Doing a keyboard is easy. Doing it well is surprisingly hard.
Canned firmwares solve a lot of bootstrapping problems, and there are spoon-feed tutorials to get a working PCB, but you run into a lot of real-world constraints soon.
While loose wiring allows for custom experimentation of some designs, ergonomic 3D shapes, it also tends to increase complexity of assembly and risk of things going wrong (shorts and loose connections) It's also a mess if you want custom lighting. So you tend to stick to PCB-based designs for anything beyond one-off projects.
Commercial quality mounting plates and cases are more of an impediment than the electronics. Yeah, you can make a science fair project, but for something you're using 12 hours a day for years, people want a point of pride. Want one 104-key switch mounting plate cut? It's probably going to be over $100. Bespoke CNC milled cases can be over $500. Since there are commercial offerings now for many popular sizes, it's easier to say "I'll make a slight riff on the existing 60% size, so people can use a cheap case, than to try a zesty new layout that means a $400 admission charge."
Note this is from an enthusiast short-run-of-kits perspective. If you're going for commercial production, then you have issues with sourcing and manufacturers. We're now into year five of waiting for the Matias corporation to get new keycap designs they promised to market.
Sure, that is sort of what I am saying. It is hard to build a community around custom cases when injection molding starts at $5k. It is like trying to start a band (before the Internet) with no venues, demo or posters. That would be infinite rehearsal.
But I guess as I said in my other comment it depends on what you mean with diy. If it is about doing something in the craft sense you can 3d print, laser cut and solder. And you can collect keycaps and choose colours. But if it is doing something where the design of the keyboard is what you are doing, rather the assembling of it, than you need some sort medium for your design. And since their aren't much of scene to present your work in (like you would have with custom cars) you have distribute it.
There a huge disconnect between this idea of drones, 3d printing or maker spaces as the future and the reality of what is possible on the ground. And that is about being able to make a hundred of something without waiting months, spending quite a bit of money and/or traveling to China.
But I guess it is a bit of a tangent. As you said people don't make more different keyboards because things like cases and flex pcbs are expensive.
Canned firmwares solve a lot of bootstrapping problems, and there are spoon-feed tutorials to get a working PCB, but you run into a lot of real-world constraints soon.
While loose wiring allows for custom experimentation of some designs, ergonomic 3D shapes, it also tends to increase complexity of assembly and risk of things going wrong (shorts and loose connections) It's also a mess if you want custom lighting. So you tend to stick to PCB-based designs for anything beyond one-off projects.
Commercial quality mounting plates and cases are more of an impediment than the electronics. Yeah, you can make a science fair project, but for something you're using 12 hours a day for years, people want a point of pride. Want one 104-key switch mounting plate cut? It's probably going to be over $100. Bespoke CNC milled cases can be over $500. Since there are commercial offerings now for many popular sizes, it's easier to say "I'll make a slight riff on the existing 60% size, so people can use a cheap case, than to try a zesty new layout that means a $400 admission charge."
Note this is from an enthusiast short-run-of-kits perspective. If you're going for commercial production, then you have issues with sourcing and manufacturers. We're now into year five of waiting for the Matias corporation to get new keycap designs they promised to market.