the trivium

the place where three roads meet.

Trivium is a culmination of ideas and things that I'm excited to implement at a larger (literally) scale.

Classical education involves three stages–Grammar, Logic and Rhetoric–also known as the Trivium.

In Latin, Trivium means “the three ways” or “the three roads.”

In this case, it represents the three weighted design we implemented with this keyboard and the accompanying material choices.

Design

Trivium has been an idea sitting with me since a few years back. However, I've never been able to put my thoughts out into a design till now.

The intention of Trivium is to give people the chance to customize their keyboard however they like and we constantly use a variety of materials in a keyboard. Why not make it more pronounced?

The idea of separating different layers in the keyboard seemed very appealing and was something that was not yet (as of my knowledge) explored. Arrangement of materials in such a format was also something unique and I wanted a prominent way for the owner to see and feel the keyboard from the side profile.

With an increase in options , this will definitely create alot more work and SKUs to be taken care of so we're going to be taking a little more precaution when introducing new choices and hopefully not being too crazy.

Well this was Penguin's face when I tried to explain the idea to him.

Video gif. A woman pulls on Nick Young's arm, trying to hold his hand. Nick looks at her with confusion, but is trying to be polite. The camera zooms on his face and turns to look stare into the camera with a big confused grin on his face. Question marks appear around his head.

So with some work and calls, this is what we are currently at.

Mounting Style

Trivium uses a modified viton o-ring mount. Conceptualized and created by Geon, the Viton O-ring is a staple within his keyboards and I always see customers fiddling with their Vitons whenever they put everything together. It's quite the fun at times.

This modified viton o-ring was first present within the Optica by Penguin. This essentially turns viton o-ring into viton gasket mount.

I have a Viton O-Ring and a 'gasket' mount. Viton Gasket.

On top of that, you're also able to purchase different gaskets with different durometer ratings.

Plates will then be CNC-ed to accomodate the gaskets and to allow them to effectively isolate the PCB assembly.

Other components

With the weight design and the mounting style taking up bulk of the design process, these are some other details of the board that we've worked on.

The badge of trivium is made up of 3 different materials, sticking to the theme of the usage of 3 different materials as with the weight design.

Yes, the middle piece is supposed to light up.

The USB C cutout is wedged between the last portion of the weight and the middle weight. This our current prototype and we've feedbacked for more attention to be placed to details such as these.

Prototypes

Proto 1

Proto 2

Past Changes

Cherry Lip to break the front height
Badge added
Mounting changed to Viton Gaskets

Pending Changes

29th August 2025

F12 from F13 (too cluttered + do you even use all the keys)
Badge pending change (something more functional)
Plate modifications
Awaiting updated PCB (from manufacturer)
Awaiting fixed weight (from manufacturer)
Awaiting plates (from manufacturer)
Awaiting badge (from manufacturer)

Material Choices and Offerings

Top Case: Aluminum: Silver, RAW, Navy, Black

1st Bottom: Silver Alu, RAW, PC

2nd Bottom: Silver Alu, RAW, Polished SS

3rd Bottom: Silver Alu, RAW, Brass, Copper, Patina Option

Specifications

General
Layout: 96%
Mounting: Viton Gaskets
Typing Angle: 6.9°
Effective Keyboard Height: 22.70mm
Plate: 1.5mm Alu, PC, PP, CF, Ultem
PCB: In house, QMK/VIA
Estimated weight before assembly: 2.6kg, depends on material chosen

Parts included with the kit:
- Keyboard case: (Top case, Bottom case, Rear bumper, Bottom plate)
- Plate (Aluminium)
- 1.6mm Hotswap/Solder PCB; layout information will be shared later
- Daughterboard JST Cable
- 4x Rubber feet
- Hand-carry keyboard bag
- Other accessories

Layout