Well as we all know, procrastination, real life, and being married can eat up your time. I and Frosty would like to thank all of for participating in the price survey. I’ve asked for a quote from the machine shop to determine cost of machining the aluminum but the owner is out of country currently so I have to wait for his return.
Speaking of money, I assure you I will not ask for any until I know I can produce the Mira and need it for manufacturing, I’m considering setting up a PayPal business account for all of the participants and my own protection.
Timeline – I anticipate getting my quotes in by the middle of April and if it is a go start this between the last week of April to a date depending on the machine shop production time. Until I know from the machine shop I can’t predict production time.
PCB’s will be from Leeku, will be presoldered except for LED’s underneath.
Plates - I’m not sure if stainless steel plates will be offered, and I have to check on plate anodization.
Diffusers – Before the height of the Mira was an issue and I’m unsure about the current version. I will try to get a file for production of a diffuser plate, and may offer it.
Gold stabs – the first 57 will get the gold plated stabs, and I need to know if you need 6.25 or 7 size spacebar wires so Zeal can make sure he has enough,
I’ve also talked to Hubble so Frosty and I can verify who put down a $40 deposit to help on prototype cost so those individuals will not be overcharged.
Winkeyless will not utilize blockers.
Colors are discussed below.
Colors
I understand now why most group buys usually only have three colors. The first is cost; another reason is to limit confusion from both the anodizing place and secondly form the group buy organizer. There are several issues with it, especially considering the places the boards travel and the group buy organizers lack of control of the process. For instance, you have production, the finishing, anodizing, then sorting. What do you think the odds are of an anodizerer knowing the difference between a winkey and winkeyless keyboard? Due to this I may need to limit the standard production colors since the MOQ is 16 keyboard pieces for any color with a particular finish not including plates. An example would be 8 keyboards in bright black. A bright finish is the one we are used to on our keyboards.
Base colors are clear, black, red, blue, pewter, violet, green, and gold. Below are the color keys and examples.
Red
Pewter
Clear is like the first Mira prototype
Violet
Gold
Green
If you look to the left of the green image you will see blue and I’ll have to check to see if the turquoise above the blue is a custom color or not.
It has been to long since I’ve been to the shop to recall if this was a custom color or not. The different shades are the result of differences in the amount of time the pieces are immersed in the color vat.
The shop divides into bright and satin finishes. Bright is the finish we are all used to on out keyboards.
Satin is a flat finish, with a similar texture of flat black paint and a “rougher” texture of the finish on a Koala or the black plates of “The Cheat”. Here is a comparison of the finishes.
To the left is an example of an OTD black, in the center is the satin finish of the shop I’m using, and to the right is a typical board we are used to. Here are individual pictures of the three.
Satin finish
OTD back
Black we are used to
I think you can appreciate the difference in finishes.Custom finishes can be done but an individual board – both pieces are just one board would cost $175. To keep costs down I believe that having only one or two custom colors would be best with a MOQ of 16 pieces (meaning a top or bottom) and an extra charge of around $10 unless the shop changes it’s quote on me.
I think that covers the status of the Mira and colors. As usual, questions are welcome and Frosty or I will try to answer them. I’m going to have the price survey closed and ask for a color survey be begun. If possible I will list all colors and satin vs bright finish.
