Modders will have a field day!
Keychron has published their hardware design files on GitHub with full production-grade CAD files for many of their keyboards and mice. Free to browse, study, and remix.
For the model above I simply converted the .step file to a .gltf (and Apples .usdz) and surfaced that using ModelViewer. Neat!
The repository, Keychron-Keyboards-Hardware-Design, went live earlier this week and covers 83 device models across their entire lineup: the Q, Q Pro, Q HE, K Pro, K Max, K HE, L, V Max, and P HE keyboard series, plus M and G series mice.
Including hardware I have personally looked at earlier, the slim K3 Max, the woody K4 HE SE and the small and mighty M4 mouse.
In total there are 640+ individual design files, and more to come as Keychron continues to update this repo.
What is in there?
The files are not renders or marketing assets. These are real STEP and DXF files, the kind of CAD files you use to engineer with in Fusion 360, or SolidWorks. To fine tune dimensions, fit parts together, and design around.
For each product you get a selection of: case files, plate files, stabilizer designs, encoder mounts, keycap profiles (OSA and KSA), and assembled full models. Mouse files include shell geometry and full models for the M1 through M7, G1, and G2.
Keychron has also published proper documentation alongside the files, with plenty of more things to come. There is even a 3D printing guide aimed at people who want to make things and tweaks to their keyboard or mice.
The license is source-available, not open source
One thing worth being clear about: this is not an open-source release. The license permits personal, educational, and non-commercial use.
Commercial use is explicitly not allowed.
That means you can study the files, remix a plate for your own build, 3D print a custom case, or design a compatible accessory for yourself.
You can upload these models for others to download for free, but you cannot sell derived products based on these files.
“It lowers the barrier to entry by giving makers, students, and engineers real STEP and DXF files they can study, remix, and build from instead of starting from zero.” — Keychron, from the repository README
This is important
Getting production-level hardware files into the hands of your users is very meaningful.
The mechanical keyboard hobby has always had a strong tinker and DIY culture, but often that work happens through reverse engineering and user based measurements. Having the actual case CAD-files, with all those details this provides - changes what is possible.
It is also a real educational resource. These are the files that actual engineers used to build actual products. Not simplified tutorials, not toy examples.
Someone learning hardware design gets a concrete reference for how a real keyboard is put together.
I really like this kind of move. Most brands treat their industrial design as proprietary and secret, by default. Whether other brands follow Keychron’s lead here will be interesting to watch.
