[IC] the Heavy-6: a Norbauer housing for the Leopold FC660C

[sodiumjoe]

I'm a Topre n00b, I know there are sliders that let you convert the switches to work with MX keycaps, but my basic research seems to indicate that the space bar on a FC660c is problematic to convert to MX because of the stabilizers.

Is there a solution for this? My interest in this case is dependent on finding a way to be able to put MX keycaps on the FC660C that would go in it.

check this thread: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=93802.0

tl;dr it's expensive and a lot of work

[The_judge_168]

Topre sliders also change feel of board, so if you haven't tried it before I'd try before going through hassle of making spacebar work. Also a ton PBT / resin Topre spacebars that you can kinda mix with MX caps

[Hawkfriend]

Topre sliders also change feel of board, so if you haven't tried it before I'd try before going through hassle of making spacebar work. Also a ton PBT / resin Topre spacebars that you can kinda mix with MX caps

Do the rgb sliders work?


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[Trente]

Stonewash finish looks very cool. And for IDK what reason I was thinking about a damascus finish

[Wetherbee]

Do the rgb sliders work?

RGB sliders only work in RGB housings because the dimensions are different on both the slider and housing. #keyboardscience

[wishful_cynic]

I'm a Topre n00b, I know there are sliders that let you convert the switches to work with MX keycaps, but my basic research seems to indicate that the space bar on a FC660c is problematic to convert to MX because of the stabilizers.

Is there a solution for this? My interest in this case is dependent on finding a way to be able to put MX keycaps on the FC660C that would go in it.

check this thread: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=93802.0

tl;dr it's expensive and a lot of work

As someone else noted, adding MX sliders to a topre board significantly reduces the feel of the board.  Most people prefer an MX switch over topre-to-MX sliders.

Have you tried a topre board?  The stock keycaps on a Leopold, for example, are superbly textured PBT that feel fantastic.  I'm not sure why you would want to change that.  They look great, too.  Very clean.

[dc_in_sf]

I'm a Topre n00b, I know there are sliders that let you convert the switches to work with MX keycaps, but my basic research seems to indicate that the space bar on a FC660c is problematic to convert to MX because of the stabilizers.

Is there a solution for this? My interest in this case is dependent on finding a way to be able to put MX keycaps on the FC660C that would go in it.

check this thread: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=93802.0

tl;dr it's expensive and a lot of work

As someone else noted, adding MX sliders to a topre board significantly reduces the feel of the board.  Most people prefer an MX switch over topre-to-MX sliders.

Have you tried a topre board?  The stock keycaps on a Leopold, for example, are superbly textured PBT that feel fantastic.  I'm not sure why you would want to change that.  They look great, too.  Very clean.

Thanks for all the replies. Swapping out keycaps is one of the things I happen to enjoy about this hobby, so Topre may be a no go for me personally at the moment.

A pity, the case looks fun, and the 65% form factor is my personal favorite (I have a clueboard, a whitefox and the LZ st).

[Mr_BeastQuake]

I'm a Topre n00b, I know there are sliders that let you convert the switches to work with MX keycaps, but my basic research seems to indicate that the space bar on a FC660c is problematic to convert to MX because of the stabilizers.

Is there a solution for this? My interest in this case is dependent on finding a way to be able to put MX keycaps on the FC660C that would go in it.

You really need to get Novatouch sliders and x4 modifier housings w/ stabilizers. This is not an easy task to accomplish on the cheap. Frankly, not many people are gutting their Novatouches to sell just the sliders but if you find one good. Otherwise, buy Novatouch, harvest sliders, sell guts. It’ll be expensive but oh well. The spacebar is less simple but there’s info out there on it.

Source: https://imgur.com/a/e6dlg

[Vigrith]

You really need to get Novatouch sliders and x4 modifier housings w/ stabilizers. This is not an easy task to accomplish on the cheap. Frankly, not many people are gutting their Novatouches to sell just the sliders but if you find one good. Otherwise, buy Novatouch, harvest sliders, sell guts. It’ll be expensive but oh well. The spacebar is less simple but there’s info out there on it.

Source: https://imgur.com/a/e6dlg

Or just go on KBDfans and buy sliders for $30.

[Kerasan]

You really need to get Novatouch sliders and x4 modifier housings w/ stabilizers. This is not an easy task to accomplish on the cheap. Frankly, not many people are gutting their Novatouches to sell just the sliders but if you find one good. Otherwise, buy Novatouch, harvest sliders, sell guts. It’ll be expensive but oh well. The spacebar is less simple but there’s info out there on it.

Source: https://imgur.com/a/e6dlg

Or just go on KBDfans and buy sliders for $30.

But he does'nt solve the problem of the spacebar

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[Vigrith]

But he does'nt solve the problem of the spacebar

I'm aware, I just meant that for the rest of the board the KBDfans sliders are almost as good/consistent as the Novatouch ones and are probably 10 to 15 times cheaper.

[Mr_BeastQuake]

But he does'nt solve the problem of the spacebar

I'm aware, I just meant that for the rest of the board the KBDfans sliders are almost as good/consistent as the Novatouch ones and are probably 10 to 15 times cheaper.

Kind of lost track of that as an option after initial reviews of the aliexpress ones. Do they come with the modifiers? Cuz personally I was goning to look at JTK or whatever but the big constraint is the modifier housings. As tough as it is to get someone to sell you just Nt sliders, just NT modifiers may be more difficult.

[MajorKoos]

But he does'nt solve the problem of the spacebar

I'm aware, I just meant that for the rest of the board the KBDfans sliders are almost as good/consistent as the Novatouch ones and are probably 10 to 15 times cheaper.

Kind of lost track of that as an option after initial reviews of the aliexpress ones. Do they come with the modifiers? Cuz personally I was goning to look at JTK or whatever but the big constraint is the modifier housings. As tough as it is to get someone to sell you just Nt sliders, just NT modifiers may be more difficult.

Would the NT housings also work in the case of the spacebar or is something different required?

[Mr_BeastQuake]

Would the NT housings also work in the case of the spacebar or is something different required?

As far as can you swap spacebar stuff with a Novatouch, yes you can. May be you need to use FC660C stabilizer wire with the MX compatible stabilizer tabs. In some cases, it is about whether or not the keyset you want to use has a compatible 6u center stemmed spacebar. Mine didn't and I had a Topre spacebar that matched well so I left it.

[MajorKoos]

Would the NT housings also work in the case of the spacebar or is something different required?

As far as can you swap spacebar stuff with a Novatouch, yes you can. May be you need to use FC660C stabilizer wire with the MX compatible stabilizer tabs. In some cases, it is about whether or not the keyset you want to use has a compatible 6u center stemmed spacebar. Mine didn't and I had a Topre spacebar that matched well so I left it.

Thanks.
Does GMK even make a 6u center stem spacebar?

[xondat]

Would the NT housings also work in the case of the spacebar or is something different required?

As far as can you swap spacebar stuff with a Novatouch, yes you can. May be you need to use FC660C stabilizer wire with the MX compatible stabilizer tabs. In some cases, it is about whether or not the keyset you want to use has a compatible 6u center stemmed spacebar. Mine didn't and I had a Topre spacebar that matched well so I left it.

Thanks.
Does GMK even make a 6u center stem spacebar?

Yes, along with off-set too.

[MajorKoos]

Would the NT housings also work in the case of the spacebar or is something different required?

As far as can you swap spacebar stuff with a Novatouch, yes you can. May be you need to use FC660C stabilizer wire with the MX compatible stabilizer tabs. In some cases, it is about whether or not the keyset you want to use has a compatible 6u center stemmed spacebar. Mine didn't and I had a Topre spacebar that matched well so I left it.

Thanks.
Does GMK even make a 6u center stem spacebar?

Yes, along with off-set too.

All my 6u GMK spacebars have the off-center stem
A search of PMK's inventory also turned up empty.
Any pointers where else I could look?

[Mr_BeastQuake]

All my 6u GMK spacebars have the off-center stem
A search of PMK's inventory also turned up empty.
Any pointers where else I could look?

I thought a lot of the new sets had the centered spacebar? My recommendation would be to consider the set you are trying to use and whether there is a Topre spacebar that is a good match. Here's an example of a stock Leopold spacebar with a Dolch colorway:

https://imgur.com/a/vlU7O

The stock dark grey Topre color matches a lot of the N9 colors fairly well also.

[elcubismo]

To add to that, you could also dye white or light gray pbt spacebars using idye poly.

[elcubismo]

Having trouble deciding between black, photographer gray, or going with a custom space station white or something:

[ChrisSwires]

Any intentions of doing an FC660m version in the future? Love the design (and the 660 layout) but not a massive Topre fan.

I'm going to presume it's a tentative yes and get excited either way.

[elcubismo]

Any intentions of doing an FC660m version in the future? Love the design (and the 660 layout) but not a massive Topre fan.

I'm going to presume it's a tentative yes and get excited either way.

There have already been sales for slim aluminum cases for the M model. The M/C cases are not compatible with each other because of usb port positions

[Korseir]

ooooo I can't wait for this to drop! Hopefully you can find a way to pay homage to the original by having the capacitance formula

Going to have to agree with this guy about the capacitance formula

Also I am on the wagon of agreeing the case could be slightly thinner to be similar to the norbaforce that you designed

[elcubismo]

ooooo I can't wait for this to drop! Hopefully you can find a way to pay homage to the original by having the capacitance formula

Going to have to agree with this guy about the capacitance formula

I forget the name of the person, but I had asked someone who makes those fancy red/gold and silver/blue hhkb stickers if they would be willing to make a Leopold capacitance formula sticker. They said they could work on it, but they wanted to know the font used for the formula. Since the FC660C is probably my favorite board ever, I got in contact with someone from Leopold to ask for the font. They told me that it was proprietary and was a custom contract from a Korean artist or whatever and didn't seem interested in sharing the typeface or whatever. *sad trombone nose*

So if Norb decides to look into this, he will probably need to find a different font that is "close enough"

[The_judge_168]

Maybe an optional mini weight with the formula on it? Could be a cool option

[tusing]

Having trouble deciding between black, photographer gray, or going with a custom space station white or something:

Show Image

Where did you get those mods for the FC660C? I've looked everywhere and I can't find anyone that makes Topre mods of the right size for the Windows/Fn/Alt keys!

[elcubismo]

Having trouble deciding between black, photographer gray, or going with a custom space station white or something:

Show Image

Where did you get those mods for the FC660C? I've looked everywhere and I can't find anyone that makes Topre mods of the right size for the Windows/Fn/Alt keys!

I know your pain! They were hard AF to get, and very few people have ever commented about that whenever I share pics lol.

They are Blizzard mods. He's mostly known for his HHKB resin mods but he had a limited run of FC660C resin mods. He had a temporary form that only appeared on r/mechmarket on one day of the week at a certain hour and only stayed up until like 5 or 6 people filled out the form and paid. He doesn't have any more runs for this as far as I can tell, but I do know that he is working on a hi-pro FC660C mod set. Should be interesting.

IMO there is another option for you that I only recently found out about: Clay Caps on mechmarket dyed this user's mods black and you can't see the legends at all! Probably wouldn't work for any other color though, since even the darkest blues/reds etc would still show a bit of the legends. I have had Clay Caps dye some of my blanks red for the above board, but didn't even know he could have dyed my mods like that. Would probably be significantly cheaper too.

[norbauer]

Hey all. I'm working on the risers design right now. The native angle of the fc660c without its flip-out feet deployed is 3 degrees. I have in my notes that the incline of the fc660c with its flip-out feet deployed is 10 degrees—and, to be precise, I'm talking about the angle between the tabletop and the top (typing) face of the keyboard.

However, we don't necessarily have to mimic the fc660c exactly for the risers angle. Is there a good safe consensus angle to choose that is likely to please most people who want the extra incline of risers?

This following images show a total 8 degrees with risers installed, and even this looks pretty severe to me.





Thoughts welcome.

[BobCarltheThird]

Hey all. I'm working on the risers design right now. The native angle of the fc660c without its flip-out feet deployed is 3 degrees. I have in my notes that the incline of the fc660c with its flip-out feet deployed is 10 degrees—and, to be precise, I'm talking about the angle between the tabletop and the top (typing) face of the keyboard.

However, we don't necessarily have to mimic the fc660c exactly for the risers angle. Is there a good safe consensus angle to choose that is likely to please most people who want the extra incline of risers?

This following images show a total 8 degrees with risers installed, and even this looks pretty severe to me.

Show Image

Show Image

Thoughts welcome.

Personally I think an incline of 6-7 would be close enough to be comfortable.

[MajorKoos]

Hey all. I'm working on the risers design right now. The native angle of the fc660c without its flip-out feet deployed is 3 degrees. I have in my notes that the incline of the fc660c with its flip-out feet deployed is 10 degrees—and, to be precise, I'm talking about the angle between the tabletop and the top (typing) face of the keyboard.

However, we don't necessarily have to mimic the fc660c exactly for the risers angle. Is there a good safe consensus angle to choose that is likely to please most people who want the extra incline of risers?

This following images show a total 8 degrees with risers installed, and even this looks pretty severe to me.

Show Image

Show Image

Thoughts welcome.

Personally I think an incline of 6-7 would be close enough to be comfortable.

The mt3 profile used by /dev/tty is optimized for something between 5-7 degrees
Some detail on the profile and how it compares to SA and Cherry here: https://matt3o.com/about-mt3-profile-and-devtty-set/

[norbauer]

I agree with what you guys said. 6 degrees looks much more sane to me.

[Vigrith]

I personally favour gentler angles, 5 to 8 the most comfortable area for me - though I have a couple 10-12 angle boards, I really don't like it as much as I do just a simple 5 or 6. It's not even close.

For a board like this, I'd say 6 would be a good compromise and by far the best solution.

[haydoselefantes]

The Heavy-6 has a native slope angle that matches that of the FC660C (without its flip-out feet deployed).

The native angle of the fc660c without its flip-out feet deployed is 3 degrees.

Just to make certain: can we expect a three degree angle on the Heavy-6 without risers?

[le_wraith]

Motorsport yellow + GMK Serika gonna be lit. 

[syke]

prefer the shape for the cm masterkeys

[Korseir]

The Heavy-6 has a native slope angle that matches that of the FC660C (without its flip-out feet deployed).

The native angle of the fc660c without its flip-out feet deployed is 3 degrees.

Just to make certain: can we expect a three degree angle on the Heavy-6 without risers?

the flatter the better

[tanvir175]

So, is the next step a premium housing for the HHKB? (please say yes)

[derzemel]

So, is the next step a premium housing for the HHKB? (please say yes)

That would be a very hard and expensive one to make because the plate and top case are one piece on the HHKB.

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[tanvir175]

So, is the next step a premium housing for the HHKB? (please say yes)

That would be a very hard and expensive one to make because the plate and top case are one piece on the HHKB.

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Oh right, I forgot about that. RIP

[Kerasan]

It's hard but not impossible. However next project are RF numpad and tkl bag. (2019 hhkb?  )

KMK Labs.

[G1LL3Y]

I have read through this thread, and I understand that usb-c is probably not going to happen but I wish it would 

[haydoselefantes]

the flatter the better

That's what I was getting at, actually I probably should have been more direct

[Rumblehotep]

So, is the next step a premium housing for the HHKB? (please say yes)

That would be a very hard and expensive one to make because the plate and top case are one piece on the HHKB.

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Hmm how much of a difference would replacing the bottom part of the hhkb case with metal accomplish?

[xondat]

So, is the next step a premium housing for the HHKB? (please say yes)

That would be a very hard and expensive one to make because the plate and top case are one piece on the HHKB.

Sent from my LG-H815 using Tapatalk

Hmm how much of a difference would replacing the bottom part of the hhkb case with metal accomplish?

No one has ever done that so let’s not expect close answers

Although you can estimate that the sound signature would change dramatically, feel not so much, if at all.

[elcubismo]

Just had a thought - can we see INSIDE the prototype? I wonder how much space is in there.

[xondat]

Just had a thought - can we see INSIDE the prototype? I wonder how much space is in there.

Could see his signature and get an idea for it )

[elcubismo]

It's not in his signature anymore, but from the example on the main post, I get an idea, but I'd still like to know exactly where everything is

[HOBI3CAT]

I agree with what you guys said. 6 degrees looks much more sane to me.

Show Image

6* looks spot on :)

[norbauer]

Hi all. So I'm still looking at stainless and PVD coating. It's really, really expensive, but I'm still kind of digging it. I'm told it's fantastically durable and all the photos I've seen make it look awesome. Because the entire assembly would also be stainless steel, the case would be enormously heavy. Before I invest the huge amount of money required to get a prototype in Stainless Steel with PVD, I wanted to ask if literally anyone would be up for a steel PVD case if the cost were around $500-600, as I think it almost inevitably would be.

Also, I was out of town (back in Boston) for a couple of weeks and am just now catching up correspondence. Sorry I didn't answer your questions here earlier, but see below.

Just to make certain: can we expect a three degree angle on the Heavy-6 without risers?

Affirmative.

Motorsport yellow + GMK Serika gonna be lit. 

Agreed. I'm actually really excited about this color/finish.

It's hard but not impossible. However next project are RF numpad and tkl bag. (2019 hhkb?  )

Everything you said.

Just had a thought - can we see INSIDE the prototype? I wonder how much space is in there.

There is quite a lot of space to accommodate the sub-PCB. I have made some updates to the design as described above compared to the prototype I showed last, which includes a pretty significant change to that interior space, so I'll go ahead and wait until the next prototype comes back to me to take photos of the interior. But if I forget when I post the new prototype photos, feel free to remind me.

[omjak]

...for a steel PVD case if the cost were around $500-600...

For comparison sake, what would be an approximate price range for the aluminum anodized / powder coated?

I suppose if the difference may be significant.