This Enormous Keyboard Was a Lesson in Scaling

We keyboard enthusiasts are an interesting breed. It takes a very specific kind of mind to care about things like key switch tactility and key cap sculpting, but those things really matter to us. I, for example, genuinely feel like my keyboard has a significant effect on my typing performance and enjoyment—things that are a big deal for someone who writes for a living. But Glarses, host of the YouTube channel of the same name, makes my tastes seem amateur. In response to a CES 2022 exhibit, Glarses built this enormous keyboard and learned lessons in scaling along the way.

Glarses was inspired by Razer's exhibit at CES 2022, which contained a huge keyboard to draw in attendees. But much to his disappointment, Glarses found that that keyboard wasn't available for purchase and was solely a promotional item. As a man who needs to try every keyboard in existence, Glarses decided that he would have to build his own monstrous keyboard. His video showcases the long, entertaining, and very frustrating journey.

This isn't just a dummy model. It also isn't a piece of junk that only barely qualifies as functional. For all intents and purposes, it is exactly like a regular mechanical keyboard that was scaled up to massive proportions. Much of the frustration felt by Glarses came from the fact that scaling a device up in size isn't as simple as literally multiplying the size. There are several complications, from the fact that tolerances scale along with everything else (but shouldn't) and that components aren't always available at the same scale.

To retain some semblance of sanity, Glarses chose to purchase the most complex parts: the key switches. Those are NovelKeys "The Big Switch Series" key switches, which are mechanical key switches four times the size (by linear dimension) of normal MX models. The square-cube law tells us that they're 64 times the volume of normal switches. At normal pricing, each of those switches costs $18. So for a full 101-key keyboard, the cost in switches alone is $1,818. Luckily, NovelKeys gave the switches to Glarses (probably out of sympathy for his plight).

The plate/enclosure was CNC machined from aluminum and the key switches mount onto gargantuan PCBs. If you're thinking that the joints required a lot of solder, you are right. The headaches continued with issues related to fit, especially for the custom enlarged stabilizers. The NovelKeys came with key caps, but those only works for the standard keys. The others required custom key caps, which seem to be either resin 3D-printed or machined. Glarses didn't say which controller he used, but we assume it is a standard, normal-size board.

In the end, Glarses finished the keyboard just in time to send it off to an expo. It wasn't perfect, as the space bar stabilizers weren't performing as intended — which just illustrates how hard it is to scale things. But it did work and is extremely impressive, even if it cost Glarses £12,000 (about $14,483) to build.