Wireless Sofle V2 Build Guide

This build guide features the choc (low profile) variant of the Sofle V2, but the build guide will be the same for the MX variant too!

Contents of the Kit:

First things first, let’s check we've got everything included in the kit. If there’s anything missing, send us a message here so we can get you back to the build ASAP! (Spares are included in the contents below)

1 x PCB	2 x Reset switch	2 x nRF52840 BLE Controller
2 x Switch plate	2 x Rotary encoder + knob	4 x Controller socket
2 x Frosted acrylic backplate	5 x 12mm Standoff	50 x Mill-max pins
2 x Acrylic OLED cover	12 x 6/8mm Standoff (choc/MX)	2 x MiP screen + socket
60 x SMD diode	16 x 4mm Screws	2 x 110mAh LiPo battery
60 x Hotswap socket	16 x 6mm Screws	10 x Rubber feet

IMAGE OF KIT CONTENTS

Other Parts Required:

There are a couple of parts that are required for the build that aren't included in the kit, hopefully you've already got these:

60 x Switches of your choice	1 x Set of keycaps

IMAGE OF OTHER PARTS

Tools Required:

Here's a list of the tools you need to build the keyboard:

Soldering iron	Phillips head screwdriver (M2)	Tweezers
Solder	Snippers/Wire Strippers

IMAGE OF TOOLS

Making the Sofle V2:

Step 1: SMD Diodes

The first components to add to the PCB are the SMD diodes. We can get started by applying a small amount of solder to one of the pads we're attaching the diodes to, as shown below:

IMAGE OF 1 DIODE PAD (BEING) SOLDERED

SOLDER ADDED TO DIODE PAD

Once the pads all tinned (soldered), we can add the diodes by melting the already placed solder with our iron and gently placing a diode leg into the solder and then leaving it to harden in place. The line on the diode should be facing the same side as the line on the PCB, as pictured below:

IMAGE OF DIODE ORIENTATION

IMAGE OF PLACING/SOLDERING DIODE

Now we just have to solder the remaining diode legs to their pads:

IMAGE OF FINISHING DIODE SOLDERING

Step 2: Hotswap Sockets

Now for the hotswap sockets, I tend to find it easiest to place all of the sockets in their outlined positions and then solder them into place one side at a time.

IMAGE OF SOCKET BEING SOLDERED

Step 3: Socketing Controller and MiP Screen

We recommend flashing your controller before beginning this step, just to check it's in a working condition. If you're unsure how to do this, check out our wired pre-build page, this has instructions on how to flash your controller: Wireless Pre-Builds

Next is getting our controllers onto the board. The new Sofle V2 kits include machine pin sockets and pins, we recommend using them to make replacing/upgrading your controllers easy. First off, insert the sockets into the top side of the PCB (opposite to the side with the hotswap sockets), soldering the top and bottom pins to secure them.

Be careful to only adjust using the middle of the sockets, heating the solder can cause the end pins to become very hot

From here we can heat the solder on these pins and readjust them until they're flat and straight:

Now that we've got the sockets in position, we can solder the rest of them. Once we've secured the sockets, we can insert our socket pins. I'd recommend placing the pins into the sockets with tweezers, and then using something flat to push the pins in completely, being careful not to bend them. Here I'm using the other end of the tweezers:

Once we've got the pins into position we can place the controllers component side down onto the pins/sockets, from here we can solder the controller to the pins (being careful not to heat them for too long, as this can cause the solder to travel down the pin and flood the socket):

When using our controllers, make sure the pins start at the bottom of the controller, leaving the top holes empty!

The MiP screen sockets are a similar process to the controller sockets, soldering one pin, heating/adjusting, and soldering the remaining pins:

IMAGE OF SOCKET BEING ADJUSTED

HEATING AND ADJUSTING THE SOCKET

Soldering screen sockets

The screens also require soldering, it's as simple as popping the header pins in and soldering them:

Soldering the MiP screen headers

SCREENS INSTALLED

Step 4: Other Components

Now we've got a few different components to add on, the process for all of these will be similar to the previous steps!

First are the reset switches, these tend to stay in place with the friction from the pins once inserted:

IMAGE OF RESET SWITCH PLACED

RESET SWITCH SOLDERED

Secondly, we're adding the power switches, these are quite small so make sure to be gentle! It's easiest to solder a pad first, and then heat it and attach the switch, just like with the SMD diodes:

SOLDERING ONE PAD

ATTATCH THE RESET SWITCH

RESET SWITCH SOLDERED

Next up are the batteries, first off we're going to snip the wires to a suitable length, so that they can connect to and fit under the controller:

IMAGE OF SNIPPING BATTERIES

Once they're snipped we can strip back a bit of wire for us to solder to the PCB:

IMAGE OF STRIPPING WIRES

Be careful not to let the two wires touch here, this could damage the battery (or yourself!)

Now, we can solder these wires to the top two holes on the PCB, near the controller, and slide the battery underneath:

BATTERY BEING TUCKED UNDER CONTROLLER

If the battery is struggling to fit underneath the controller, don't be afraid to gently lift the pins partially out of the sockets to create more space!

BATTERIES BEING SOLDERED TO PCB

Finally, we can solder the rotary encoders, using the same method as above. It's worth noting the bigger pins are purely for support, so they don't have to be soldered perfectly:

IMAGE OF ROTARY ENCODER BEING ADJUSTED

IMAGE OF ROTARY ENCODER SOLDERED

Once they're soldered, we can push on the rotary encoder cap!

Now is a good time to give your build a test, so you can troubleshoot any issues before screwing the case together. Feel free to get in contact if you run into any issues.

Step 5: Installing Switches and Assembling Case

Almost there now, just a couple more steps to go! We're going to start by screwing our 6mm (choc) or 8mm (MX) standoffs onto the frosted acrylic bottom plate, using the 6mm screws.

IMAGE OF BOTTOM PLATES WITH STANDOFFS INSTALLED

Now we can grab our switch plates and pop a few switches into the plate, and then insert these switches into the PCB, being sure to check the pins are straight and aligned with the hotswap sockets:

There's LEDs in these pictures from our wired guide, ignore them please!

IMAGE OF A FEW SWITCHES IN PLATE

PUTTING PLATE WITH SWITCHES ON PCB/CHECKING ALIGNMENT

Once we've got our plate in place, we can begin to insert the rest of the switches. Sometimes the plate can drop in this process (mainly choc builds), but that's no worry, the plate tends to come back up when installing the keycaps, or we can use something thin to pop the plate back up into position:

INSTALLING REMAINING SWITCHES

LIFTING DROPPED PLATE

Next up, we're putting the 12mm standoffs with 4mm screws onto the PCB, these will be what we're attaching our acrylic OLED covers with at the end of this step.

IMAGE OF OLED STANDOFFS INSTALLED

We can now finish assembling the case by placing the PCB and switch plates onto our pre-prepared bottom plates, and screw them together from the top, with 4mm screws.

IMAGE OF SCREWING BOTTOM AND TOP TOGETHER

Finally, we can screw on our acrylic OLED covers with the remaining 6mm screws:

Be careful not to screw these too tightly, acrylic is fragile!

INSTALLING OLED COVERS

Step 6: Installing Keycaps and Changing Layout

Our final step here is a nice and easy one, we can now install our preferred set of keycaps! This is as simple as matching the keycaps to our layout of choice, and pushing them onto our switches.

KEYCAPS BEING INSTALLED

And that's it, you should now have a complete Sofle V2 to get typing on!

FINISHED SOFLE

Now the keyboard is fully built, you can move on to the wireless flashing guide

Controller Flashing Guide - nRF52840 Wireless