Author Topic: AEBOARDS CONSTELLATION 65%  (Read 280182 times)

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Offline aeryxz

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AEBOARDS CONSTELLATION 65%
« on: Thu, 23 January 2020, 06:10:08 »
CONSTELLATION by AEBOARDS
www.aeboards.com



The CONSTELLATION started as a conceptual design of a single keyboard case that could offer a granular and personalized assembly experience through multiple mounting methods and unique construction options.

   

The mounting method (described as how the plate and printed circuit board (PCB) construction is affixed to the case) has always been a focus of discussion, research, and innovation within mechanical keyboard enthusiasts and designer circles.

The CONSTELLATION is designed to offer the freedom to experiment and experience three of the most popular mounting techniques in one board, allowing you to discern what feels and sounds you enjoy most without having too many variables affecting your judgement.

   

MOUNTING STYLES:

O-Ring Gasket Mount

The ‘O-ring gasket mount’ was originally first seen in some of the very early custom keyboard designs that spawned from the Korean community. As these kits were only made in very small numbers during production, they have become something of a rarity that only very few people have had a chance to experience. Only recently has the O-ring seen a resurgence in popularity, promising unique feel and acoustic attributes. It is believed that the gasket offers unique dampening beneath the plate while also dispersing force through to contact points in the bottom of the case. The O-ring gasket sits between the plate and PCB, and utilises specific PCB cutouts and bottom case standoffs to keep the plate in place. You can install and remove the O-ring by stretching it around the plate and specifically the USB-C port. We recommend that you be gentle while installing this gasket.

Gasketed Sandwich Mount

The ‘sandwich mount’ traditionally involves clamping the plate between the two halves of the case - this typically results in a very sturdy construction that reciprocates with a very clean and distinct sensation on switch bottom out. Although popular, one of the common criticisms is that this bottom out becomes too harsh; the lack of any relief or cushioning results in fatigue from longer periods of typing. By adding a series of gaskets where the plate is clamped, an element of cushioned dampening is added to this mounting style. The result is a fine balance between a typing sensation that feels sturdy and crisp that doesn’t cause as much fatigue as the former over periods of time.  You can try half isolation (where one side, usually bottom, of the plate having this gasket to dampen out the bottom out), or full isolation (both sides of the plate having gaskets). Please be aware of material thicknesses and be vigilant when installing gaskets in both half isolation and full isolation, keeping in mind compression and material density as you decide to install these gaskets. Please ensure you do not have too much gasket thickness and are able to screw the top and bottom pieces of the case together.

Top Plate Mount

Amidst all of the different innovations and designs, top mount has remained one of the tried and trusted mounting designs that many enthusiasts favour due to its consistent feeling and balance between relief and rigidity. The mounting points are placed along the top and bottom perimeter of the plate and screw into the top piece of the case. This allows the plate to flex along its lateral axis giving a nice semi-cushioned bottom out whilst still retaining structural integrity. Top mount was included to act as a control or baseline that builders can use to compare with the O-ring and sandwich mount methods to determine which they enjoy the most.

SPECIFICATIONS

Case Specifications

• Grade 6063 anodised aluminium case
• Clear coated brass weight
• 65% layout with no blockers (fixed layout)*
• 7 degrees typing incline
• Standardised AEBoards rubber feet strips
• Standardised AEBoards gaskets
• Interchangeable accent pieces

PCB Specifications

• Horizontal relief cuts
• Powered by QMK
• VIA Configurator support
• Center USB-C
• Black solder mask

Case Colours

Signature Colours
• Black
• Aegis Navy
• Space Grey

Limited Edition Colours
• Influencer Red
• Limited Edition Vickrey Colour

   




Availability

CONSTELLATION will be available as an in-stock keyboard kit, with additional add-ons available at time of purchase. We will have several waves of availability: Friends and Family, Early Access and then Public Sale. We aim to have at least 100 units for Public Sale.
It will be vendored through our community storefront - The Keyboard Treehouse.
Our release date is to be confirmed, slated for Q1 2020.




   
« Last Edit: Mon, 12 October 2020, 10:55:45 by HoffmanMyster »

Offline aeryxz

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Re: [IC] CONSTELLATION 65%
« Reply #1 on: Thu, 23 January 2020, 06:10:58 »
Added: We got some requests for some files for rendering - so enjoy!
https://www.aeboards.com/s/CONSTELLATION_RENDER_FILES.rar
« Last Edit: Wed, 29 January 2020, 03:35:45 by aeryxz »

Offline would?

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Re: [IC] CONSTELLATION 65%
« Reply #2 on: Thu, 23 January 2020, 06:13:41 »
you're insane, this board is insane. You and Solid are too good at keyboard stuff

Offline aeryxz

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Re: [IC] CONSTELLATION 65%
« Reply #3 on: Thu, 23 January 2020, 06:15:45 »
you're insane, this board is insane. You and Solid are too good at keyboard stuff

don't forget xelus, who does our pcbs!

Offline Wilba

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Re: [IC] CONSTELLATION 65%
« Reply #4 on: Thu, 23 January 2020, 06:17:03 »
aww yeh?

Offline Zambumon

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Re: [IC] CONSTELLATION 65%
« Reply #5 on: Thu, 23 January 2020, 06:18:50 »
Alright alright alright

Offline Capsy

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Re: [IC] CONSTELLATION 65%
« Reply #6 on: Thu, 23 January 2020, 06:19:00 »
Yes.

Offline nug

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Re: [IC] CONSTELLATION 65%
« Reply #7 on: Thu, 23 January 2020, 06:19:41 »
ne 6u bottom row avail?

Offline Pwner

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Re: [IC] CONSTELLATION 65%
« Reply #8 on: Thu, 23 January 2020, 06:20:05 »
nice
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Offline would?

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Re: [IC] CONSTELLATION 65%
« Reply #9 on: Thu, 23 January 2020, 06:20:15 »
you're insane, this board is insane. You and Solid are too good at keyboard stuff

don't forget xelus, who does our pcbs!

of course Xelus too <3

Offline MuffinCat

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Re: [IC] CONSTELLATION 65%
« Reply #10 on: Thu, 23 January 2020, 06:21:25 »
Awww yiss

Offline aeryxz

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Re: [IC] CONSTELLATION 65%
« Reply #11 on: Thu, 23 January 2020, 06:21:58 »
ne 6u bottom row avail?

Right now, we have only made it with our fixed layout. I have intentions to offer more layouts at some point. Note that the plate right now in the prototype doesn't have stepped caps, but we will support it.
If you've got a layout in mind, link it, we'll see what we can do in the future.

Offline zekkin

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Re: [IC] CONSTELLATION 65%
« Reply #12 on: Thu, 23 January 2020, 06:22:44 »
wowzers

Offline Scottw

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Re: [IC] CONSTELLATION 65%
« Reply #13 on: Thu, 23 January 2020, 06:23:50 »
Looks great. 👍

Offline upas

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Re: [IC] CONSTELLATION 65%
« Reply #14 on: Thu, 23 January 2020, 06:24:20 »
very nice, looks great!

Offline futurecrime

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Re: [IC] CONSTELLATION 65%
« Reply #15 on: Thu, 23 January 2020, 06:27:27 »
Ur so cool

Offline Sissy

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Re: [IC] CONSTELLATION 65%
« Reply #16 on: Thu, 23 January 2020, 06:27:40 »
Been awhile since I seen a 65 without any blockers.
Really interesting choices with the mounting options. Also like the brass? Spacer separator thing.

Offline aeryxz

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Re: [IC] CONSTELLATION 65%
« Reply #17 on: Thu, 23 January 2020, 06:33:51 »
Been awhile since I seen a 65 without any blockers.
Really interesting choices with the mounting options. Also like the brass? Spacer separator thing.

Yeah, the accents?
We'll offer different colours accents so you can match up some of your keysets. For example with my prototype in rose gold: https://imgur.com/a/cOlUTqk

If you've got suggestions for accent colours, then free feel to post. I'm going to get some more colours made for prototypes, so ideally ones that match popular keysets with our signature colours - Black, Aegis Navy and Space Gray

Offline nug

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Re: [IC] CONSTELLATION 65%
« Reply #18 on: Thu, 23 January 2020, 06:37:29 »
ne 6u bottom row avail?

Right now, we have only made it with our fixed layout. I have intentions to offer more layouts at some point. Note that the plate right now in the prototype doesn't have stepped caps, but we will support it.
If you've got a layout in mind, link it, we'll see what we can do in the future.

Please support this bottom row in the future

Offline eniigma

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Re: [IC] CONSTELLATION 65%
« Reply #19 on: Thu, 23 January 2020, 06:37:32 »
looks really great! good job guys!

seems like a compilation of all the innovations in this community, which is awesome.



Offline Agilr

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Re: [IC] CONSTELLATION 65%
« Reply #20 on: Thu, 23 January 2020, 06:39:47 »
nut

Offline aeryxz

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Re: [IC] CONSTELLATION 65%
« Reply #21 on: Thu, 23 January 2020, 06:42:49 »
looks really great! good job guys!

seems like a compilation of all the innovations in this community, which is awesome.

We've been working on it during the EXT65 as well. With EXT65 we were trying different gasket materials as well as positive/negative angle style boards.
For this one, we wanted to give a "baseline" feel with top mount, then allow you to add the gaskets to try out what you want to discover, allowing you to limit other variances so you can get a feel for the differences. The prototypes have been pleasant to build and type on, and I hope that our buyers will also enjoy messing around with it.

Offline keyberzerker

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Re: [IC] CONSTELLATION 65%
« Reply #22 on: Thu, 23 January 2020, 06:44:52 »
ISO - pls!

Offline phabulous

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Re: [IC] CONSTELLATION 65%
« Reply #23 on: Thu, 23 January 2020, 06:48:05 »
dis gon b good

Offline Starston3

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Re: [IC] CONSTELLATION 65%
« Reply #24 on: Thu, 23 January 2020, 06:54:27 »
Cool cool

Offline hottrout

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Re: [IC] CONSTELLATION 65%
« Reply #25 on: Thu, 23 January 2020, 06:56:28 »
No ISO ?
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Offline Zeelobby

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Re: [IC] CONSTELLATION 65%
« Reply #26 on: Thu, 23 January 2020, 07:01:15 »
Man, I dunno. Was waiting for the Noah for a good 65, but this might take the cake. Can't wait to see those LE colors.
« Last Edit: Thu, 23 January 2020, 07:02:58 by Zeelobby »

Offline toastyAU

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Re: [IC] CONSTELLATION 65%
« Reply #27 on: Thu, 23 January 2020, 07:04:44 »
Mate I have been waiting so long. Looks so good, you guys are nutty at what you do, keep pushing the game and please take my ****ing money
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Offline Zeelobby

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Re: [IC] CONSTELLATION 65%
« Reply #28 on: Thu, 23 January 2020, 07:04:50 »
Does the brass form that full edge? or is it just an insert?

Offline duckboi

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Re: [IC] CONSTELLATION 65%
« Reply #29 on: Thu, 23 January 2020, 07:07:46 »
good work, this will do well.
The m0ar empty you feel,  the m0ar space for Keycaps..

Offline zakatak

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Re: [IC] CONSTELLATION 65%
« Reply #30 on: Thu, 23 January 2020, 07:08:42 »
what's the price range?



Offline aeryxz

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Re: [IC] CONSTELLATION 65%
« Reply #31 on: Thu, 23 January 2020, 07:11:20 »
No ISO ?
ISO - pls!


Sadly no, right now we are running with one fixed layout. Down the track we may support more. It's more of a case of the plate having too much cutouts for ANSI users (our core market). We would have to make sure that there is enough ISO demand for it, which I'm sure there is, but we're taking one step at a time to minimise risk, since I'm going to front my money to buy the units to get them instock (better experience for the buyer imo, and the future of keyboard buys)

Does the brass form that full edge? or is it just an insert?

It's an insert (it's called an accent). Example: https://imgur.com/a/cOlUTqk
We want to offer a range of colours so you can mix and match to your keysets. It's not connected to your plate.


Offline victorpre

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Re: [IC] CONSTELLATION 65%
« Reply #32 on: Thu, 23 January 2020, 07:12:15 »
what's the price range?
+1

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Offline aeryxz

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Re: [IC] CONSTELLATION 65%
« Reply #33 on: Thu, 23 January 2020, 07:14:44 »
what's the price range?

I'm aiming for 450-550. Trying to get it cheaper as possible, but for a reference, our previous model the EXT65 was 500.

We've had to buy a bunch of extras to make this work. I've gotten a custom rubber feet which will be standardised across our lineup moving forward (paid for moulds and materials for this). It's the same with the gaskets, we've standardising the sizes moving forward (they are slightly different to the EXT65 gaskets). We'll also be including O-rings.

I'm working on packaging now, so final costs will vary based on what decisions we make for this, as well as doing a bit of IC thread reading to check demand. I'm paying for the units and selling it as an instock product, so I want to minimise the risk on my end.

Offline Zeelobby

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Re: [IC] CONSTELLATION 65%
« Reply #34 on: Thu, 23 January 2020, 07:20:12 »
Does the brass form that full edge? or is it just an insert?

It's an insert (it's called an accent). Example: https://imgur.com/a/cOlUTqk
We want to offer a range of colours so you can mix and match to your keysets. It's not connected to your plate.

Ah, OK, so it's an accent, wasn't sure if it was meant to also weight the board.

Offline wongie

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Re: [IC] CONSTELLATION 65%
« Reply #35 on: Thu, 23 January 2020, 07:28:54 »
There's been a deplorably too long a dry-spell of 65%s without blockers, so colour me interested!

Offline NRbigfoot

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Re: [IC] CONSTELLATION 65%
« Reply #36 on: Thu, 23 January 2020, 07:29:37 »
Yes, this is good
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Offline Slash Emperor

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Re: [IC] CONSTELLATION 65%
« Reply #37 on: Thu, 23 January 2020, 08:11:40 »
Let's go!

Offline lolafineday

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Re: [IC] CONSTELLATION 65%
« Reply #38 on: Thu, 23 January 2020, 08:55:15 »
Front height? Looks amazing

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Offline tex_live_utility

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Re: [IC] CONSTELLATION 65%
« Reply #39 on: Thu, 23 January 2020, 09:03:47 »
Really good idea on this, and probably some clever internals to make it work. I'll have to see about price and front height before joining.
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Offline Cagevaper

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Re: [IC] CONSTELLATION 65%
« Reply #40 on: Thu, 23 January 2020, 09:49:51 »
Count me in!

Offline DasGnome

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Re: [IC] CONSTELLATION 65%
« Reply #41 on: Thu, 23 January 2020, 10:16:15 »
Looks like the Verne and No.1 had a baby

Offline Rejeckted

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Re: [IC] CONSTELLATION 65%
« Reply #42 on: Thu, 23 January 2020, 10:27:05 »
Yes Please!  :-X

Offline SolidCactus

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Re: [IC] CONSTELLATION 65%
« Reply #43 on: Thu, 23 January 2020, 11:16:08 »
This is it chief!

Absolutely stunning. Great work and I love the variety of mounting options.

Offline nguyenhimself

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Re: [IC] CONSTELLATION 65%
« Reply #44 on: Thu, 23 January 2020, 11:18:51 »
As a Mac user, I just want to say thank you for the 1.25 x 3 bottom row. Phew.

So far, consensus tend to indicate that both "O-Ring Gasket Mount" and "Gasketed Sandwich Mount" allow for a softer and more stable typing feel, to the point that they sometimes all fall under the "gasket" bracket.

Since you offer both choices here, I assume you believe these 2 methods lead to significant-enough results, typing feel and/or sound? Can you elaborate a bit here?

Offline lunr

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Re: [IC] CONSTELLATION 65%
« Reply #45 on: Thu, 23 January 2020, 11:20:57 »
i get hard when i see fixed layout plates.

Offline pixelpusher

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Re: [IC] CONSTELLATION 65%
« Reply #46 on: Thu, 23 January 2020, 11:24:32 »
In stock 100 public units... so we have around what, 8-11 seconds to purchase one?   :p

Beautiful board with interesting features.  Love it.  I'm sure I won't get one fast enough yet again.

Offline PikaJoyce

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Re: [IC] CONSTELLATION 65%
« Reply #47 on: Thu, 23 January 2020, 11:40:27 »
In stock 100 public units... so we have around what, 8-11 seconds to purchase one?   :p

Beautiful board with interesting features.  Love it.  I'm sure I won't get one fast enough yet again.
Buahaha, I feel the very same. I'm loving this board, just unsure if it's actually possible to get in on it :(

Offline eyedrop

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Re: [IC] CONSTELLATION 65%
« Reply #48 on: Thu, 23 January 2020, 11:50:45 »
I remembered filling out the friends and family form before.  How would we know if we made it on that list?

Love the innovation.  I am enjoying my EXT65 at the moment while waiting for this.

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Re: [IC] CONSTELLATION 65%
« Reply #49 on: Thu, 23 January 2020, 11:51:44 »
This looks like it will popularise gaskets.