lowcost-voltex

Price Breakdown (in CAD):

Item	Cost
2x EC11 Rotary Encoders (Detents Removed)	1.80
1x Knockoff Arduino Pro Micro	5.00
7x Gateron Brown Switches	~2.00
2x Rotary Encoder Knobs (or 3D print if you have 3D Printer)	1.00
7x Cherry Keycaps (Any can work, suggest at least 2.0u)	Free
2x Plywood Scraps, Wires	Free
M2 Standoffs with M2 Screws	Basically Free
Total:	CA$9.80 (US$6.90)

Setbacks

• Original laser cutting outline assumed using stablizers, but the wood was too thick so its still in there
• EC11 has resolution of 20ppr, compared to the usual 600ppr from the original controllers
• It uses normal keyboard keycaps, compared to Sanwas with a larger area to press.
• Knobs are not as large, 3D printing the normal size can solve this (I had a 3D printed knob cover but I lost the file)

Materials

Material Names
2x Pieces of plywood
7x M2 PCB standoffs
7x M2 Screws

Hardware

2x EC11 Rotary Encoders (Detents removed, see below for details)
2x Rotary Encoder knobs
7x Gateron Brown Mechanical Keyswitches
7x 2.25u Keycaps (3D print them if needed)
1x Arduino Pro Micro Clone
7x 1N4148 Diodes
Soldering Iron with Solder
Laser Cutter (Or get it cut from somewhere)

Software

QMK Toolbox
QMK CLI

Video Demo

Youtube Link

Build Log

Wiring:

If you'd like to build this, follow a tutorial on how to wire and flash a keyboard with QMK. The keymap is included in the repo.
The two pieces were sandwiched by countersinking screws and using the M2 standoffs and screws to assemble them togther. The pieces of wood was laser cut using a Trotec 3000.

Removing Detents:

To turn the detented rotation into a smooth optical-encoder like movement, take apart the encoder as shown in the image and remove the small metal ball that causes the detents. Reassemble and check to make sure the encoder still works