the rotary encoders do (despite click) so if you want to change the rotational behavior, you need to compile your own .hex that you then flash the board with. Neito has been merged into QMK and is supported in VIA.

Download VIA

Keyboard Stand

The middle layers are laser cut as single pieces of plastic and had lots of empty space inside them. It would have been a pity to waste all that acrylic so I came up with the idea of creating a keyboard stand. The one in the image is the prototype stand but is built the same way as the GB stands.

There are 6 pieces in the keyboard stand, but when it’s built it looks like 3 pieces. By using double the material for the pieces, we have a more sturdy keyboard stand compared to single 3mm pieces.