# KLP Lamé: sculpted keycaps delivered as a compatibility matrix, not a codebase

> KLP Lamé is a set of twelve sculpted and curved keycap designs for Kailh Choc and MX switches, published as CAD source, STEP, STL and pre-nested print plates under a share-alike licence, with the geometry parameterised across four stem and size combinations. There is no software here at all, which changes what an upgrade is and what a version pin means.

**braindefender/KLP-Lame-Keycaps** — Sculpted and curved keycaps for Kailh Choc and MX switches

- Repository: https://github.com/braindefender/KLP-Lame-Keycaps
- Stars: 2,286 · Forks: 186
- Language: Unknown
- License: CC-BY-SA-4.0
- Published: 2026-09-30 · Updated: 2026-09-30 · Language: en
- Canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/braindefender-klp-lame-keycaps

## A design repository with no code, and three copies of every model

The first thing to understand about this project is that it is not software in any sense a package manager would recognise. The primary language is recorded as unknown, there is no build, no test and no release, and what the repository holds is geometry. The file list is six directories and a licence. There is a directory of images and actual photographs of the printed caps, a directory of Blender files whose stated purpose is rendering the preview images, a directory of source files for a commercial parametric CAD package, a directory of combined models for printing services, and two interchange directories, one in STEP format and one in STL, both described as suitable for any CAD or slicer program. That is four representations of the same object, and the split is worth understanding because each answers a different question. The parametric source is where a dimension can be changed. The interchange files are what you import into a slicer. The combined models are what a service will accept as an order. And the renderer files exist so the pictures in the readme match the geometry, which sounds like a small thing until you have tried to keep product photographs honest. The two CAD programs in use is itself a signal: one is a mesh modeller and one is a parametric modeller, so the shapes were probably built in one and refined in the other. For an evaluator, the practical consequence is that there is no version history in the usual sense. The repository has a single branch, no tags and no releases, so the geometry you are typing on corresponds to a commit rather than to a version, and nothing in the project tells you which one.

## Four stem and size combinations, and why rotation is a separate axis

The compatibility matrix is stated in one sentence and it is the design decision that makes the set usable rather than merely nice. Both the interchange directories contain all combinations of Choc or MX stem with Choc or MX size, which is four cases rather than two, and the fourth case is the interesting one. The obvious combinations are a low profile Choc stem on a low profile Choc cap size, and a standard MX stem on a standard MX cap size. The cross combinations, a Choc stem carrying an MX sized cap and an MX stem carrying a Choc sized cap, are what let the same sculpted profile be used on a board where the switch and the keycap spacing are not from the same family. On a hybrid board, or on a rebuild where you have standardised on one switch and kept an existing plate, that is the difference between the design fitting and not fitting. On top of the four combinations there is a further axis for Choc only, a set of variants rotated ninety degrees. The reason is mechanical and specific to that switch family. A Choc stem is rectangular rather than square, so the keycap can be mounted in one of two orientations, and rotating it changes which way the dish faces. That is why the larger caps are also offered in horizontal and vertical forms, with the vertical ones described as the stem being rotated. So the geometry is parameterised along three axes rather than one, which is why the model set is large for a set of only twelve shapes, and it is why the author can publish a single profile that serves both a standard-staggered board and a column-staggered one.

## Normal derives from Thumb, Thumb derives from Saddle, and two modifiers apply to both

The variant list reads like a menu until you trace the derivation, and the derivation is the useful part. The flat profile, called normal, is described as a flat keycap profile with a small recess that is soothing for fingers. The thumb variant is the same thing with a cut along the down side. The saddle variant is the thumb variant with two symmetrical cuts. So the three names are not three independent shapes, they are one shape with one cut added and then a second cut added on the other axis, and the result is a dish that is concave along one direction and then along two. That naming is worth internalising before you order, because a saddle cap is a thumb cap with another cut, not a redesign. Two modifiers then apply across the family rather than to one branch. Tilted adds a fifteen degree tilt to the top profile together with half a millimetre of upward height compensation, and the compensation is the detail that shows the work has been done properly: tilting a cap means its front edge sits lower than its back, so a keyboard built from tilted caps needs the profile raised to keep the row heights even. Both the normal and the saddle shapes have a tilted version, which tells you the author considered tilt a separable axis rather than a separate design. Homing adds three small bumps whose stated purpose is to determine the home positions by feel, and again it is available on both branches. So the full set of one unit caps is seven shapes, and the logic behind them is one shape, two cuts and two modifiers, which is a much easier thing to choose between than seven names suggest.

## A thirty-six key layout, and the arithmetic that tells you which caps to order

The readme answers the question most people arrive with, what caps does my board need, with a three step procedure and two worked examples, and the examples are more informative than the procedure. You choose the stem type based on your switches, you choose the cap size based on your keyboard, and then you pick variants for the columns, the rows and the thumbs, which the readme says depends entirely on your choice. The two examples are for a 36 key board in the Corne family, and the counts are the point. One layout uses twenty saddle tilted caps for the top and bottom rows and sixteen saddle caps split between the home row and six thumb keys, which totals thirty-six. The other uses twenty normal tilted caps for the top and bottom rows, ten normal caps for the home row, and six thumb caps. Do the division and the geometry of the board falls out: three rows of ten keys plus six thumb keys, and the twenty is the two outer rows summed. Once you can see that, the sizing question stops being a guess. You need one cap for every key except that the six thumb positions take the larger caps, which is precisely why the one-and-a-half unit variants exist at all. That family has five shapes, a normal one and then the thumb and saddle shapes in horizontal and vertical forms, and the horizontal and vertical choice for a thumb cap is the stem rotation from the previous section. So the larger caps are the ones to think hardest about, because they are the ones with an orientation decision attached and the ones that go on the keys your thumbs rest on.

## Printing orientation is a tactile decision, and the service files cannot express it

The printing section contains the most practically useful sentence in the readme, and it is easy to skim. The recommendation is to position the model more vertically, with the reason given as avoiding tactile layer-to-layer bumps, and the author's own practice is a 45 or 75 degree angle with the choice left open. This is a point about feel rather than about strength or time. On a keycap, a step where two layers meet is a ridge you can feel with a fingertip, and on a flat-topped cap the finger rests exactly there, so an orientation that is perfectly acceptable for a bracket is not acceptable for a keycap. Printing the caps lying flat, which is the default for a print service, produces a top surface made entirely of layer edges. The awkward part is that this advice cannot be followed if you order from a service, because the combined models exist to be sent to a service and the orientation is then chosen by whoever slices them. What the readme does not say is whether the service-ready files arrive pre-oriented. That is worth asking, or worth settling by ordering one part first, since a batch of twenty caps in the wrong orientation is an expensive way to find out. The two services named in the readme are named as examples of where the combined models can be used, and the same section links a second one, so there is no shortage of options; the only real constraint is that a local printer gives you the angle and a service does not.

## The combined models are three plates of nine, and the manifest is in the table

The production files are organised in a way that tells you a lot about who they are for. Each entry is a numbered part, and each part has a table of the four stem and size combinations to download, plus a column listing exactly which caps come out of that part. The first part yields six tilted normals and three normals. The second yields four tilted normals, three thumbs, one homing normal and one normal, which is nine caps from a single file. The third yields nine tilted normals. So the whole set is three files of nine caps each, twenty seven in total, and each file is a nest rather than a set of individual caps. That is the right shape for a print service, where the cost is dominated by machine time and a nest of nine caps in one plate is far cheaper than nine separate orders, and it explains why the readme supplies them separately from the individual models. The two directories therefore serve different users, even though the readme does not draw the line explicitly. If you have a printer, the individual interchange models are what you want, because you can orient each one and you are not paying for eight caps you already have. If you are ordering from a service, the combined plates are what you want, and the manifest column is how you work out which of the three files covers the mix your layout needs. That column is the most practically useful artefact in the whole readme, because it lets you order exactly the caps you are short of rather than three plates of nine.

## A share-alike licence, ten resellers, and a market the author does not run

The distribution model here is unusual enough to be worth describing precisely. The author publishes the design and does not sell it. The readme contains a section of shop links, ten of them, spanning general marketplaces, keycap specialists, ergonomic keyboard vendors and regional shops in several countries, and the only guidance given is a note about opening links in a new tab. So the commercial production of this design is done by other people, and the author's relationship to it is the design and the documentation. The licence is what makes that arrangement work. It is a Creative Commons attribution and share-alike licence at version 4.0, which for a piece of geometry is a considered choice, since public domain or attribution-only would be the more usual picks for printable models. The share-alike term is the one that matters commercially. It requires attribution, and it requires that modified versions be published under the same terms, which means a designer who takes these caps, changes the geometry and sells the result has to publish their changes. That is what keeps a derivative ecosystem open, and it is also the term a reseller works within rather than around, since the unmodified design carries no restriction on who prints it. The practical advice is short. If you are printing these as they are, there is nothing to negotiate. If you want to change the profile, the tilt angle or the recess depth, expect to publish the result. And if you are a shop considering producing these caps, the licence does not stop you, it just requires that the attribution and the licence travel with the files. Whether any of that fits your situation is a question for your own counsel rather than for a readme, and the shops in that list are the fastest way to see what the arrangement looks like in practice.

## Conclusion

These caps are worth adopting if your board is column-staggered and low profile enough that a flat keycap leaves you typing on a rectangle, because the saddle variants add a cut along one axis and then two, and the homing bumps are a real answer to touch typing without looking. The part that decides the outcome is mechanical rather than aesthetic, so check it before anything else. Choc stems are rectangular and can be mounted rotated, which is why there are rotated variants and horizontal and vertical 1.5U caps, so confirm your switches and your layout can take the orientation you want before ordering twenty of anything. Then print a single cap at the 45 or 75 degree orientation the author recommends, since a keycap you cannot feel through is the whole premise. If you print locally, take the individual models; if you order from a service, the nested plates are what they are for. And record the commit you used, because this repository has no releases and no tags, so the geometry you are typing on has no name.

## FAQ

### Which switches and keycap sizes do these caps fit?

Every combination of Choc or MX stem with Choc or MX size, which is four cases, and the STEP and STL directories contain all of them. There are also variants rotated ninety degrees for Choc stems, because a Choc stem is rectangular and mounting it rotated changes which way the dish faces.

### What is the difference between the normal, thumb and saddle shapes?

They are one shape with cuts added. Normal is a flat profile with a small recess, thumb is normal with a cut along the down side, and saddle is thumb with a second symmetrical cut. Two modifiers apply across the family: tilted adds a fifteen degree tilt with half a millimetre of height compensation, and homing adds three bumps for finding the home row by touch.

### How many caps does a 36 key column-staggered board need?

The readme gives two worked layouts for that board. One uses twenty saddle tilted caps for the outer rows and sixteen saddle caps for the home row and thumbs, and the other uses twenty normal tilted, ten normal and six thumb caps, which divides into three rows of ten plus six thumbs.

### How should the caps be oriented when printing?

More vertically, to avoid bumps you can feel between layers, with the author's own practice being 45 or 75 degrees. The combined models for printing services cannot be reoriented by you, so if the tactile surface matters, print locally or check the orientation a service chooses before ordering a full batch.

### What do I get in the repository, and where are the versions?

Source files for two CAD programs, STEP and STL models for any CAD or slicer program, combined models for printing services, and renderer files for the preview images, plus photographs. There are no releases and no tags, so the geometry corresponds to a commit rather than a version, and it is worth recording which commit you printed from.

## Sources

- [braindefender/KLP-Lame-Keycaps on GitHub](https://github.com/braindefender/KLP-Lame-Keycaps)
- [Issues](https://github.com/braindefender/KLP-Lame-Keycaps/issues)
- [License: CC-BY-SA-4.0](https://github.com/braindefender/KLP-Lame-Keycaps/blob/master/LICENSE)
- [README](https://github.com/braindefender/KLP-Lame-Keycaps/blob/master/README.md)

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Hysen Labs editorial analysis, written from the project's own repository and release notes. Cite the canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/braindefender-klp-lame-keycaps