If you use the right ink, the right plastic keycaps made for mechanical keyboards, and the right settings on your laser, you can effectively dye-sublimate any design you want.
this post was submitted on 25 May 2024
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That is really neat! I never even thought of that. Are you using an intermediate layer like sublimation paper to transfer the ink, and then you heat the specific shape with the laser? I saw you said you used the pens, but I have never tried anything with those. I mostly just press shirts for my kids and do a lot of nothing with my laser. I’d love to try something like this.
For my specific laser and use case, I don't need sublimation paper. I just make sure that I use light color keycaps made of primarily of PBT (not ABS!), I cover the entire keycap with a Cricut infusible ink marker, and then I find that a very low power setting and moving very slow gives me almost no "overspray". On these two keys, which look a bit better in person than in that zoomed in photo, I made a point of cleaning with isopropyl alcohol first, and that seemed to help.
That is really cool. Thanks for replying. I'm gonna try this out on something.
I recommend running some trials with your own laser, but for my 5w Comgrow Z1, 2% power and 45mm/minute ended up working well for PBT plastic. There are probably “sweet spots” at higher power and speeds, but low and slow came out best for me. Good luck!