I have a Framework 16, and one of my arrow keys popped lose. Unfortunately the little fragile clips broke in the process, making it impossible to snap back on. Thankfully the scissor mechanism was still in tact, so I pulled out my calipers, measured the key and all of the little bits where it attaches, and 3d printed a new key cap on my Elegoo Mars Pro. It took about 6 iterations to get all of the dimensions JUST right for the key to snap on and operate smoothly - at this scale, thousandths of an inch make a huge difference.
I’m linking to my final FreeCAD files, in hopes that someone else gets some use out of it one day! Plus, the entire model is parametrized, so in theory it should be relatively easy to adjust the measurements for any of the other keys, assuming the mechanism is the same.
https://github.com/manicmaker7/framework-16-repair/tree/main/keycaps
I’m reasonably capable with my 3d printers, but there are people that have gone FAR deeper than me on how to get good quality resin prints, especially on tiny mechanical parts. Nonetheless, here’s what worked FOR ME:
- I printed the flat of the key cap directly on the bed, rather than at an angle with supports. This gives a nice clean flat surface that requires minimal sanding, whereas supports produce little nubs that have to be sanded off.
- I used a razor scraping blade to peel the key off the bed without marring the surface. Normally I would use a paint scraper, especially since I’m usually using supports so it doesn’t matter if the part contacting the bed gets damaged, but this part is just so tiny and delicate.
- I found that printing at an angle also compromised the edge/corner finish at times. This could just be my printer, but I didn’t want to take a long time to debug this issue.
- Printing flat also allowed me to iterate MUCH faster. ~15 minutes per print instead of ~1.5 hours.
- Printing flat DOES produce the “elephant’s foot” effect, a bit, so the edges of the key do need to be sanded. Pick your poison, I guess.
- When sanding, I used 400 grit, and a very light touch. Just enough to knock off the elephant’s foot. If you pinch too hard or hold the key wrong while sanding, you can break off the little clips that hold the cap to the scissor mechanism. This happened to me more than once while prototyping.
I hope this helps someone!