Rubber "overlay" for keyboard - producing?

[yerzmyey]

Hm, I dunno if it should be here, in the 'Hardware' corner but whatta hell.

Anywayz. I was wondering - there are new keyboards being produced. And other stuff.
Would it be possible to re-create (and sell) this rubber "overlay" for keyboard, that I have in my avatar?

Unless they were crap (despite the avatar, I have never actually seen it, as You might remember from my posts years ago, when the seller in the last moment did withdraw the overlay from auction. Bastard).

[siggi]

I am using one of them with my ZX81-laptop: that "rubber" keyboard is much much better than the "plastic" overlay keyboards and also than the original keyboard

Siggi

[yerzmyey]

Ah, so it IS OK then.
Even more it might be interesting to 'revive' the gadget.
(A subliminal suggestion to RWAP ).

[RWAP]

To get anything like this made, we need a proper drawing with dimensions...

I am after a similar drawing for the ZX Printer belt - there are 3D CAD drawings of the drive belt and you can convert that to 2 2D DXF file, but how do you get the dimensions?

[Moggy]

I had one of these way back when and it lasted about two years(admittedly with hard use), after a while the keys started to stay stuck down as they relied on the surrounding thin latex/rubber for the "spring back" effect if You can understand what I mean ,if You take the top plate of the keyboard off it looks very much like the rubber key mat off the spectrum but with much thinner rubber around the keys that act as the return spring.
Imagine taking a piece of plastic and bending it back and forth after a while it loses its resilience and the rubber surrounding some of the keys did that hence staying stuck down, it looked nicer than the original plastic buttoned file sixty keyboard but not as reliable in My opinion.

[RWAP]

I had one of these way back when and it lasted about two years(admittedly with hard use), after a while the keys started to stay stuck down as they relied on the surrounding thin latex/rubber for the "spring back" effect if You can understand what I mean ,if You take the top plate of the keyboard off it looks very much like the rubber key mat off the spectrum but with much thinner rubber around the keys that act as the return spring.
Imagine taking a piece of plastic and bending it back and forth after a while it loses its resilience and the rubber surrounding some of the keys did that hence staying stuck down, it looked nicer than the original plastic buttoned file sixty keyboard but not as reliable in My opinion.

I should have thought that the best thing to base them on would be the ZX Spectrum rubber keyboard mat - that does not seem to have any problems with keys getting stuck down... It may have been a different design though...

[Moggy]

Hi Rich.
The spectrum mat is the same thickness of rubber I think all-round but the zeddy one as I recall is very thin around the keys to allow them to be flexible up and down and its this thin rubber that loses its resilience resulting at first in slow key return then failure in the long term.
Plus I always found the keys to be a bit on the wobbly side far better I think to design a proper replacement keyboard of the Fuller Memotech type as opposed to a stick on "quickfix" which to be honest wasn't any faster or reliable then the original membrane, they do look nice though but something tells Me that if You had them made there wouldn't be a great demand for them especially as most people use or would like to use external keyboards first chance they get.

Also important from Your point of view is price. They originally cost £9.99 You would need a hell of a production run to match that and have the separate plasticised top plate manufactured that covers the mat c/w its legend printing etc.

The last separate keyboard I bought was a "Yarmouth special" Kaydee c/w repeat key for £8.00, a bit cheap and nasty looking but still far better than any stick on.

Just My opinion Rich, from a business point of view that's all.

[yerzmyey]

Well, I just thought people lately order any production in China and similar. Maybe might be cheaper or sommit.
Ah well, just thinkin' aloud.

[gozzo]

It would be great if new production of those was possible, they were sold by a company called "Filesixty" , by the way, and previously they had a "hard key" version which was....rubbish! I have one of each and the rubber version is ok, but a little too 'stiff' in action, in my opinion, maybe softer rubber would be better...(may have hardened due to age, though..??)

[RWAP]

Actually, Filesixty appears to have been a tradename - they were made by Avocet Limited in Aylesbury according to various sites.

Unfortunately, there is no sign of such a company at Companies House either now or under previous names.... - possibly they went out of business before Companies House online records I don't know...

The reality is that anything which involves rubber moulding is expensive unless 1000s are made - because of the cost of the original mould. Potentially someone could make a mould in a 3D printer. The overlay is not too much of a problem, but you are probably looking at around £20 for a rubber mat and overlay (ignoring the set up costs)...