/Cherry-MX-Breakout-Board

Cherry MX Breakout Boards with reverse-mounted addressable RGB LED and hot-swap.

MIT LicenseMIT

Cherry MX Breakout Boards

"Buy Me A Coffee"

Two breakout boards designed in KiCad.

Both feature reverse-mounted addressable RGB LED LTST-A683CEGBW.

Both are hot-swap capable (Kailh Socket / Mill-Max 7305).

Total board dimensions: 26 x 19 mm.

Mill-Max 7305 holes are compatible with standalone switches so they can be soldered directly to the board.

Schematic PCB (Kailh Socket) PCB (Mill-Max 7305)

Kailh Socket Renders

Top View Bottom View

Kailh Socket 3D Model was obtained from QMK. All credits go to them. The exact file can be found here.

Mill-Max 7305 Renders

Top View Bottom View

Real Photos

Hooking up with Arduino

Code Wiring diagram 
#include "FastLED.h"
const int ledPin = 6;
const int buttonPin = 7;

int ledHue = 0;
const int ledSaturation = 255;
const int ledBrightness = 255;

CRGB leds[1];

void setup() {
  pinMode(buttonPin, INPUT_PULLUP);
  FastLED.addLeds<WS2811, ledPin>(leds, 1);
}

void loop() {
  if(digitalRead(buttonPin) == LOW) ledHue++;

  leds[0].setHSV(ledHue, ledSaturation, ledBrightness);
  FastLED.show();
}

What socket is right for me?

Kailh Socket Mill-Max 7305 & 0305
Cost per switch $0.10 on kbdfans.com about $0.88 on digikey.com
Requires compatible PCB? Yes No
Soldering difficulty Both socket types are easy to solder and there shouldn't be any problems
General Notes Kailh Sockets are much cheaper when it comes to custom builds but require custom PCB. Mill-Max connectors are not as stabilized as they make an extra gap between PCB and switch. Mill-Max 7305 is preferable over 0305, it's thinner so the gap is not that wide. Swapping switches seems easier using Kailh Sockets, Mill-Max connectors tend to bend sockets' pins. In my opinion, Mill-Max connectors should be taken into an account only when you modify pre-existing PCB as they have no advantage over Kailh Sockets and simply cost more

Datasheets