Author Topic: [IC] LvL Type-01/80 by Artifact Industries  (Read 14169 times)

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Offline FindYourZero

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[IC] LvL Type-01/80 by Artifact Industries
« on: Fri, 15 October 2021, 12:04:37 »
Artifact Industries
www.artifact-industries.com

LvL Type-01/80 Founding Edition

For updates and push notifications regarding this project, please join:
Discord | Instagram | Linktree


The Artifact Industries Story

Artifact Industries is a collaborative brainchild incepted by a serendipitous chain of events that brought together a team of passionate and multi-talented designers, engineers and entrepreneurs from Hurbon International Ltd. (@Taiwan) & Noto GmbH (@Germany).

We set out to capture the imagination and way of life in our exciting era. To observe, encapsulate and materialize “artifacts” by applying cutting edge manufacturing technologies, as well as distilling the values and virtues we hold close to our hearts within the design.

We believe a great design should represent the power of reciprocation. Every “artifact” should be gifted the power to induce inspiration for greater things, to affect the world a little nicer than previously. Like bouncing and polishing ideas from one another, like propagating positivity with one another, just as passing of the torch to the next.


A Word from the Founder

It is my absolute honor and pleasure to be able to work alongside Noto.Design, a world renowned and extremely accomplished industrial design firm from Germany. Together, we are partners in building our high-end boutique brand, Artifact Industries (Designed in Germany, Engineered & Manufactured in Taiwan). It is also a privilege to collaborate with Sloky, a Taiwan Excellence Boutique award winning tool maker, so that our clients may enjoy the building experience with the exquisite hand tools. It is close to our heart that we never forget where we are from, and what better way than to share what Taiwan has to offer.


“It starts at the keyboard, and it ends at the far corners of the universe.”
– Vincent Lowry

Yours Sincerely,
Phil

The Artifact Industries Team:
Phil Chen (Co-founder) @ Hurbon – aka. FindYourZero
Renner Wu (Mechanical Engineer) @ Hurbon
James Chan (Supply Chain Guru) @ Hurbon
Andre Poulheim (Co-founder) @ Noto
Julian Sommer (Industrial Design) @ Noto
Stefan Hohn (Industrial Design) @ Noto
Ira Mauve (Industrial Design) @ Noto
Yiangos Yiangou (PCB Designer) @ Yiancar Design
Demi Cui (PCB Designer) @ Yiancar Design

Please reference the second post for updates
Please reference the third post for additional renders/photographs



Design Renders - Exterior









Design Renders - Internals








Design Features

  • 4 or 8 Degrees quick-release cylinder stands for tool-less angle adjustment
  • Suspended Isolated Grommet Mount
  • Screw-less exterior
  • Slim bezel design
  • Low-profile front height (19.8mm)
  • PCB compatible with QMK and VIA
  • Universal USB-C Daughterboard
  • Adjustable color LED and brightness (65535 colors), and modes (breathing, static etc.) with light guide
  • Satin finished 6061 Aluminum housing
  • Radial diamond cut finishing for the USB-C faceplate & cylinder stand faceplates
  • Injection molded silicone dampening pad between PCB & Switch-Plate


Layout Options


Tsangan WK


Tsangan WKL


Technical Specifications

Weight & Dimensions
  • Estimated ~1.8kg (Full Kit)
  • 154.5 x 357 x 18mm Depth x Width x Height (w/o stands)
    172.5 x 357 x 31.6mm (w/ 4° Stand)
    172.5 x 357 x 42.8mm (w/ 8° Stand)
    ** Front-side height are 19.8mm for all configurations **

General

Case:
Aluminum, Monochromatic Celestial Silver Sandblasted & micro-groove treated

Weight:
Approx. 2kg

Plate Options:
Aluminum, Frozen Black (Included - MSRP TBD); or Carbon Fiber, Frozen Black 3K 2/2 Twill (Optional - MSRP TBD)
**Finite Element Analysis (FEA) optimized for flex consistency**

Form Factor:
Slim bezel 80%

Architecture:
Suspended Isolated Grommet Mount (screw-less exterior)

Dampening:
Custom molded silicone mid-layer with reinforced Poron base-layer

Typing Angle:
4 (Included - MSRP TBD) and 8 Degrees (Included - MSRP TBD)

Layouts:
Tsangan WK
or
WKL (symmetrical 1U blockers, supports PCB-mount stabs)

PCBA:
Black-core Hotswap, Arm MCU, QMK & VIA supported, customized unified USB-C D/B designed in collaboration with Yiancar Designs.
(1 x PCBA included – MSRP TBD)

Lighting:
Single side-firing programmable status LED, adjustable 65535 colors, adjustable brightness, breathing effect.

Accessories:
a. 1 x 3-piece medical-grade 0.5Nm torque limiting T6 screwdriver (Included - MSRP TBD) in collaboration with Sloky (A Taiwan Excellence Award winning tool manufacturer)
b. 2 x pairs of quick release cylinder stands (4 & 8 Degrees)
c. 8 x custom T6 CNCed, black electroplated steel Switch Plate to Housing Grommet Mount screws
d. 16 x black electroplated T6 steel screws for PCB to Switch-Plate
e. 5 x custom CNCed black electroplated T6 steel screws for Housing to Bottom Cover
f. 2 x 2 sets black electroplated T6 steel screws for Cylinder Stand
*Extra screw sets provided for redundancy
**Founding Edition is fully kitted (All accessories included).

Lineage:
Designed in Germany & Engineered & Manufactured in Taiwan


Pre-Order Information


Unit Quantity:
Founding Edition Limited run, QTYs TBD

Price:
MSRP TBD

Point of Sale:
artifact-industries.com

Launch date:
TBD


Disclaimers

  • The images are renders and are for illustration purposes only. The final product may differ slightly
  • Keycaps, switches, stabilizers are shown for demonstrative purposes only and are not included with LvL Type-01/80 Founding Edition
  • Keep in mind this is an interest check. Nothing, including options, pricing, etc, is final until the GB starts. This IC represents the most correct, up-to-date information we have regarding LvL Type-01/80 at this time. Based on prototyping and manufacturing samples, some things may change.
We will be announcing any changes, if any, here first, and on Discord as well.
« Last Edit: Tue, 26 October 2021, 09:34:32 by FindYourZero »

Offline FindYourZero

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Re: [IC] LvL Type-01/80 by Artifact Industries
« Reply #1 on: Fri, 15 October 2021, 12:05:46 »
UPDATES

16-Oct-2021.........LVL Type1/80 IC Launch with Exterior Renders
20-Oct-2021.........Pricing estimates removed. Will be updated again when QTY of run is determined
26-Oct-2021.........Updated Internal Renders (Internal parts and components)
26-Oct-2021.........Created FAQ
16-Nov-2021........Proto V3.0 photo shared in reply post
05-Dec-2021........Proto V3.0 typing sound shared in reply post


FAQ



What is Suspended Grommet Mount?

Our suspended grommet-mount is actually a variation of top-mount, and has several design implications (note that when I mention “module”, it means PCB+Silicone Pad+Switch Plate):
  • Firstly, opens the door to thin-bezel design. As you can imagine, moving the mounting points inside the housing means we can do away without shelves/positioning cut-outs which requires thicker sides around the outter perimeters of the housing.
  • Secondly, reducing contact surface/physical connection between the module and the rest of the housing, which in turn, inhibits vibration from traveling to undesirable parts and cause unwanted acoustic characteristics. This also means we only need to apply very small parts for isolation in strategic locations.
  • Lastly, the grommets (all 8 of them, with high elasticity), which are quite small, can plasticly deform in both the vertical direction as well as in the direction of the horizontal-plane (i.e. as the screw tightens, the grommet will deform and hold onto the adjacent parts to provide good isolation). This provides a firm typing feel without harshness, and exhibits a solid acoustics without pinging.

One of the solution we imagined was with springs. We envisioned a suspension system with different spring types and spring-forces that is user serviceable would be a great customization point.

But it was apparent that we needed to customize step-screws to constrain the spring in place. Then it was apparent that the spring inevitably will need to be constrained while undergoing compression (i.e. as spring compresses, it may slant and deflect. Similar to how our shock absorbers on cars usually requires sleeves). If not controlled, spring touching adjacent parts will give off scratchy noise.

After many ideation and prototyping runs, we settled on the suspended grommet mount, as it seems to be much more efficient, simple and functional.






« Last Edit: Thu, 09 December 2021, 10:05:42 by FindYourZero »

Offline FindYourZero

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Re: [IC] LvL Type-01/80 by Artifact Industries
« Reply #2 on: Fri, 15 October 2021, 12:06:04 »
Reserved

Offline Lil

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Re: [IC] LvL Type-01/80 by Artifact Industries
« Reply #3 on: Fri, 15 October 2021, 12:23:46 »
It looks good from an industrial design and rendering perspective, but looks bad from a keyboard enthusiast perspective. It's not building from the progress that the designers have made within the hobby and doesn't fit within the context of that timeline. That being said, in alot of ways it looks like it's starting from scratch or coming at things like an oem design without thought of where it fits within the current market. The pricing especially is a bit tragic for what amounts to a stylish oem cone-feet board. The excessive space underneath the keyboard is going to sound bad, the way the cone feet are going to bounce is going to make the typing experience wildly inconsistent between rows, as there is no room for R4 to move down, with increasing movement available to r3->f-row.

Edit: I could be misunderstanding what the spring is used for here, if it's just a part of the typing angle adjustment then my comments about the typing experience don't apply


« Last Edit: Fri, 15 October 2021, 12:26:59 by Lil »

Offline Quadrum

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Re: [IC] LvL Type-01/80 by Artifact Industries
« Reply #4 on: Fri, 15 October 2021, 13:03:00 »
From an aesthetics point of view, this board is awesome. I personally like the look of the board quite a bit, and I think that the design work that has gone into this is great. However, I do believe that from a sound point of view the amount of space underneath the keyboard will be detrimental. Given that the only angle options are 4 and 8 degrees, there will be significant space underneath the board. Offering a 0 degree or a 2 degree angle foot might mitigate some of that. I do think that it is a limitation of the design, after all it is not often that adjustable angle keyboards show up on geekhack, but given that this is a result of both the quite nice aesthetic of the board and the adjustability, my personal opinion is that this is still a pretty neat board, even if it doesn't sound the best. Unfortunately I think that the price is prohibitively expensive for most people, but I am excited to see where this project goes.

Offline _rubik

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Re: [IC] LvL Type-01/80 by Artifact Industries
« Reply #5 on: Fri, 15 October 2021, 13:07:11 »
It looks good from an industrial design and rendering perspective, but looks bad from a keyboard enthusiast perspective. It's not building from the progress that the designers have made within the hobby and doesn't fit within the context of that timeline.

Can't unsee



Serious response: the renders look great, I appreciate that you're pushing the boundaries, but the aesthetic is probably not for everyone
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Offline SDKCAMPING

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Re: [IC] LvL Type-01/80 by Artifact Industries
« Reply #6 on: Fri, 15 October 2021, 13:37:06 »
From an aesthetics point of view, this board is awesome. I personally like the look of the board quite a bit, and I think that the design work that has gone into this is great. However, I do believe that from a sound point of view the amount of space underneath the keyboard will be detrimental. Given that the only angle options are 4 and 8 degrees, there will be significant space underneath the board. Offering a 0 degree or a 2 degree angle foot might mitigate some of that. I do think that it is a limitation of the design, after all it is not often that adjustable angle keyboards show up on geekhack, but given that this is a result of both the quite nice aesthetic of the board and the adjustability, my personal opinion is that this is still a pretty neat board, even if it doesn't sound the best. Unfortunately I think that the price is prohibitively expensive for most people, but I am excited to see where this project goes.

I don't think it would make that big  of a difference. Boards like the BOX 75 and various cone-feet boards sound like normal keyboards and have the same design


« Last Edit: Tue, 24 May 2022, 16:53:35 by SDKCAMPING »
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Offline Tree_

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Re: [IC] LvL Type-01/80 by Artifact Industries
« Reply #7 on: Fri, 15 October 2021, 18:41:19 »
Ditto the previous sentiments:

When I saw the first render I thought this was some sort of frog shaped gag board.

I actually won't echo some of the other comments though; design wise I'm not a fan. The circle USB-C slot that juts out under the board looks totally out of place, the single indicator LED seems pointless, the overall look of the cone feet just doesn't sit right with the look of the rest of the board.

Overall this might be for someone, but at $1,213-1,294AUD it's definitely not for me.

Offline TheTriggeredPony

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Re: [IC] LvL Type-01/80 by Artifact Industries
« Reply #8 on: Fri, 15 October 2021, 20:34:13 »
I think the idea of adjustable angle on a premium keyboard is really interesting but Im not sure about the way you implemented it. Also i really just am not into the design. That being said its unique, good luck!

Offline ddnomad

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Re: [IC] LvL Type-01/80 by Artifact Industries
« Reply #9 on: Sat, 16 October 2021, 05:36:15 »
For the money, getting KeyCult seems to be a wiser choice. The design is definitely not everybody’s cup of tea

Offline The0rigina1

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Re: [IC] LvL Type-01/80 by Artifact Industries
« Reply #10 on: Sun, 17 October 2021, 11:34:00 »
This is rather terrible

Offline clik_clak

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Re: [IC] LvL Type-01/80 by Artifact Industries
« Reply #11 on: Sun, 17 October 2021, 11:53:33 »
$1000 starting price for this?

It has some cool features, but this looks like a $40 board on Amazon, not a $1000 board.

Offline lewisflude

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Re: [IC] LvL Type-01/80 by Artifact Industries
« Reply #12 on: Sun, 17 October 2021, 14:43:44 »
Nice that there’s ISO support! Makes sense given the German designer

Offline McChicken023

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Re: [IC] LvL Type-01/80 by Artifact Industries
« Reply #13 on: Sun, 17 October 2021, 18:17:28 »
Can I buy just the torque limiting screwdriver?

Offline FindYourZero

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Re: [IC] LvL Type-01/80 by Artifact Industries
« Reply #14 on: Sun, 17 October 2021, 23:55:34 »
It looks good from an industrial design and rendering perspective, but looks bad from a keyboard enthusiast perspective.
Your criticism is much appreciated, and we value feedbacks from passionate enthusiasts!
We realise this is not the most 'conventional' form in terms of custom MK design or aethetic, but hopefully our offering can add to the vibrance of the community.

It's not building from the progress that the designers have made within the hobby and doesn't fit within the context of that timeline. That being said, in alot of ways it looks like it's starting from scratch or coming at things like an oem design without thought of where it fits within the current market.
Can you please elaborate a bit on your thoughts here?

The pricing especially is a bit tragic for what amounts to a stylish oem cone-feet board.
We believe pricing should be true to reflect the amount of care and attention poured into the product, and hopefully will speak for itself. But there are a myriad of other factors that effects the MSRP. One of the biggest driving factor is that we intend to shipout the first batch of products within 3 months, and especially challenging as we have set very high bars for our quality standards. Low QTY, rapid-delivery, a lot of detailed CNC work and surface treatment processes. The packaging design is also exquisite (we'll provide update on this soon).

The excessive space underneath the keyboard is going to sound bad, the way the cone feet are going to bounce is going to make the typing experience wildly inconsistent between rows, as there is no room for R4 to move down, with increasing movement available to r3->f-row.

Edit: I could be misunderstanding what the spring is used for here, if it's just a part of the typing angle adjustment then my comments about the typing experience don't apply
Yes, you are correct in your second take. The springs in the cylinder stands serves the function to provide tension to the quick-release mechanism. These particular springs do not impact typing feel.

Offline FindYourZero

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Re: [IC] LvL Type-01/80 by Artifact Industries
« Reply #15 on: Mon, 18 October 2021, 00:06:53 »
From an aesthetics point of view, this board is awesome. I personally like the look of the board quite a bit, and I think that the design work that has gone into this is great. However, I do believe that from a sound point of view the amount of space underneath the keyboard will be detrimental. Given that the only angle options are 4 and 8 degrees, there will be significant space underneath the board. Offering a 0 degree or a 2 degree angle foot might mitigate some of that. I do think that it is a limitation of the design, after all it is not often that adjustable angle keyboards show up on geekhack, but given that this is a result of both the quite nice aesthetic of the board and the adjustability, my personal opinion is that this is still a pretty neat board, even if it doesn't sound the best. Unfortunately I think that the price is prohibitively expensive for most people, but I am excited to see where this project goes.

Thank you for the kind words! One of our design consideration from the start was to imagine something that is clean, sophisticated and a classic aesthetic that'll age well.

Acoustics is definitely one of the key design considerations we have prioritized. From the 2 engineering verification proto runs we made, we had the opportunity to really address this concern hands-on and implement optimizations. We verified that the typing acoustic signature is not negatively impacted by the amount of space underneath the board. We'll be updating with typing tests soon.
« Last Edit: Mon, 18 October 2021, 02:50:13 by FindYourZero »

Offline FindYourZero

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Re: [IC] LvL Type-01/80 by Artifact Industries
« Reply #16 on: Mon, 18 October 2021, 00:11:25 »
It looks good from an industrial design and rendering perspective, but looks bad from a keyboard enthusiast perspective. It's not building from the progress that the designers have made within the hobby and doesn't fit within the context of that timeline.

Can't unsee

Show Image


Serious response: the renders look great, I appreciate that you're pushing the boundaries, but the aesthetic is probably not for everyone

Another enthusiast from an early sneak peek also told us it looked like a frog too, lol. Didn't really feel like a negative comment, and we stuck with the general form factor to keep the overall design simple and easy to use, with some tweaks. There were alot of iterations early on, some of these concepts we hope to share with the community in discord.

Hopefully after people get their hands-on with these they'll become frog lovers :)
« Last Edit: Mon, 18 October 2021, 00:46:59 by FindYourZero »

Offline FindYourZero

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Re: [IC] LvL Type-01/80 by Artifact Industries
« Reply #17 on: Mon, 18 October 2021, 00:13:25 »
post deleted
« Last Edit: Mon, 18 October 2021, 00:40:26 by FindYourZero »

Offline FindYourZero

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Re: [IC] LvL Type-01/80 by Artifact Industries
« Reply #18 on: Mon, 18 October 2021, 00:18:14 »
I think the idea of adjustable angle on a premium keyboard is really interesting but Im not sure about the way you implemented it. Also i really just am not into the design. That being said its unique, good luck!

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and blessing!

It's normal that something "unconventional" will inevitably raise some doubts. A lot of care has been put into making sure that it's sturdy, robust and balanced. Hopefully as we update more info (photo, videos etc.), the more the design grows on you :)

Offline Neptune Keys

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Re: [IC] LvL Type-01/80 by Artifact Industries
« Reply #19 on: Mon, 18 October 2021, 00:19:49 »
Seems way too expensive tbh

Offline FindYourZero

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Re: [IC] LvL Type-01/80 by Artifact Industries
« Reply #20 on: Mon, 18 October 2021, 00:29:24 »
For the money, getting KeyCult seems to be a wiser choice. The design is definitely not everybody’s cup of tea

Hey, we are a fans of Keycult too! We definitely share the same passion for producing boutique MKs, especially when it comes to the amount of care that goes into the design and attention to detail that goes into manufacturing processes.

The beauty of it is diversity. We are able to freely express our creativity, crafstmenship and product/services in our own unique ways. One of our goal is to ship-out this first batch within 3 months. We hope you will grow to like or even love our products, hopefully the care and effort put into it will speak for itself.

Offline FindYourZero

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Re: [IC] LvL Type-01/80 by Artifact Industries
« Reply #21 on: Mon, 18 October 2021, 00:30:05 »
This is rather terrible

$1000 starting price for this?

It has some cool features, but this looks like a $40 board on Amazon, not a $1000 board.

Ditto the previous sentiments:

When I saw the first render I thought this was some sort of frog shaped gag board.

I actually won't echo some of the other comments though; design wise I'm not a fan. The circle USB-C slot that juts out under the board looks totally out of place, the single indicator LED seems pointless, the overall look of the cone feet just doesn't sit right with the look of the rest of the board.

Overall this might be for someone, but at $1,213-1,294AUD it's definitely not for me.

Seems way too expensive tbh

We're sorry you feel this way, hopefully when people gets their hands on you may be inclined to give it a chance. Regardless, we welcome all feedbacks as this is an interest check, and will be immensely helpful for our iterations. Thank you!
« Last Edit: Mon, 18 October 2021, 00:49:36 by FindYourZero »

Offline FindYourZero

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Re: [IC] LvL Type-01/80 by Artifact Industries
« Reply #22 on: Mon, 18 October 2021, 00:36:22 »
Can I buy just the torque limiting screwdriver?

Hi there,
Our focus at present is the LvL Type1/80 and the tool is included as the first batch will be offered as part of a "full-kit".
We'll definitely provide the ability to purchase this exquisite tool as standalone product in the future!
« Last Edit: Sat, 23 October 2021, 02:27:59 by FindYourZero »

Offline zlorfik

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Re: [IC] LvL Type-01/80 by Artifact Industries
« Reply #23 on: Mon, 18 October 2021, 01:56:29 »
I can't believe my eyes that two frog eye looking towers do not in fact encapsulate precision machined rotary encoders. Please make it so.

Offline FindYourZero

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Re: [IC] LvL Type-01/80 by Artifact Industries
« Reply #24 on: Mon, 18 October 2021, 01:58:46 »
Nice that there’s ISO support! Makes sense given the German designer

Unfortunatley our hotswap PCB does not support ISO at this time.
But we have plans in the future to offer a solderable PCB to support ANSI/ISO, WK/WKL, split backspace option, split right shift option, if enough enthusiasts desire it!


Offline FindYourZero

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Re: [IC] LvL Type-01/80 by Artifact Industries
« Reply #25 on: Mon, 18 October 2021, 08:07:02 »
I can't believe my eyes that two frog eye looking towers do not in fact encapsulate precision machined rotary encoders. Please make it so.

That's a great idea. As a matter of fact, the current tool-less quick-release angle adjustment function was also a suggestion that we adopted and implemented (original concept was unibody and non-adjustable). But we must take things step by step. Implementing too many functions for our first product launch may work against us, especially in light of current global supplychain circumstances.

We'll keep this idea in mind for a future iteration though. Thank you!

Offline fishbiscuit13

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Re: [IC] LvL Type-01/80 by Artifact Industries
« Reply #26 on: Fri, 22 October 2021, 23:26:32 »
The audacity of demanding applications for reviewers when you're the first-timers here with one of the most freakishly ambitious board designs I've ever seen is hilarious.

And like people have pointed out before, the blatant ripoff of Keycult's naming is not a good look.

Offline FindYourZero

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Re: [IC] LvL Type-01/80 by Artifact Industries
« Reply #27 on: Sat, 23 October 2021, 07:25:41 »
The audacity of demanding applications for reviewers when you're the first-timers here with one of the most freakishly ambitious board designs I've ever seen is hilarious.

And like people have pointed out before, the blatant ripoff of Keycult's naming is not a good look.

Hi,
First of all, it is not our intent at all to "demand". If the post somehow came across as offensive then we do apologize.

We have extra units on top of allocations some reviewers have already secured. Hopefully, some more reviewers will be keen to try something freakishly ambitious and provide helpful feedback for future iterations /fingers crossed.

Perhaps Keycult is one of the firsts to adopt specs into product names, and kudos to them! We too believe adopting specs in nomenclature is elegant, and provide utility. We believe it's quite common in a myriad of other industries (i.e. automotive, consumer electronics etc.).

It is efficient way to include specifications as nomenclatures after the product name so alot can be understood about the product at a glance.

Offline FindYourZero

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Re: [IC] LvL Type-01/80 by Artifact Industries
« Reply #28 on: Tue, 16 November 2021, 09:45:26 »
Hey all,
Proto3 is out.
Pretty excited as we are able to achieve a finishing for CMF design verification that is extremely close to our renderings.




Offline FindYourZero

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Re: [IC] LvL Type-01/80 by Artifact Industries
« Reply #29 on: Sun, 05 December 2021, 12:10:33 »
Hey all,
Here is a typing sound test for LVL TYPE-01/80 Proto 3.0
Apologies for the poor video quality as I don't have a proper video setup :(


Offline FindYourZero

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Re: [IC] LvL Type-01/80 by Artifact Industries
« Reply #30 on: Mon, 06 December 2021, 02:55:58 »
From an aesthetics point of view, this board is awesome. I personally like the look of the board quite a bit, and I think that the design work that has gone into this is great. However, I do believe that from a sound point of view the amount of space underneath the keyboard will be detrimental. Given that the only angle options are 4 and 8 degrees, there will be significant space underneath the board. Offering a 0 degree or a 2 degree angle foot might mitigate some of that. I do think that it is a limitation of the design, after all it is not often that adjustable angle keyboards show up on geekhack, but given that this is a result of both the quite nice aesthetic of the board and the adjustability, my personal opinion is that this is still a pretty neat board, even if it doesn't sound the best. Unfortunately I think that the price is prohibitively expensive for most people, but I am excited to see where this project goes.

Hi Quadrum,
I have uploaded a typing test video on Youtube. The sound was captured with a HyperX Quad-S mic without any EQ applied, on my desk with 1 layer of deskpad. It's not the same experience as hearing it in person, but I hope it can provide a point of reference to address your concerns regarding typing acoustics.

You are correct in that our 4 Degrees stand is (moving part with spring-loaded coupling mechanism) currently the lowest angle we can physically design in. In terms of housing thickness, it currently measures 18.22mm thick on my caliper. This falls inline and is about as thin-profile as you can get given that the component (SW-Plate 1.6mm, Poron 1.0mm, PCB 2.0mm) thickness are pretty standard, and they also need to conform to the standard dimensions of Switch dimension standards. To go thinner, it'd mean we have to make compromizes to the housing thickness itself. We don't think it's an ideal design decision to do so... Having said that, the above 18.2mm thickness is specifically the min. thickness we currently can design in which contains components in the same cross-section (e.g. extending the front of the housing as an integrated handrest with no components in that section can potentially be "lower profile"). So by our definition, the housing thickness should be the cross-section which houses all the key components of the keyboard.

Cheers

19.8mm is not a low-profile front height at all, it's quite tall, and iagree it looks like a frog or a bear not sure if that was the intent

From an aesthetics point of view, this board is awesome. I personally like the look of the board quite a bit, and I think that the design work that has gone into this is great. However, I do believe that from a sound point of view the amount of space underneath the keyboard will be detrimental. Given that the only angle options are 4 and 8 degrees, there will be significant space underneath the board. Offering a 0 degree or a 2 degree angle foot might mitigate some of that. I do think that it is a limitation of the design, after all it is not often that adjustable angle keyboards show up on geekhack, but given that this is a result of both the quite nice aesthetic of the board and the adjustability, my personal opinion is that this is still a pretty neat board, even if it doesn't sound the best. Unfortunately I think that the price is prohibitively expensive for most people, but I am excited to see where this project goes.

I don't think it would make that big  of a difference. Boards like the BOX 75 and various cone-feet boards sound like normal keyboards and have the same design




Hi SDKCAMPING, your observation is indeed correct. Posted a sound test to confirm this in practice. Cheers.

Offline oilpapers

  • Posts: 84
Re: [IC] LvL Type-01/80 by Artifact Industries
« Reply #31 on: Tue, 07 December 2021, 08:55:21 »
Hey all,
Proto3 is out.
Pretty excited as we are able to achieve a finishing for CMF design verification that is extremely close to our renderings.

Show Image

Show Image


Man this is gorgeous! I'd honestly take the naysayers that are looking for another exactly-same-look TKL with a grain of salt, big props to you for thinking out of the box and not playing it safe with the design. Noticed a fairly stubborn and unimaginative bunch live on these forums.

I absolutely love how the grooves turned out in that proto and it actually looks really good in that raw metal. Unfortunately this is way out of my budget for one board but I hope you have a successful launch! Excited to see what other designs you have in the pipeline.

Offline FindYourZero

  • Thread Starter
  • Posts: 18
Re: [IC] LvL Type-01/80 by Artifact Industries
« Reply #32 on: Sat, 22 January 2022, 10:13:36 »
Hi Oilpapers,
Thank you for the encouragements!
Indeed, we do have a few in our pipeline and would love to be able to offer designs catered for enthusiasts with different sets of budgets. Feel free to stick around for news  :thumb:

I'd like to take this opportunity to share with you a shot of the latest LvL-1/80 Proto (Proto 4) straight out of the CNC a couple days ago.


Offline Nurseh

  • Posts: 74
  • Location: Maple Syrup Land
  • Sorry for always apologizing
Re: [IC] LvL Type-01/80 by Artifact Industries
« Reply #33 on: Sat, 22 January 2022, 12:34:45 »
Like to see things that are not apart of the ""norm", liking those grooves along the outside  :thumb: