Carbon fibre keycaps.. possible EOI for a GB

[OkGold]

interesting!

so by what you're saying, the limitations are

• $100 for a mold
• ~1000 of the thing to make it worth his time

so wouldn't a blank keyset be the best idea? either a blank R4 packs (for numbers/Fkeys) or doing a full alpha set (~12 1x of each row) make the most sense? that way only ~90 of us have to sign on for it, which is much more reasonable than doing any one single key

That said, if it turns out that the time and materials cost thousands, were not going to be saving ourselves anything. Email him about it, ask where the costs come from, are we paying for his time? Just let him know that were trying to figure out what we want, and if he can give us more insight on where the costs will be coming from, we can plan better

[himynameisbunny]

Or you could make things 10x easier and just link him to this thread.

[emptythecache]

at most, i'd want to do a space, modifiers, esc, and maybe the f row.

[randuin]

I"d be totally down for a set for the HHKB

[himynameisbunny]

I"d be totally down for a set for the HHKB

As would I.

You could always do what Deck did with their doubleshots and make the top part of the keycap CF and the stem/legend another plastic altogether.

[lorem3k]

I wouldn't want a full alpha set of CF, the texture would probably feel kind of weird to be typing on all the time. I think R4 + modifiers sounds perfect

[himynameisbunny]

I wouldn't want a full alpha set of CF, the texture would probably feel kind of weird to be typing on all the time. I think R4 + modifiers sounds perfect

They would probably be resin coated like most/all CF so they'd just feel smooth.

[Inochi]

I would go in for just about any for CF caps. Mainly the space and modifiers but would jump in for others.

[corey_s]

Gotta love the titanium. Unfortunately I missed out on them.

Sorry for my lack of replies, I have just had nothing to say really.
I will be seeing my mate on Friday night to ask about getting spacebars done, but I am afraid his minimum order quantity might be a bit large.

Would anybody be able to estimate a rough number of people that may be interested?
Or better yet, can people say if they would get a spacebar?
If I could find out a very rough, fair figure that people may be willing to pay it may make a difference on the minimum order quantity. But I will definitely not be saying anything like 100/cap as that is a bit silly.

[corey_s]

Gotta love the titanium. Unfortunately I missed out on them.

Sorry for my lack of replies, I have just had nothing to say really.
I will be seeing my mate on Friday night to ask about getting spacevars and/or F row, as this seems to have the most interest.

Would anybody be able to estimate a rough number of people that may be interested?
If I could find out a very rough, fair figure that people may be willing to pay it may make a difference on the minimum order quantity. But I will definitely not be saying anything like 100/cap as that is a bit silly.
I dont think the cost would be too high, but I dont want to make any assumptions. I would intend to keep prices as close to cost as I can, and I may be getting a shipping container sent down with car parts, so shipping will not be an issue for the main order.

This is an example of carbon fibre being used for something smallish, which shows the finish and visible pattern.

[ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ] 40673[/ATTACH]

[himynameisbunny]

I don't remember carbon fiber feeling or wearing anything special.  Titanium is much better.

QFT. CF looks cool and makes things go faster.

Heated titanium? Now THAT looks cool. Pun intended.

[dorkvader]

I don't remember carbon fiber feeling or wearing anything special.  Titanium is much better.

It's because what we call "carbon fiber" is really a composite of carbon fiber woven strands in a resin matrix. All you'd feel is the resin, which protects the somewhat fragile CF from being cut, and other shear forces.

As far as wear: it's all about the resin, Different ones can be used, but most should be pretty good. Notice that the main reason to have carbon fiber is the excellent strength to weight ratio, as well as the incredible tensile strength.

I would say a CF keycap should resonate quite a bit differently wen bottoming out.

[himynameisbunny]

It's because what we call "carbon fiber" is really a composite of carbon fiber woven strands in a resin matrix. All you'd feel is the resin, which protects the somewhat fragile CF from being cut, and other shear forces.

So long story short:

They would probably be resin coated like most/all CF so they'd just feel smooth.

:croc:

[corey_s]

titanium costs heaps more to buy and make stuff from. but it is heaps stronger and still looks awesome.

[dorkvader]

titanium costs heaps more to buy and make stuff from. but it is heaps stronger and still looks awesome.

No.... titanium is better in shear, and is much more ductile (better fracture toughness) CF is significantly better in tension, which is why they weave it (to spread out the shear forces. The resin is the matrix o the composite, which holds it together, and protects it form impacts.

Also, I like Magnesium. It's the lightest structural metal. It's got a strength-to-weight ratio similar to aluminium, so it's not as good as titanium. It's also a pretty sweet alloying metal, and one of the main reasons 6XXX and 7XXX series aluminium are stronger than 1XXX (pure aluminium with uncontrolled impurities)

That said, Titanium is pretty awesome. But if we're going that far out, why not extruded brass matrix filled up with aluminum? It's almost as strong, lighter, and cheaper. Looks excellent, too: would make an amazing keycap.

[lorem3k]

But if we're going that far out, why not extruded brass matrix filled up with aluminum? It's almost as strong, lighter, and cheaper. Looks excellent, too: would make an amazing keycap.

If I were going ALL out, I'd have an entire set fabricated out of pure rhodium. It's high resistance to corrosion would make it perfect for keeping it's texture forever. It may be too hard to properly form a keycap out of it though due to poor malleability, so maybe rhodium-plated aluminium would be better.

[corey_s]

Thanks for clearing that up Dork. A good day is when you learn something, or at least have something better defined.

[corey_s]

I met with the guy again on friday night, but some people just cant get into keyboards i guess.
It looks like there will not be a run of CF caps from me.
Sorry to get peoples hopes up, but I was personally looking forward to this.

Thanks for all the support anyways.

[dorkvader]

No, it's cool. Sometimes It's like that. Thanks for bringing up the possibility.

[Henry Allen Venture]

Thats cool dude, we appreciate the effort.

[Tricks]

hmm 316Ti easy to clean

also a little lol:
http://us-tech.com/RelId/725844/ISvars/default/InduKey_Intros_First_Carbon-Fiber_Keyboard.htm

CF with stainless keycaps .. haha

[foureight84]

gonna be some expensive key caps. i saw some zinc cherry mx compat keys on ebay for $99 crazy expensive

[dorkvader]

gonna be some expensive key caps. i saw some zinc cherry mx compat keys on ebay for $99 crazy expensive

I saw them on Geekhack for less.

The CF ones would be expensive, sure. But it would be well worth it.

[foureight84]

I saw them on Geekhack for less.

The CF ones would be expensive, sure. But it would be well worth it.

yea i don't doubt that. i would love to replace all of my keys with cf caps. they would last a long long time.

[dorkvader]

Last a long time...? I'm not so sure. See, the carbon and resin composites aren't really that wear resistant, it's just super-amazing in tension. The weave makes it good in tension in multiple directions, so i you dropped them, they likely wouldn't break. I suspect we'd wear through the resin like normal plastic (Depending on what was used).

Now what would last a really long time: ceramic keycaps. I want to get an oven (or overvolt a toaster) and DIY some AL2O3 (alumina) keycaps. You can keep the temperature relatively "low" by sintering for a long time. Unfortunately, I still need an oven that can do 800C or higher.

[useless_people]

I think it would look really cool but I feel like the resin would wear down too easily. And possibly become a little sticky. But I don't know. I would definitely be interested if it was really durable though.

[dorkvader]

I think it would look really cool but I feel like the resin would wear down too easily. And possibly become a little sticky. But I don't know. I would definitely be interested if it was really durable though.

Think of it as clear epoxy. It shouldn't get sticky.

[hazeluff]

Think of it as clear epoxy. It shouldn't get sticky.

Any keycap can become sticky after a while, even epoxy. ; p