Before you start

What is in the box, what you need to supply, and what the work actually involves.

What the build involves

The kit comes with every component you need, but you assemble it yourself: soldering, inserting the heat-set threads, and glueing a few parts. Nothing here needs a workshop.

The work splits into four jobs, in this order:

Build each module you ordered, which is where most of the fiddly work sits.
Solder the switches to their cables.
Set the inserts, mount the board, and screw the box together.
Fit the mounting hardware, plug in, and bind the buttons.

Soldering does not always wait for job two. On most modules the switch is far easier to solder before it goes into its housing, and building the modules says which ones those are.

Tools you need

Only three things, and one of them does double duty. The iron both solders the switches and sets the heat-set inserts into the printed parts.

Soldering iron
Glue, hot glue for the modules and any glue for the table clamp
Hex keys for the M2 and M3 screws

Lubricant is optional on the key module and needed on the lever. Rubber pads or rubber roll are only for the table clamp.

What comes in the box

The standard kit arrives with everything printed: enclosure, plate, the mounting hardware you ordered, and the module shells. The no-prints kit leaves those out, and you print them from the published files. The labels are the exception: they come printed with every kit, including the no-prints kit, so you never need a 0.2mm nozzle just for them. The rubber pads are always included too, in case you want to print the table clamp.

Full screw, insert, and per-module part lists live on the parts and hardware page, so you can check a count without hunting through a chapter.

Building from scratch instead of from a kit? Every part is listed on the same reference page, with the Aliexpress examples I use. The printing chapter is then required reading rather than optional.

A word on the two printing chapters

The next two chapters carry a badge in the sidebar because most builds skip them. Printing the parts applies to the no-prints kit and scratch builds. Printing the labels is narrower still: labels come printed with every kit, so it is only for scratch builds or a text change. With the standard kit, go straight to building the modules.