Bolt Industries' Pico 14 and Pico 87 Are PCB-Based, Raspberry Pi Pico-Driven Mechanical Keyboards
Designed as flexible keyboards as well as a soldering kit, these Pico-powered devices come with a choice of key switch.
Bolt Industries' Ian Dunn has launched a crowdfunding campaign for do-it-yourself keyboard kits powered by the Raspberry Pi Pico microcontroller board: the Pico 14 number pad and Pico 87 tenkeyless keyboard.
"The Pico 87 keyboard is made of three layers of 1.6mm FR-4 that screw together to form a really solid keyboard," Dunn explains of his design. "The bottom layer provides rigidity, but it also covers the solder pads. The middle layer holds all of the electronics. The top layer adds rigidity as well as an aesthetic cover."
The keyboard kits themselves, which require assembly, come with a choice of Cherry MX-style Gateron mechanical switches: Tactile clicky Blue, linear clicky Green, and near-silent Brown, plus linear Black, Yellow, Red, and White switches in order of descending actuation force.
An on-board Raspberry Pi Pico, which hosts an RP2040 microcontroller, acts as the keyboard controller using Dunn's customized BMK CircuitPython-based firmware. The keyboard PCB itself, meanwhile, has a choice of mini-USB or USB Type-C connector — the latter more of a challenge for beginner solderers, Dunn notes — and an optional USB 2.0 hub.
As well as, or in place of, the Pico 86 keyboard Dunn has also designed a more compact number pad dubbed the Pico 14. "For many people, a numerical keypad is essential," Dunn says. "The solution is a separate, matching numerical keypad. This key pad can be used as a numerical keypad, or a macro pad. It fits nicely next to the primary keyboard."
Both kits are now funding on Kickstarter, with shipping expected to begin in May; PCB-only rewards start at $15 while full kits are priced at $27 for the Pico 14 and $99 for the Pico 87.