[IC] Bulwark TKL | GB LIVE

[Garner]

GB is live, link to thread: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=119124


Bulwark TKL
Designed by Garner


My core idea behind this project was to make a keyboard with smooth high end underglow, design choices with
cost efficiency in mind to give it a beautiful desk presence without excess design features hidden on the back.


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News:
- Preliminary GB dates are set. It's currently planned to go live on Friday December 16th and be open to Sunday January 8th.
Regional vendors and pricing further below.



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Supported Layouts

The PCB is designed by Hineybush and is a white edition of the H88 PCB.
It has RGB Underglow, Daughterboard + JST cable, comes pre-flashed and is configurable with QMK and VIA.
(My plate will not support Alps but plate files will be released after GB).


Hotswap ANSI PCB



Hotswap ISO PCB



Solderable PCB



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Isolated Top mount



Adhesive custom gaskets will isolate the PCB plate from the keyboard top.

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Technical Details

Keyboard Size	TKL
Typing angle	6°
Front height	19mm
Keyboard weight	2kg built
Case top	Aluminum 6063
Case bottom	Frosted polycarbonate, coated with a scratch resistant finish to protect the polycarbonate and give it nice glossy look.
Weight material	Brushed stainless steel
Case color options	8 different colors available
PCB Plate materials	Aluminum, PC, POM, FR4. (All in black color to prevent light bleed)
Wrist rest materials	Aluminum 6063, Polycarbonate (frosted)

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Color Options (Renders)

- Black

- Abyss Green (sample)

- Navy Blue (sample)

- Lilac (sample)

- Orange (sample)

- Deep Red (sample)

- Silver

- E-white








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Pricing, Vendors & GB

MOQ will be 80 units across all regions, and a fixed upper limit will be set for each region before the GB.
Expected lead time is 6 months after GB.

Keyboard base kit:

$395 USD

*Base kit includes a Bulwark TKL with solderable PCB, aluminum plate and any color finish except e-white).

Base kit options / Upgrades:
Wrist rest	$75 USD
Hotswap PCB	$10 USD
E-white	$10 USD
Translucent case foam pad	$5 USD
Polycarbonate plate	$25 USD
POM plate	$25 USD
FR4 plate	$30 USD

*Wrist rest will have the same color finish as your chosen keyboard base kit.

Additional Options:
Wrist rest without keyboard	$90 USD
Carrying case with cutout foam	$39 USD
Extra aluminum plate	$25 USD
Extra polycarbonate plate	$45 USD
Extra POM plate	$45 USD
Extra FR4 plate	$50 USD
Extra Solderable PCB (excl. daughterboard)	$50 USD
Extra Hotswap PCB (excl. daughterboard)	$60 USD

Vendors:

US:	Mech's and Co.
EU:	Keygem
CA:	Deskhero
UK:	Prototypist
Oceanic:	Daily Clack

*Rights reserved that minor adjustments of the pricing could change up to the GB date. Pricing between vendors may vary slightly due to currency rates, different regional taxes, etc.


Group buy is planned to go live on Friday December 16th and be open to Sunday January 8th. Timestamps TBD.

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Prototype

This prototype is built with FR4 plate and without translucent case foam, e-white finish on keyboard and wrist rest.
A special coating has been applied to the bottom piece to provide excellent scratch resistance and a clean finish. The inside of the bottom piece is still frosted for light diffusing.

- Full prototype album.
   









During night time, a very subtle amount of light bleed is still visible at certain angles through the plate.
But for the pendantic person it's nothing that can't be fixed with a few minutes of love and some electrical tape.


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Project State

What's ongoing
- Launch the GB


What's planned


List of features / adjustments to implement:
- Adjust design and tolerances around the USB-C cutout for better fitment.
- Fix light bleed through plate.
- Add more color options.
- Designing custom wrist rest
- Lower front height
- Hotswap option added
- Implement adjustments and suggestions gathered from the IC form.
- Planning to have the keyboard built on stream / youtube.
- Contact vendors and prep for GB.
- Finalize cost / pricing.

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A brief introduction of myself
I'm based in Sweden and delved into this rabbit hole of a hobby a few years ago. As my interest grew I began designing my own keyboards and here we are.
I'm very committed to my projects and always try to respond as fast as possible.

If you have any questions or just want to stay updated on my projects, feel free to join my Discord channel and follow my Instagram page.

Thanks for taking your time, remember to fill out the IC form if you are interested as this helps me a lot.

[DirtyGingy]

Simple, clean, tasteful. But can the light bleed be fixed?

[Garner]

Simple, clean, tasteful. But can the light bleed be fixed?

Yes, I did put a note about this in the post but maybe it's easy to miss, sorry.

[Puddsy]

fwiw back when they were big, light bleed was just an accepted part of the design of most underglow TKLs. In normal light it shouldn't be a problem but if you sit a dark office all day you may notice it. i've been staring at my mira for the past couple years and it's what i would describe as "relatively subtle" most of the time. being gasket mount may help a bit since more of the light is blocked by the plate.

regardless, nice design, may pick one of these up.

[Jubileus]

Hi. Just wondering what keycap set is used in the proto? Mainly interested in the purse caps. 

[Garner]

Hi. Just wondering what keycap set is used in the proto? Mainly interested in the purse caps. 

Hi, the keycaps are ePBT BoW R2 with icon mods.

General project update:

- The light bleed has been fixed and is barely noticeable, even in a dark room. I posted some new pictures in the Discord channel and will update this thread soon.

- New color options will also be offered thanks to the IC form feedback. I'm working on new renders and will provide photos of color samples from the factory.
3 of the new confirmed colors are: Orange, deep red and silver.

[mr_foggy]

hey this is nice

[//gainsborough]

I've never really liked the underglow aesthetic, but this is pretty neat.  Would you consider having WKL be an option?

[norb]

this is pretty dope, interested in the e-white!

[Garner]

I've never really liked the underglow aesthetic, but this is pretty neat.  Would you consider having WKL be an option?

Hey thanks! In order to keep the price down I think I will only offer a regular WK top, there have only been a few people requesting WKL in the IC form.

[Garner]

Update September 6th:

- Light bleed has been fixed and is not visible at all during daytime, only a very subtle amount of light bleed is visible on my white keycaps during night time with maximum underglow brightness.
But for the pedantic person it's nothing that can't be fixed with a few minutes of love and some electrical tape.

- New color options added! I have now added 5 more color options thanks to the feedback from the IC form: Forest green, lilac, orange, deep red and silver.

- New prototype pictures in daytime and night time (with the new plate that fixed the previous light bleed).

- Front height has been added.

- IC Form is now updated with the new color options.


By the way, thanks for the great interest and feedback so far from GH and Reddit. In this pace the project seem very likely to happen!

[Garner]

Hi everyone,

I'm back with an update for this project.
For those of you haven't followed the conversations in the discord channel, or TLDR:

- A matching wrist rest has been prototyped and added as an option
- Front height has been lowered to 19mm
- Pictures of wrist rest prototype
- Renders of wrist rest in different color finishes
- Info about vendors and GB added. Looking to run the GB by the end of November / early December if things go smooth

[Garner]

Update Nov 5th:
- Hotswap PCB now added as an option

[Garner]

Big project news about GB and pricing:

Update November 22nd:
- Alexotos will build and review the keyboard live on stream, Friday 9th December at 9pm EST.
Link to his twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/alexotos

- Preliminary GB dates are set. It's currently planned to go live on Friday December 16th and be open to Sunday January 8th.

- Vendors for EU, US, CA and UK are confirmed and revealed.

- Preliminary pricing has been revealed!

[Garner]

Some more project news:

- Pricing revealed.
- Daily Clack will be the regional vendor for the Oceanic region.
- Added new renders of keyboard + wrist rest for ALL color options (instead of just a few).

[Garner]

Hi everyone, the prototype build stream for Bulwark TKL starts tonight at 7pm EST (01:00 CET for us Europeans) at https://www.twitch.tv/alexotos.

[epicdesk.shop]

LOVE the RGBs and the minimalistic approach here. I like it a lot!

[Kuj0]

What are the internal dimensions of the carrying case? 

[Garner]

GB is now live, locking thread.
GB Thread: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=119124