Plate Generator

The Plate Generator creates switch and stabilizer cutouts for your keyboard layout, exporting to SVG, DXF, STL, and JSCAD formats for manufacturing processes like laser cutting or 3D printing.

WARNING

The Plate Generator does not prevent usage of settings which are not manufacturable in practice. Always validate your settings against your intended manufacturing method.

Overview

Open the Plate Generator panel. The settings section is organized into four tabs:

• Switch Cutouts — Select switch type, stabilizer style, fillet radius, and kerf compensation
• Holes — Add corner mounting holes or custom holes at arbitrary positions
• Outline — Generate a border around the key cluster
• JSON — Edit, download, and upload plate settings as JSON for scripting and sharing configurations

Typical Workflow

1. Complete your key layout design in the canvas editor.
2. Open the Plate Generator panel.
3. On the Switch Cutouts tab, select the switch type and any stabilizer options for your layout.
4. On the Outline tab, choose an outline type and set your margins.
5. If you need mounting holes, configure them on the Holes tab.
6. Review the live preview. The preview updates automatically as you change settings.
7. Click Download to export in your preferred format (SVG or DXF for laser cutting; STL or JSCAD for 3D printing).

TIP

If specific keys need a different switch or stabilizer orientation (e.g., rotated stabilizers on a split spacebar), set the Switch orientation or Stabilizer orientation per key in the Key Properties panel before generating. See Manufacturing Properties for details.

Switch Cutouts

Configure the shape and size of switch cutouts.

Supported Switch Types

• Cherry MX
• Alps
• Kailh Choc

Fillet Radius

Rounds the corners of cutouts. Useful for CNC routing where sharp internal corners are not achievable. Note: the upper limit for fillet values is dictated by geometry, not by actual application constraints.

Size Adjustment (Kerf)

Kerf is the total width of material removed by the cutting tool (e.g., the laser beam). The cutout path shrinks by half the kerf value on each side so the final physical hole matches the intended size.

Example: A 14mm cutout with kerf 0.5mm is drawn at 13.5mm. The laser removes 0.25mm per side, resulting in a 14mm hole.

This is an advanced option and can often be left at 0. Negative values expand cutouts, which is useful for small adjustments in 3D printing.

Merging Cutouts

Combines overlapping shapes into single paths. Useful when stabilizer cutouts overlap with switch cutouts.

Per-Key Orientation

To adjust the orientation of individual switch or stabilizer cutouts, set the Switch orientation or Stabilizer orientation property in the Key Properties panel. See Manufacturing Properties for details.

Holes

Corner Mounting Holes

Places holes at each corner of the plate at a specified distance from the edge. Requires outline generation to be enabled.

Custom Holes

Add holes at arbitrary positions using keyboard units (U). The reference position (0,0) is marked with a red cross in the preview.

Outline

Generate a border around the key cluster.

Outline Types

Type	Description
None	No outline generated
Rectangular	Axis-aligned bounding box with independent top/bottom/left/right margins
Tight	A convex hull that encloses the key cluster, expanded by a single uniform margin

The Tight outline is useful for non-rectangular layouts or split keyboards. Ghost keys (keys with the Ghost property enabled) are included in the hull calculation without producing switch cutouts — place them at the edges of the layout to fine-tune the outline shape.

Configuring the Outline

Setting	Description
Margin / Margins	Distance from cutout bounds to outline edge (switch and stabilizer cutouts are considered; holes are not)
Fillet Radius	Rounds corners of the outline
Plate Thickness	Thickness of the plate in STL export
Merge with Cutouts	Place cutouts and outline in a single file; if separate, the outline file shares the same (0,0) origin for easier CAD/CAM handling

JSON Settings

The JSON tab provides direct access to plate settings as formatted JSON. This is useful for power users who want to:

• Edit multiple settings at once
• Share or version-control configurations as files
• Build or modify settings programmatically

Using the JSON Editor

The JSON editor displays the current settings in real-time. Use it to:

• Edit settings directly — Modify values and click Apply (or press Ctrl+Enter) to apply changes to the preview
• Reset — Discard unsaved edits and revert to the last applied settings
• Download — Save the current settings as a plate-settings.json file
• Upload — Load a previously saved plate-settings.json file. If valid JSON is provided, it applies immediately; if there are syntax errors, the editor loads the file so you can fix it
• Resize — Drag the handle below the editor to adjust its height

The status bar at the bottom shows:

• In sync when the editor matches applied settings
• Modified — press Apply or Ctrl+Enter to apply when unsaved changes exist
• Error or warning messages if the JSON is invalid

JSON Format

All sections and fields are optional — omitted fields fall back to defaults. Here is a representative example showing all available sections:

{
  "cutout": {
    "switchType": "cherry-mx-basic",
    "stabilizerType": "mx-basic",
    "switchFilletRadius": 0.5,
    "stabilizerFilletRadius": 0.5,
    "kerf": 0,
    "merge": false
  },
  "holes": {
    "mounting": {
      "diameter": 3,
      "edgeDistance": 3
    },
    "custom": [{ "diameter": 3, "offsetX": 0, "offsetY": 0 }]
  },
  "outline": {
    "outlineType": "rectangular",
    "marginTop": 5,
    "marginBottom": 5,
    "marginLeft": 5,
    "marginRight": 5,
    "filletRadius": 1,
    "mergeWithCutouts": true
  },
  "thickness": 1.5
}

Switch types: "cherry-mx-basic", "cherry-mx-openable", "alps-skcm", "alps-skcp", "kailh-choc-cpg1350", "kailh-choc-cpg1232", "custom-rectangle" (for custom-rectangle, add "width" and "height" fields inside cutout)

Stabilizer types: "mx-basic", "mx-bidirectional", "mx-tight", "mx-spec", "mx-spec-narrow", "none"

Outline types: "none" (no outline), "rectangular" (axis-aligned with independent margins), "tight" (convex hull with single margin — use "tightMargin" instead of the four directional margins)

Presence rules:

• holes.mounting present implies corner mounting holes are enabled
• holes.custom present implies custom holes are enabled
• stabilizerFilletRadius is omitted when stabilizerType is "none"

JSCAD Format

The exported JSCAD file uses OpenJSCAD v2 format. Open it in the online viewer at openjscad.xyz.

Using Ghost Keys to Shape the Outline

The Ghost key property (in the Key Properties panel) marks a key as invisible — it is included in outline hull calculations but produces no switch cutout. This lets you control the outline shape in ways that the key cluster alone cannot:

• Extend the outline past the edge of the cluster (place a ghost key outside the normal key area)
• Protect clearance for a USB connector or encoder by placing a ghost key in that space
• Smooth corners on an irregular layout by placing ghost keys at extremes of the hull

Ghost keys appear as faint transparent rectangles on the canvas so they remain visible while editing.

Without ghost keys	With ghost keys
Layout	Layout
Output	Output

Troubleshooting

Cutouts at Wrong Positions

Cutouts appear at wrong positions — Verify that your layout uses the correct mm/U spacing in Keyboard Metadata. Cherry MX standard is 19.05 mm/U. Kailh Choc is 18 mm/U. A mismatch here causes cutouts to be placed at wrong physical distances.

Stabilizer Orientation Issues

Stabilizer cutout is the wrong orientation — Set the Stabilizer orientation on individual keys in Key Properties. Values must be a multiple of 90°. See Manufacturing Properties for guidance.

Outline Coverage

Outline doesn't wrap closely enough — Switch to the Tight outline type. Use ghost keys to extend coverage to areas the key cluster doesn't reach.

Kerf Settings

Kerf value to use — 0 is correct for many laser cutters where you want to program exact dimensions. Ask your cutting service for the actual kerf (typically 0.1–0.5 mm for laser cutting). Use negative kerf to expand cutouts (sometimes useful for FDM 3D printing where plastic shrinks slightly).

Credits

Based on ai03 Plate Generator and swillkb Plate & Case Builder.

External References

• 3D printed keyboard prototype with FreeCAD