[IC] A true GH/DT custom keyboard kit - What do you want to see?

[Photekq]

Poll/questionnaire here

Plate poll here

Background

I wished to apply the lessons I had learned from my TEK-80 custom project. I decided I would design a TKL and a 65% keyboard. Since then, however, I have decided it would be best to focus on one keyboard, and using a HHKB has opened my mind to the 60% layout. I'm absolutely serious about seeing this project through to the end whether it be in the form of a group buy or a readily available kit.

The keyboard and project goals
 
My primary goal for the project is to provide a fully fledged custom kit that is on par with (and possibly/hopefully beyond) Korean customs in terms of build quality and features. My secondary goal is to have it entirely designed by members of Geekhack and Deskthority, making it stand on its own as a true GH/DT custom keyboard kit. I hope to have a PCB designed by contributing members here, and I'm prepared to pay for this if necessary. A tertiary goal is to have the kit produced in UK/Europe/USA, although I'm not sure how viable this is. We'll see.

I have decided upon an aesthetic for the keyboard, which I made rough CAD files around. Regardless of the form factor chosen this will be the aesthetic, barring the logo which has not been decided upon :




Renders by thesiscamper

The purpose of this thread/poll

The purpose of this is for me to be able to gauge interest in the various form factors and also to gauge the importance of certain features. I do not wish to enter a section of the custom market only to find that it's saturated or devoid of interest, so knowing the popularity of the various form factors is important to me at this stage. It would be incredibly helpful if anyone who is interested in purchasing custom keyboards could fill out the poll at the top of this post. For anything not covered in that poll or for any other comments/questions please do post in this thread.

Format of sale

I feel that this field of the poll does deserve an explanation. While nothing other than a traditional group buy had crossed my mind initially, it's now apparent to me that it's perhaps not the best format for selling a custom keyboard kit. Massdrop has expressed their interest in running something like this to me; running something like this would likely lead to lower prices and less work for me. However, I understand that it may also lead to less exclusivity and a disconnect from this forum. Quality would also have to be looked at very seriously. Having a batch of these made and then sold from a store also seems like a viable option to me. I would love to heard your thoughts on this subject.

Thanks so much for reading.

[slickmamba]

Looks awesome pho.  I say a mx 5000 build

[swimmingbird]

Down

[Firebolt1914]

What sort of stabilizer cutouts will there be?

[tchevass]

might be very down

[slickmamba]

What sort of stabilizer cutouts will there be?

Only pcb allowed here

[ArnavM]

Your work never ceases to amaze me photekq, consider me interested. 

[Photekq]

What sort of stabilizer cutouts will there be?

Cherry PCB mount only

[nubbinator]

What sort of stabilizer cutouts will there be?

I'd love the option for PCB mounted so you could use screw in stabilizers.  I just hate the plate mounted ones (costar isn't bad though).

What sort of stabilizer cutouts will there be?

Cherry PCB mount only

And responded while I was typing with the perfect answer.

[whmeltonjr]

I want that exact board. Great looking render. If 60% then I'm all about the HHKB layout.

[jerue]

65% HHKB pleaseeee

edit: for reference:

Looks awesome pho.  I say a mx 5000 build

I have seen custom 5k PCBs...but I think designing and releasing the case would be a big issue otherwise yes, group 5k

[ika]

I would personally be okay with running it through Massdrop. It would help considerably with distribution and logistics; however, a firm hand would be needed to make sure quality control is absolutely up to par.

As far as features go, I think full programmability is an absolute necessity, maybe through something like TMK. Winkey/winkeyless support would also be required. RGB backlight and in-switch LED support would be nice. The possibility of doing an acrylic diffuser plate through the middle would be interesting.

form factor - I think it would be easiest to start with a TKL, as that would pull the most numbers.  I think there's enough 60% choices out there that this isn't necessary unless you do an HHKB-style case. 65%, 75% (octagon), 90% (lightsaver), and 60/65%+10 (macro section on left side) would be good alternatives but it might be difficult to get the numbers you'll need for it to be affordable.

[BaconEggandCheeseBagel]

So, I know this has technically already been done, but to my knowledge this redscarf layout never made it to final production. I do think it's absolutely awesome and appeases several different keyboard enthusiasts.

That's a picture of the redscarf II + model f variant.



Would be an awesome layout and style to replicate in this build, but with a significantly higher build quality and manufacturing eye taken to the case design and overall aesthetics.

Excited to see this project come to fruition!

[Firebolt1914]

What sort of stabilizer cutouts will there be?

Cherry PCB mount only

No i meant what type of PCB mount cutout, there are different styles. A picture would be helpful.

for example LZ style vs OTD

[FoC_Tow]

Love the idea of a community designed board.

Not sure if there is much interest in this, but I would personally love to see a 60% form factor, with some changes to whats usually done for 60% cases.
60% cases are usually done as a one piece shell design sticking to 60% standards which limits you to certain design choices, like having the pcb screwd to the case rather then the plate.

I would personally love to see a 60% form factor with a two piece case design, that doesn't follow the common rules of everyday 60% standard.

[nubbinator]

I would personally love to see a 60% form factor with a two piece case design, that doesn't follow the common rules of everyday 60% standard.

I was messing around with the idea of one like that where you could get a top half with different layouts, HHKB, winkeyless, and so on, without having to use blockers.

[Photekq]

I would personally love to see a 60% form factor with a two piece case design, that doesn't follow the common rules of everyday 60% standard.

It will be a 3-piece case regardless of form factor. Top piece, plate, bottom piece. Same as is shown in the renders.

[priyadi]

What I really despise about Korean custom keyboards: almost all of them have very steep inclination. I find steep keyboards are very unergonomic to me, which prevents me to get any Korean custom no matter how nice they are.

So if you want to get a step ahead from the Koreans, you should use flat case. Not only it is more ergonomic, it should also be cheaper as it needs less material. It is also more portable, which can be important especially for 60%s. And if people are really into angled keyboards, then it should be easy to add optional feet.

[Photekq]

What I really despise about Korean custom keyboards: almost all of them have very steep inclination. I find steep keyboards are very unergonomic to me, which prevents me to get any Korean custom no matter how nice they are.

So if you want to get a step ahead from the Koreans, you should use flat case. Not only it is more ergonomic, it should also be cheaper as it needs less material. It is also more portable, which can be important especially for 60%s. And if people are really into angled keyboards, then it should be easy to add optional feet.

I'm too big of a fan of angled cases to do this, sorry. I find flat keyboards incredibly uncomfortable, and I find flat cases with feet to be ugly. Buy a Cheat or KMAC1

[ika]

What I really despise about Korean custom keyboards: almost all of them have very steep inclination. I find steep keyboards are very unergonomic to me, which prevents me to get any Korean custom no matter how nice they are.

So if you want to get a step ahead from the Koreans, you should use flat case. Not only it is more ergonomic, it should also be cheaper as it needs less material. It is also more portable, which can be important especially for 60%s. And if people are really into angled keyboards, then it should be easy to add optional feet.

1) flat case with feet is ugly
2) less material is negligible for the costs of a custom keyboard
3) more ergonomic is HIGHLY debatable...
4) portability really shouldn't be a consideration in a full alu custom board that will cost upwards of $400, easily.

[byker]

or something along these lines 

[nubbinator]

Show Image

or something along these lines  :-*

FN layer arrow keys work great, why dedicated arrows?

[climbalima]

I would like to see a 60% or 65% split board

[Photekq]

I would like to see a 60% or 65% split board

Split boards are a no-go for me. I see any split keyboard other than the MX5000 as redundant

[byker]

Show Image

or something along these lines  :-*

FN layer arrow keys work great, why dedicated arrows?

i agree but my thought process was:
- I want an mx board similar to the hhkb so I can easily switch between the two (as out of all my boards I always end up back on the hhkb)
- Dedicated arrows would be nice for certain games/programs that I use, such as Binding of Isaac, although I do agree that the FN layer arrows work great
- Gotta keep it nice and compact in layout :)
- FN would use the short shift key, for keyset compatibility

[CommonCurt]

In for either a 60% 1.5 Poker layout  or TKL ANSI winkeyless.

[gadzkun]

in for 1800 layout

[Photekq]

I've removed the "other" option from the form factor section of the poll. To be honest, I have no interest in running any layout that does not fit the 60%, 65% or TKL form factors.

[ika]

Show Image

or something along these lines  :-*

FN layer arrow keys work great, why dedicated arrows?

I use arrow keys with left hand, right hand on mouse quite often. I'm already starting to develop tendonitis in like all my fingers. The less I need to use my pinkies, the better.

[FoC_Tow]

I would personally love to see a 60% form factor with a two piece case design, that doesn't follow the common rules of everyday 60% standard.

I was messing around with the idea of one like that where you could get a top half with different layouts, HHKB, winkeyless, and so on, without having to use blockers.

Same here, thats pretty much what I had in mind.
If you don't follow along 60% standards, it would also be possible to support a more true hhkb layout then most 60% pcbs allow for, like a 1;1.5;6.25;1.5:1 bottom row.\
You could also add extras like hhkb style usb ports on the back or pretty much anything, that would usually be ruled out by the standards.

Show Image

or something along these lines  :-*

This reminds me a lot of KHAANNNs Alternative Arrowed 60%.
+1 Would love to see something along those lines, love the layout.

I would personally love to see a 60% form factor with a two piece case design, that doesn't follow the common rules of everyday 60% standard.

It will be a 3-piece case regardless of form factor. Top piece, plate, bottom piece. Same as is shown in the renders.

Yeah, I get its pretty much a three piece design case if you count in da plate m8.
I said two piece design for comparison with common 60% case which I guess are considered single piece cases, since the plate isn't truly integrated or part of the case.

[romevi]

60% is definitely great, even if slightly saturated in this market. Would love to see what you all produce.

[choiboi]

I'd honestly love to see a TKL board series like OTD had, but made in the West

[priyadi]

I understand. In that case I hope you are going with TKL or 65%. Even if I will never buy it, I hope it would start the process of standardization of TKL/65% cases.

60% is already standardized enough, and it is not hard for me to get suitable cases with reasonable prices.

I'm too big of a fan of angled cases to do this, sorry. I find flat keyboards incredibly uncomfortable, and I find flat cases with feet to be ugly. Buy a Cheat or KMAC1

[pr0ximity]

60% or TKL with a 1.5/1/1.5/7/1.5/1/1.5 bottom row and a split right Shift would be the bomb.

[R1N3]

talked about this a lot this week w CPT.

i'd love for these to be made in the US/EU; no matter the form/layout, i'll be purchasing

[joey]

For the US/EU part.. I'd like to actually know if the quality is going to be better (over getting it from Asia), otherwise it doesn't seem worth it.

[CommonCurt]

I'd really like to see a nice 60% kit.  All of the best looking ones (i.e. 356mini, KMAC Happy) are insanely hard to come by.

My second choice would be  winkeyless TKL.

[n0rvig]

Photekq you're full of good stuff. I hope i have money for this when the time comes.

[whentheclouds]

a WKL set is most befitting of an inaugural project imo. gotta maintain the Korean established tradition

[Photekq]

For the US/EU part.. I'd like to actually know if the quality is going to be better (over getting it from Asia), otherwise it doesn't seem worth it.

To support US/EU industry.

a WKL set is most befitting of an inaugural project imo. gotta maintain the Korean established tradition

At least having an option for WKL is necessary. Not because of any Korean tradition, but because of original Cherry sets

[joey]

For the US/EU part.. I'd like to actually know if the quality is going to be better (over getting it from Asia), otherwise it doesn't seem worth it.

To support US/EU industry.

Let me rephrase: If the quality is going to be as good (if not better), without changing the price drastically.

[redskull]

would like to see something unique, like the LZ-GH with the SS mirror bottom and long half-circle bar for legs.

i mean do something angled, but with something unique material-wise as such the said board.

[T0mb3ry]

Layout of g80-1800, but plate mounted and with 6.25 spacebar. There are to many custom tkl and 60% boards.

[Photekq]

Let me rephrase: If the quality is going to be as good (if not better), without changing the price drastically.

I can't speak of quality at this time. It would be entirely dependent upon the shop. Know that quality is the most important criteria for picking a shop though, far above location.

[whentheclouds]

but because of original Cherry sets

certainly. that's probably what they had in mind in the first place

by the way, are the color choices dependent on the shop you'll use, or do you have something in mind already?

[jonathanyu]

something like the whale would be awesome..

[billnye]

HHKB>60%>TKL

I'll end up buying whatever it is though.

[azhdar]

only if iso

[trenzafeeds]

I absolutely love the idea of having something made in the US or Europe, even if it does increase the price by a substantial amount, I'm happy to pay the difference.

[braidn]

Would be down for a TKL Custom. Spilt right shift is fine but definitely WKL. Step caps lock support. I dearly love my HHKB and other 60% boards but think that the TKL form factor could use some love.