the Norbaforce: after-market housing for RealForce TKL keyboards — SHIPPED

[norbauer]

norbauer might have answered this before but not sure can't remember. Do you know if the non powder coated board's will ship earlier then the powder coated ones?

He said that they would in the most recent update above.

norbauer might have answered this before but not sure can't remember. Do you know if the non powder coated board's will ship earlier then the powder coated ones?

Indeed. I generally ship anodized stuff right out within a few days of when it arrives to me—just however long it takes me to personally inspect, pack, and ship each one individually and then batch them up into a big pile for UPS/USPS/DHL to come pick up. But I've gotten pretty fast at the process.

[HotRoderX]

very sweet I am excited to get my hands on the case and rebuild my Topre board. I am hoping I have the money to buy into your FC660C design.. won't lie I am not thrilled with the color choices but at the same time.. this buy's been amazing and my FC660C deserves a nice home also!

[Petch]

R2 when? 

[shadow]

Hey,

Really looking forward to getting the case as well In your typing test video I see you used some foam inserts, and in a post a while back, you mentioned you might make such inserts available around the time when the cases are ready to ship.

Do you think you will be able to do this? I'd be very interested in such foam inserts

[norbauer]

Oh, that’s a good question. I had entirely forgotten about this! I’ll investigate and see what’s possible.

[avid]

Can't wait for this!

Question about euro orders, will they be shipped out altogether when the powder coatings are done or is there sufficient EU orders that there will be more than one deliveries?

[salvanipour]

I’d like to see those brass plates come to fruition if at all possible.

[richard912]

Any updates as to when this will ship?

[norbauer]

Any updates as to when this will ship?

Hey Richard. Since you got an anodized case, I'd say that July is a good guess. The boxes and printed enclosure are going to be the last thing completed in the whole Norbaforce assembly and as a result are unfortunately holding everything else up a bit, but we should still fall roughly within my originally envisaged timeline.

Powder cases will take longer. In the past, this has meant from one to multiple months, but I'm currently working hard to shorten my lead times on those by working with a new shop that has faster turnaround times and can do bigger volumes at once. I've had good results in small tests with them, but this has yet to be put to the test with a big batch so far. ;)

[Choobies]

Will this housing fit the Realforce 91U?  Item # NG0100.  Thinking about picking one up..

[xondat]

Will this housing fit the Realforce 91U?  Item # NG0100.  Thinking about picking one up..

It should do.

[shadow]

Oh, that’s a good question. I had entirely forgotten about this! I’ll investigate and see what’s possible.

Sounds good!

[richard912]

Any updates as to when this will ship?

Hey Richard. Since you got an anodized case, I'd say that July is a good guess. The boxes and printed enclosure are going to be the last thing completed in the whole Norbaforce assembly and as a result are unfortunately holding everything else up a bit, but we should still fall roughly within my originally envisaged timeline.

Powder cases will take longer. In the past, this has meant from one to multiple months, but I'm currently working hard to shorten my lead times on those by working with a new shop that has faster turnaround times and can do bigger volumes at once. I've had good results in small tests with them, but this has yet to be put to the test with a big batch so far.

Thanks for the update, Ryan. July, should give me sufficient time to mod out my RF87.

[idlemao]

To those who got the WKL version but have the 87u, how would you mod the board so that it fit into the case?

[xondat]

To those who got the WKL version but have the 87u, how would you mod the board so that it fit into the case?

No, you'd just block the menu key.

[HotRoderX]

There are modifications required, I looked into the wkl option my self.

Basically you have to remove the switch housing from the plate/board for the Win key's. I found a video on doing this that looked sorta simple like they might should just snap off but honestly not 100% sure. Since it was the only video ever found and it is gone now! Hopefully someone else can give you a better more complete answer with step by steps.

[idlemao]

To those who got the WKL version but have the 87u, how would you mod the board so that it fit into the case?

No, you'd just block the menu key.

Show Image

So just take out the dome/spring on the menu key basically?

[xondat]

To those who got the WKL version but have the 87u, how would you mod the board so that it fit into the case?

No, you'd just block the menu key.

Show Image

So just take out the dome/spring on the menu key basically?

There are modifications required, I looked into the wkl option my self.

Basically you have to remove the switch housing from the plate/board for the Win key's. I found a video on doing this that looked sorta simple like they might should just snap off but honestly not 100% sure. Since it was the only video ever found and it is gone now! Hopefully someone else can give you a better more complete answer with step by steps.

Remove the housing. The dome and spring can stay.

Basically the housings are held in by two small protruding plastic parts on the housing. It's kind of like MX, but you could better compare it to the sliders and how they have a singular bit of plastic sticking out -- it's like that basically.

How do you remove the housing? Same way as sliders. Push it out. You'll deform the plastic sticking out, but not enough so that it won't stick back in next time. I reckon you could put a housing in/out 5-6 times.

[HotRoderX]

Nice I knew it was something like that not overly complicated but not super simple either. I would assume it takes a gentle touch to get them off with out completely mangling them.

[xondat]

Nice I knew it was something like that not overly complicated but not super simple either. I would assume it takes a gentle touch to get them off with out completely mangling them.

You do need a little force )

[norbauer]

Thanks for sharing all your modding wisdom, xondat! You have a lot more experience in that domain than I do.

[xondat]

Thanks for sharing all your modding wisdom, xondat! You have a lot more experience in that domain than I do.

Happy to help where I can

[shadow]

Oh, that’s a good question. I had entirely forgotten about this! I’ll investigate and see what’s possible.

Did you find out anything yet?

Thank you!

[norbauer]

Oh, that’s a good question. I had entirely forgotten about this! I’ll investigate and see what’s possible.

Did you find out anything yet?

Thank you!

Yes, we'd have to get a custom die made and, looking at the various MOQs for factories willing to do that, I think it might just make more sense to point people to buy the SilverStone foam on Amazon and cut it down to size themselves.

Instead of the custom-cut foam, I've decided to look into another request, which is PVD-coated upgrade back-plates. I actually just sent out the specs and RFQ for that earlier today and will report back when I know something solid.

[le_wraith]

I for one am totally fine cutting my own silverstone foam and have plenty lying around.

[Mr_BeastQuake]

Oh, that’s a good question. I had entirely forgotten about this! I’ll investigate and see what’s possible.

Did you find out anything yet?

Thank you!

Yes, we'd have to get a custom die made and, looking at the various MOQs for factories willing to do that, I think it might just make more sense to point people to buy the SilverStone foam on Amazon and cut it down to size themselves.

Instead of the custom-cut foam, I've decided to look into another request, which is PVD-coated upgrade back-plates. I actually just sent out the specs and RFQ for that earlier today and will report back when I know something solid.

Anything to drive the Topre game further is a worthy cause.

[ihalatch]

****, I love my Realforce so much I don't want to discard the original case. It's time to get another one for this build

[hayt]

****, I love my Realforce so much I don't want to discard the original case. It's time to get another one for this build

IMO the Realforce TKL series (87u, 86, etc) is a near perfect keyboard design. Hence why I own two of them

[ihalatch]

Absolutely agree with this, it's amazing out of the box as it is. I'm new to topre but I must admit IMO it's superior to almost anything else except the vintage blacks and some alps maybe.

[child]

The design may be perfect, but the stock case is not. It is squeaky (especially after it's opened and closed again), tends to warp (I had to bend mine right after I got it to get all feet touch the desk), feets are garbage... After a year and a bit the case texture below the bottom row is completely gone for me (btw. the texture on the keys is completely fine, which shows the difference between the material of the two).

So for me Norbaforce is hopefully a huge upgrade to the worst element of the keyboard, which is otherwise great 

[YouGotRioted]

****, I love my Realforce so much I don't want to discard the original case. It's time to get another one for this build

IMO the Realforce TKL series (87u, 86, etc) is a near perfect keyboard design. Hence why I own two of them

Also bought another one in anticipation of this case. Also, it's like a backup PCB in case they stop production of this model (in favor of Realforce R2).

[Kerasan]

The design may be perfect, but the stock case is not. It is squeaky (especially after it's opened and closed again), tends to warp (I had to bend mine right after I got it to get all feet touch the desk), feets are garbage... After a year and a bit the case texture below the bottom row is completely gone for me (btw. the texture on the keys is completely fine, which shows the difference between the material of the two).

So for me Norbaforce is hopefully a huge upgrade to the worst element of the keyboard, which is otherwise great 

in my opinion the worst part of realforce is not the case but the plate, after 1 year already shows signs of oxidation.

KMK Labs.

[thelaughingman]

This is so cuteeeeeeeeeeeee!

[Luna]

Any chance on this group buy happening again or any unsold cases?
Enigma Gray would look fabulous on my 87U Anniversary!

[thelaughingman]

Any chance on this group buy happening again or any unsold cases?

R2 is unlikely but R1 extras will probs be available late summer. Your best bet is to subscribe to Norbauer's mailing list (https://shop.norbauer.com/) to know when there is extra.

[haydoselefantes]

Over in hasu's thread, I saw MandrewDavis do a cool mod putting hasu's controller directly into the stock 87u case.

Obviously, it's way too late for this GB, but it would be really cool for a future round!

[MajorKoos]

Over in hasu's thread, I saw MandrewDavis do a cool mod putting hasu's controller directly into the stock 87u case.

Obviously, it's way too late for this GB, but it would be really cool for a future round!

I have have a pair of these lined up in anticipation.
They work great.

[shadow]

Oh, that’s a good question. I had entirely forgotten about this! I’ll investigate and see what’s possible.

Did you find out anything yet?

Thank you!

Yes, we'd have to get a custom die made and, looking at the various MOQs for factories willing to do that, I think it might just make more sense to point people to buy the SilverStone foam on Amazon and cut it down to size themselves.

Instead of the custom-cut foam, I've decided to look into another request, which is PVD-coated upgrade back-plates. I actually just sent out the specs and RFQ for that earlier today and will report back when I know something solid.

Ok cool thanks for checking (sorry for my late reply) Could you share what the exact dimensions of the foam should be to fit in the case? Also I believe the Silverstone foam has some adhesive on the back, but can you just put it loose in there or should it stick to the back plate or something?

Thank you!

[letze]

Good day

Any update real picture on case 

[forstsiven]

Any updates as to when this will ship?

Hey Richard. Since you got an anodized case, I'd say that July is a good guess. The boxes and printed enclosure are going to be the last thing completed in the whole Norbaforce assembly and as a result are unfortunately holding everything else up a bit, but we should still fall roughly within my originally envisaged timeline.

Powder cases will take longer. In the past, this has meant from one to multiple months, but I'm currently working hard to shorten my lead times on those by working with a new shop that has faster turnaround times and can do bigger volumes at once. I've had good results in small tests with them, but this has yet to be put to the test with a big batch so far.

I have a one-off powder coat color: Should I expect closer to October-Dec for shipping?

[salvanipour]

Any update on the brass/pvd backing plates? I'd love to get in on the ground level for one of those.

[norbauer]

Any updates as to when this will ship?

Hey Richard. Since you got an anodized case, I'd say that July is a good guess. The boxes and printed enclosure are going to be the last thing completed in the whole Norbaforce assembly and as a result are unfortunately holding everything else up a bit, but we should still fall roughly within my originally envisaged timeline.

Powder cases will take longer. In the past, this has meant from one to multiple months, but I'm currently working hard to shorten my lead times on those by working with a new shop that has faster turnaround times and can do bigger volumes at once. I've had good results in small tests with them, but this has yet to be put to the test with a big batch so far.

I have a one-off powder coat color: Should I expect closer to October-Dec for shipping?

Oh, god, I hope it won't take that long, but with these powder places it's hard to say with any absolute certainty. Assuming these arrive late July, I'm really hoping I won't still be dealing with shipping out powder cases as late of October. I should have a better sense at the end of, say, August of what the turnaround rate is on the RF cases from the new shop. This one is actually a little easier/faster than the Cooler Master cases because it's only three parts (upper housing and two risers) instead of four.

[norbauer]

Any update on the brass/pvd backing plates? I'd love to get in on the ground level for one of those.

I'm waiting on my Heavy-6 sample in PVD steel to come back to see how we all like the finish on that. If it's good, I'll happily get a quote for an upgrade backplate. One-off prototypes in stainless with PVD coating are so insanely expensive, I just didn't want to get both made at the same time on the chance that the result isn't satisfactory—would have been a lot of wasted money. :S

[norbauer]

Hey all. Quick update: the first Norbaforce has actually shipped to a group buy participant!

Don't get too excited, however. That one person happened to live in Shenzhen, the same city in which the cases were machined, inspected, and packed, so I had his case sent to him directly rather than making the absurd trip across the Pacific to California and then directly back to Shenzhen. (Another participant in the same city will have to endure that absurdity, however, because he chose a powder coating finish, which is applied here in Silicon Valley.)

Anyway, the cases have all been inspected and are on their way to me as of tomorrow. The stated delivery time window given to me by the freight forwarder is ridiculously wide (26-43 calendar days), but even on the long end of that we're still looking at arrival to me in July.

In the meantime, I'm working on stuff like video assembly instructions and the printed package enclosure, a portion of the artwork for which was teased above by thelaughingman, and which I think you will all really enjoy. While the housings make their slow trip across the ocean, I'll also be working on the rather tedious task of putting together the hardware packets that go with each box and figuring out all the shipping supplies and such that I need to order.

[hayt]

Hey all. Quick update: the first Norbaforce has actually shipped to a group buy participant!

Don't get too excited, however. That one person happened to live in Shenzhen, the same city in which the cases were machined, inspected, and packed, so I had his case sent to him directly rather than making the absurd trip across the Pacific to California and then directly back to Shenzhen. (Another participant in the same city will have to endure that absurdity, however, because he chose a powder coating finish, which is applied here in Silicon Valley.)

Anyway, the cases have all been inspected and are on their way to me as of tomorrow. The stated delivery time window given to me by the freight forwarder is ridiculously wide (26-43 calendar days), but even on the long end of that we're still looking at arrival to me in July.

In the meantime, I'm working on stuff like video assembly instructions and the printed package enclosure, a portion of the artwork for which was teased above by thelaughingman, and which I think you will all really enjoy. While the housings make their slow trip across the ocean, I'll also be working on the rather tedious task of putting together the hardware packets that go with each box and figuring out all the shipping supplies and such that I need to order.

Thank you for the update! I can't wait!!

[Burt Macklin]

Wonderful news, thanks for the update!
 

[thelaughingman]

Hey all. Quick update: the first Norbaforce has actually shipped to a group buy participant!

Don't get too excited, however. That one person happened to live in Shenzhen, the same city in which the cases were machined, inspected, and packed, so I had his case sent to him directly rather than making the absurd trip across the Pacific to California and then directly back to Shenzhen. (Another participant in the same city will have to endure that absurdity, however, because he chose a powder coating finish, which is applied here in Silicon Valley.)

Anyway, the cases have all been inspected and are on their way to me as of tomorrow. The stated delivery time window given to me by the freight forwarder is ridiculously wide (26-43 calendar days), but even on the long end of that we're still looking at arrival to me in July.

In the meantime, I'm working on stuff like video assembly instructions and the printed package enclosure, a portion of the artwork for which was teased above by thelaughingman, and which I think you will all really enjoy. While the housings make their slow trip across the ocean, I'll also be working on the rather tedious task of putting together the hardware packets that go with each box and figuring out all the shipping supplies and such that I need to order.

[richard912]

Hey all. Quick update: the first Norbaforce has actually shipped to a group buy participant!

Don't get too excited, however. That one person happened to live in Shenzhen, the same city in which the cases were machined, inspected, and packed, so I had his case sent to him directly rather than making the absurd trip across the Pacific to California and then directly back to Shenzhen. (Another participant in the same city will have to endure that absurdity, however, because he chose a powder coating finish, which is applied here in Silicon Valley.)

Anyway, the cases have all been inspected and are on their way to me as of tomorrow. The stated delivery time window given to me by the freight forwarder is ridiculously wide (26-43 calendar days), but even on the long end of that we're still looking at arrival to me in July.

In the meantime, I'm working on stuff like video assembly instructions and the printed package enclosure, a portion of the artwork for which was teased above by thelaughingman, and which I think you will all really enjoy. While the housings make their slow trip across the ocean, I'll also be working on the rather tedious task of putting together the hardware packets that go with each box and figuring out all the shipping supplies and such that I need to order.

The end is nigh ! ! Thanks for the update

[Lansky]

Dis gon' be gud! 

Thanks for the update, Ryan.

[Puddsy]

good update