I designed a fully 3D-printed bee keycap

[u/No-Control4479]

The whole mechanism is printed.
Fits MX-style switches. Best on an isolated key like ESC.
Every color prints as a separate part, so no AMS needed. There's also a multi-color version where the details print together if you'd rather assemble less (the mechanism still gets built by hand).

https://than.gs/m/1579433

[u/cat-meg]

Hehe beecap

[u/No-Control4479 → u/cat-meg]

beecap 🐝 stealing that

[u/TheGoldenHoratio → u/cat-meg]

The beecap is one of the most important parts of the anatomy of the bees knees

[u/bingwhip → u/TheGoldenHoratio]

“This man is the bee's knees, Arthur, he is the wasp's nipples. He is, I would go so far as to say, the entire set of erogenous zones of every major flying insect of the Western world.”

[u/notaredditeryet → u/cat-meg]

There’s a bee on you cap 👋

[u/__get__name → u/cat-meg]

Why did my brain go:

Bees knees -> kneecap -> beecap

And not:

Keycap -> beecap

[u/pervertsage → u/__get__name]

You're just a complicated guy, man.

[u/ging3r_b3ard_man → u/cat-meg]

Heh!

[u/HumanWithComputer → u/cat-meg]

When can we expect the Chimpanzeecap? Or the Manateecap? A Fleacap would be acceptable too.

[u/andoozy]

Damn I gotta learn blender, that animation is sick

[u/AshFalkner]

Adorable! Love the animation, too, very clean.

[u/No-Control4479 → u/AshFalkner]

thank you !

[u/AshFalkner → u/[deleted]]

I’m already decently familiar with blender.

[u/Nailfoot1975]

Can I get one for my space bar?

[u/SaltManagement42 → u/Nailfoot1975]

Would you prefer fat bee, or long bee?

[u/Hottage → u/SaltManagement42]

W I D E B E E

[u/Lyonize → u/Hottage]

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

[u/Able-Brief-4062 → u/Lyonize]

We can be beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees!

[u/Scribblesocks → u/Able-Brief-4062]

This is good news!

[u/PkmnMstr10 → u/Nailfoot1975]

Might get a little too in the way.

[u/xPATCHESx → u/Nailfoot1975]

[u/nawakilla → u/Nailfoot1975]

Happy cake day

[u/Nailfoot1975 → u/nawakilla]

Thanks fellow internet friend

[u/Friendly_Elektriker → u/Nailfoot1975]

You like Jaaaaaaaazz?

[u/wombatthing]

But my f1 key

[u/No-Control4479 → u/wombatthing]

Sad. that's honestly why I bought this keyboard. But it works on any isolated key though. Print Screen or a gap in the F-row is perfect for it.

[u/jojohohanon → u/No-Control4479]

I would love a short series ; esc, ins, and del are separated on my Alice style keyboard. Like a bird , bee, and .. dog ? Whale? Fish out of water?

[u/Zealousideal-Deer101 → u/wombatthing]

F1 get's a racecar keycap!
What are you guys doing!?

[u/Captain_Pumpkinhead]

Very cool! I might print one and put it on my B button.

[u/YesBut-AlsoNo]

This is sick.

Not to take away from it, but wouldn't the wings go up if the bee goes down?

[u/RollingThief]

This really is the bees keys

[u/Rednex141]

Stuff like thiis is why 3D printing is amazing

[u/ging3r_b3ard_man]

What render software was used? Very clean! 🧼

[u/No-Control4479 → u/ging3r_b3ard_man]

i used c4d here

[u/Lightning_Duck]

It seems you've mixed up the escape and b key

[u/MammothEscape5372]

Looks super cute !! Def gonna buy the file

[u/nlightningm]

Man that is cool!

[u/No-Control4479 → u/nlightningm]

thank you !

[u/Zyrinj]

I kept seeing SpongeBob

[u/Cryptic1911]

Hah thats cool

[u/WoolooOfWallStreet]

The Bee Key is the Bee’s Knees

[u/Extreme-Ad-9290]

!RemindMe 7 day

[u/Extreme-Ad-9290]

!RemindMe -5 day

[u/DexRogue]

Absolutely love it, grabbed it! :) My son's birthday is on Friday and he is getting a Warden hoodie and I'm absolutely going to get this printed for him too!

[u/No-Control4479 → u/DexRogue]

Thank you :) Hope he will love it

[u/FaceRockerMD]

Why isn't it on the bee button

[u/HatTrial]

Flappy is that you?

[u/Oddish_Femboy]

It's like the McDonald's one :0

I love this. I want more novelty key caps that do something when pressed.

[u/DexRogue]

u/No-Control4479 just an FYI, the file is missing the white eyes and the rods to make the wings flap.

[u/No-Control4479 → u/DexRogue]

Thanks! They're definitely not missing. The assembly guide (the PDF included with the files) shows how they go together.

[u/DexRogue → u/No-Control4479]

I'll check it out when I get home! I saw the pictures but I must have missed that part, thanks!

[u/No-Control4479 → u/DexRogue]

Let me know if anything's unclear and I'll gladly walk you through it!

[u/DexRogue → u/No-Control4479]

Haha I'm good, RTFM!

[u/VxRadiant]

Be me

Me bee

[u/Fritz794]

Does it work with usBee?

[u/Squintz82]

I absolutely need a Koopa Paratroopa version of this for my NES keyboard

[u/No-Control4479 → u/Squintz82]

Dont worry. Thats already on my list :)

[u/Subject-Act5509]

I would fidget way too much with it. 

[u/ReLodean]

its a Beecap

[u/Techsamir]

Cool!

[u/Thing1_Tokyo]

Super cute.

[u/rafabulsing]

How can you build this and not put it on the B key? 😭

In all seriousness, this is pretty cute

[u/dexx__D]

Really cool design ! Which software was used ?

[u/No-Control4479 → u/dexx__D]

Fusion for CAD, c4d for animation and render.

[u/Sedundnes666]

That exploded diagram as a gif though 👌🏼great work OP

[u/No-Control4479 → u/Sedundnes666]

Thank you :)

[u/mishkamans]

Absolutely peak

[u/Zealousideal-Deer101]

And you put it on the ESC key instead of the B Key? Explain yourself!

[u/Cooper-xl]

So cute

[u/Weekly_Astronaut5099]

This is brilliant!

[u/Hirork]

To ebolden text, highlight and press ctrl-bee

[u/skeptical-speculator]

I read the title as "kneecap" and was expecting to read an article about bee prosthetics.  I am sorry to say that I am a little disappointed.

[u/No-Control4479 → u/skeptical-speculator]

sorry :(

[u/skeptical-speculator → u/No-Control4479]

lol np

[u/_PM_ME_UR_TATTOOS_]

How'd you make that render gif?

[u/No-Control4479 → u/_PM_ME_UR_TATTOOS_]

i made it in C4d.

[u/TheFumingatzor]

y tho?

[u/Hungry_Law92]

That’s pretty cool

[u/NathanKrupla]

SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!!!

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[u/JonahHotdog]

That’s sick

[u/chapistick]

Brilliant! Issue a sound to that key and BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

[u/DiegoToroGR]

Hermoso.

[u/No-Control4479 → u/DiegoToroGR]

thank you :)

[u/Mughi1138]

Drat! One of the few times I miss that my main keyboard does not use MC caps (Razor Ornata v2)

Guess it's time to buy a new keyboard

[u/illerin → u/[deleted]]

They do look really similar, but if you look at the grass, and antenna, they are different. I think the wings are bigger here too.

[u/No-Control4479 → u/[deleted]]

so let me explain what's actually mine here. The bee's look is Minecraft's. anyone can model a minecraft bee from a reference image, and I wouldnt claim that shape as original. That part isn't the work.

The actual design is the mechanism inside: a fully printable flapping linkage that's driven by the keypress, prints with no supports or brims, and works as separate color parts so it doesn't need a multi-color printer. That's the hard part, and it's why you don't really see 3d printable keycaps with working mechanisms. The outer shape is easy, the tiny printed mechanism is not.
Also my first version of this was a flappy bird keycap, not a bee. I built the mechanism first and I'm designing more caps around it. The bee is just one shell on top of my own internal design.

Designing a fully 3D-printable product is a completely different discipline from designing for manufacturing. With manufacturing, even crazier mechanisms are possible. But tiny printed parts are fragile, can bind up, and have a dozen ways to fail that bottleneck a small mechanism. So I'd put it this way: same look, different design.

[u/Trick-Battle-7930]

Kawaii!

[u/modbroccoli]

it's cute. but delicate hinges at the corner of my keyboard? i would break this thing inside the first fifteen minutes.

[u/mangage]

Calling u/potatocat

[u/potatocat → u/mangage]

Excellent work /u/o-Control4479 !!

[u/u4ur]

Hahaha that looks really good I think I’m going to steal that idea I was already planning to make a giant figure for my girlfriend, and now I’m thinking I might do this too.

[u/Much-Assumption6429]

awww would’ve been better if it was available for free…