[IC] Katze - 60% O-Ring

[Dunne]

Katze

IC Form

A 60% O-Ring keyboard with a cat drinking wine.



Background

The board pays homage to older kustoms that of the Unikorn and OTD356mini with my own twist. Also, cats and wine are great!

The first run of Katze was a 15-unit run exclusively for the Vietnamese market (since I was based there at the time), however, since I got a lot of good responses on the first run I wanted to bring it "back home"/internationally with new revisions and updates to the initial design.

Pricing Aim & MOQ

Brass Kit w/ Alu weight: $300 - $330
Copper Kit w/ Alu weight: $305 - $335
Brass Kit w/ Brass/Copper weight: $320 - $345
Copper Kit w/ Brass/Copper weight: $325 - $350
MOQ: 50 - 100 Softcap

What's Included

- Aluminum Case/Polycarbonate Case
- Mechlovin' Kay60 PCB Variant
- O-Ring
- Brass/Copper Weight
- Aluminum/Brass/Copper Cat Weight
- Aluminum Plate
- x4 Geonworks custom molded feet
- M2.5 x4 screws for weight fastening
- Daughterboard and JST connector cable
- Carrying Case & microfibre cloth

Case Specifications

Mounting Style: O-Ring (i.e. friction-ledge assembly)

Case Material: Aluminum (6063) / Polycarbonate
Main Weight Material: Clearcoated Copper or Clearcoated Brass
Cat Weight Material: Sandblasted Aluminum 6063 (Matches case color) | Clear coated Brass or Copper | PC case - Alu weight: TBD

Case Colors:
- Alu: Purple, Burgundy, and Beige
- PC: Clear Polycarbonate

Plate Option: ANSI and ISO | 1.5mm Aluminum 5052 (Full and Half-plate) | CF and PC as add-ons
PCB Option: 1.6mm Soldered PCB | ANSI (ICing for ISO interest)

Typing Angle: 6 degrees
FH (Front Lip): 20.4mm/EFH: 21.6mm
Heft: 1.43kg unbuilt | approx. 1.7kg built

Layout Options
PCB changes may occur depending on ISO interest
(Potentially looking to add 10U spacebar compatibility, if there’s enough interest)


Media
(Katze FE/PC version shown below, is indicative of the Katze final design but solely in Aluminum)


Katze FE (near identical design, showcase reference) Typing Tests:

Katze R1 (a first-run aluminum variant for "sound" references)

Groupbuy and Timeline Information

GB Format: TBD

Vendors

US: KeebsForAll
Asia: HexKeyboards
UK: Prototypist
OCE: AllCaps

If you are a vendor and are interested in supporting this project, please email at: dw.keyboards@gmail.com

Revision Log

- Minor aesthetic revisions based on Katze FE
- Internal JST Cable channel widened

Updates

[20/03/2023]

- Added PC as a case option
- Added Brass and Copper cat weight option
- Adjusted price range aim to reflect the material option changes

To-Do

- Publish IC
- Purchase units to send to streamers/reviewers
- Establish GB format and vendors for unit allocation

Special Thanks

Quan Bot for helping since day one
Shy for bouncing ideas and helping each other out on board designs
Flyin’ for his support in all my projects
Simon for glancing for the IC before publishing it
Elaine for a quick "go ahead" inquiry on the board

Links

IC Form
Discord
Instagram

[Dunne]

Reserved

[20/03/2023]

- Added PC as a case option
- Added Brass and Copper cat weight option
- Adjusted  price range aim to reflect the material option changes

[MoltenKhor]

Purrfect

[TheGreenLion172]

Do you ever plan on adding WKL units to the sale?

[krzank]

I like it, just not sure about IC form.

IC form question: Do you want 10U spacebar compatibility?
My answer: Give me thocc

IC form question: Would you like a brass or copper option for the cat weight?
My answer: Yes

Q: Can you add split left shift support?

[Dunne]

I like it, just not sure about IC form.

IC form question: Do you want 10U spacebar compatibility?
My answer: Give me thocc
IC form question: Would you like a brass or copper option for the cat weight?
My answer: Yes
Q: Can you add split left shift support?

- Yes= give me thocc (just some memeing…fyi)
- In the IC I’m asking about solely Alu or having the options for brass/copper. That’s why it’s a yes/no question
- I’m supporting left shift for the universal plate, depending if there are a lot of ISO users via the region selection being EU, I’ll consider revamping the current Kay60 PCB for ISO support

[aicyborg]

If it's a solder PCB anyway it should have as much support as possible, including ISO. If you'd prefer fixed ANSI plates that's one thing but the PCB should certainly have it.

[Dunne]

If it's a solder PCB anyway it should have as much support as possible, including ISO. If you'd prefer fixed ANSI plates that's one thing but the PCB should certainly have it.

Yeah I see what you mean - that’s the rational of an IC, to gauge interest to determine if I modify the PCB entirely, potentially make it a split case incl./excl. PCB option, etc. Regardless, I am talking with Flyin about ISO support and I’ll likely add more support to the PCB

[Oogtug84]

Cute, just curious why the negative space where the cat is holding the wine?

[Dunne]

Cute, just curious why the negative space where the cat is holding the wine?

They are 2 different weights. If it was only a single weight, there’d be different leveled extrusions. The cat weight has an unpolished portion to it, to bring out more layers. I think that’s your answer?

[Dunne]

Do you ever plan on adding WKL units to the sale?

For the time being no, due to the number of necessary design elements to run a one-piece WKL Katze variant, but I will keep it in mind!

[Space_Case88]

I really like this but I just can't get behind the way the weight looks with that cutout in the middle of it.

[Dunne]

I really like this but I just can't get behind the way the weight looks with that cutout in the middle of it.

[Dunne]

I really like this but I just can't get behind the way the weight looks with that cutout in the middle of it.

That look is only for this variant since it’s SS polished and unpolished. I won’t offer this kind of finishing anyway.

[whitewolf154]

I really like this but I just can't get behind the way the weight looks with that cutout in the middle of it.

That look is only for this variant since it’s SS polished and unpolished. I won’t offer this kind of finishing anyway.

So how will the weight of the production version look like?

[RzrRaptor]

Love how it looks, just wondering what it meant to have a 100 soft cap in terms of moq?

[Dunne]

I really like this but I just can't get behind the way the weight looks with that cutout in the middle of it.

That look is only for this variant since it’s SS polished and unpolished. I won’t offer this kind of finishing anyway.

So how will the weight of the production version look like?

It would look like this via a render (please take the render with a grain of salt though, since I can't render to save my life):

or if imagined, the weight has a single uniformed finish (sandblasted, and clear coated) on this close-up of the SS weight:

[Dunne]

Love how it looks, just wondering what it meant to have a 100 soft cap in terms of moq?

The 50 MOQ is the highest price and anything above 100+ would be the lowest price that I am aiming for, but prices may change due to numerous variables. Hope that is what you're wondering about!

[KFOXE]

Curious to see what type of purple you have in mind for the case.

[Rhienfo]

Definitely feel that there should be ISO Support on that PCB, and I also don't like that back weight and how that section between the cat and the wine glass the cat is holding is a light grey compared to the rest of the weight minus the cat being a darker grey, it doesn't look as good as it could be. The board does seem fine otherwise so GLWIC