Yes confirmed. In addition to Brand New Beam Spring Keyboards talk and talk about joining the current round of keyboards being produced and assembled at the factory, I'd like this thread to also focus on recommendations for the next round, including additional layouts, a discussion of the proposed double shot key set, and seeking help to contribute open source alternative keyboard case designs for future rounds of this group buy.
Below I have copied my replies to recent discussions that have been going on on the Deskthority thread for this project:
Regarding the fly plates - I did not mean to exaggerate defects of IBM beam spring keyboards, just to discuss the potential and realized pitfalls of the technology itself in terms of expected maintenance and repairability time. I will leave the question of beam spring maintenance frequency to those who use their beamsprings as daily drivers. Beyond when I was setting up my IBM beam spring keyboards after receiving and cleaning them and re-seating a key or two (many years ago I put the "I" key flipped for example - did not notice the difference in the key slope initially!) I had to reattach a number of the fly plates, but I have not had to do anything memorable after occasional testing in the ensuing years since then. They are more likely to fly out when the board is open and I am making adjustments or testing the modules not installed in a keyboard.
Case height is 24mm (not including the parts that stick out on top). Just under 47cm width and about 16.5 cm length.
Regarding the interest form, everyone should please be realistic in what they can spend later this year when considering signing up
- one person put that they would order 500 keyboards - not likely!
webwit and others - no HHKB or ISO this time, as the keyboards are already produced. There may be another round with these options (and with additional case color options) but not likely for a while, if at all. Definitely nothing before I get the Model F project mailed out. For everyone: if you really want the beam spring and are flexible with using the US ANSI layout I recommend signing up to order it, if that is preferable to not getting a spot in the list. You can also sign up and note "only ISO" if you want to be in on the possible next round.
The doubleshot keys are expected to only be available in US and a few extra UK ISO keys (the latter for futureproofing and to allow more sets to be sold) so they will include more than 103 keys most likely - everyone would get all the keys. Nothing's finalized yet. The MOQ requires all sets to have the exact same keys.
Regarding the case design alternatives I would be happy to receive open source submissions for more stylish additional case offerings as future upgrades (I'll send to the factory for some quotations), however none would be factory installed options. The current design reflects the goal of making a Brand New beam spring keyboard with the smallest feasible footprint. The goal is to get these shipped as they are and then to allow additional stuff to be offered in the future, including case designs ranging from Model M style and modern mechanical keyboard style all the way to original beam spring keyboard case styles. Personally I'd like to see the 3278 A01 style cases with the momentary push buttons (I looked into this, but the ones of similar size are too deep to fit in the current case's interior dimensions). Also the 3101, 3277, 3278 and others are good to consider if anyone's up for making the cad files.
Another benefit to the extra big case would be the additional sound deadening offered. As there's nearly no deadening material or pounds of extra case, and the tolerances are far tighter, the new beam springs do reverberate noticeably more, like the Model F, as opposed to the dead sound of my original beam springs with nearly zero reverberation sound.
zrrion if you'd like to facilitate the ability to easily create plates and PCBs for various layouts as you mentioned, that would be great but I don't know if the demand for beam springs in various additional layouts would warrant the effort.
nickg SSK style num pads should be possible with the QMK and Via firmware but others would have to chime in on this. And again as noted above, the feel and sound are close to but still different from the original beam spring keyboards in the ways I mentioned. If you are looking for the 100% same experience you will not find it without turning to an original keyboard.
Regarding floating case designs, the goal was to minimize the additional parts of the original beam spring keyboards so the cost would not be even higher, which is why there is no additional interior top or bottom plate. I could imagine this keyboard itself becoming a drop in "inner assembly" for a larger case, maybe like an original IBM style case if someone wanted to mod their keyboard after it is delivered.
ZyBeR as noted in my initial post stabilizers are included but not needed or recommended outside of the space bar. Given the height of the beam modules it is impossible to mount the stabs on the PCB, which is why they are plate mounted.
A general question - for 122 layouts do people prefer the grouped together function keys at top or would it be better to space apart the F1-F4 (and 4 keys above it), F5-F8, etc. as it is done on a Model M? Would an interesting 122 layout be Model M 103 plus 4 keys on top of each function key and of course 10 keys on the left side unchanged?
mmm if you see photos of disassembled beam modules, the original switch had a metal insert which attached the white part of the beam module to the key. I'd guess that if they made it shorter, the white part would not have been long enough to hold the metal part by friction fit. But I have no idea. Maybe someone could ask the inventor **** Harris on his thread?
Yes the sound is noticeably different without all the extra material serving as significant dampening. I'll be posting some "Beam Spring QC secrets" videos later showing how you might even be able to tune the sound of each switch based on how sharp you want the clickiness, to some degree. By default the factory tuned them not to be overly snappy so that they are more like the originals, but I tuned my own new beam spring to be extra snappy. In other words the factory toned them to have less high frequency/high pitch sound but I expect that the end user can change this. The more snappiness, the more reverberant sound.
Pete the pictured caps are not spherical but they are doubleshot. I hope to make them available for purchase but they won't be a required purchase to get the keyboard. Each product line has its own serial number. A question to everyone - do people care about the serial labels? Every minute counts when shipping out hundreds of boards! I like the serial labels though.
lachmoewe yes but I hope to offer additional layouts myself with input from what people are looking for. PRIPARA_PLAYER regarding JIS and other one-off or super low demand offerings I don't know how feasible it will be for the CNC milling adjustment charges - I'd have to talk with the factory.
Thanks for the feedback tiltowait. For beam module flyplate attachment I use a scrap space bar wire from the Model F project, cut off at one end. Maybe one of these should be included with each keyboard. If you have a photo of the IBM one please share it. I've just seen them note and illustrate in the manual that a paper clip is best.
Redmaus as noted in my original post much of the Model F project timeline was spent waiting on the various factories involved as opposed to constant action, so there was much down time / spare bandwidth for both me and the factories involved. In no way is the beam project delaying the Model F project which remains the priority.
Regarding the wait list, more than half the 300 spots are currently taken, just a few days after the project was announced (though some attrition is to be expected, allowing for a wait list and a possible future round). This was completely unexpected. I may have to change the "100 keyboards at each price" initial goal because more than 100 keyboards have been reserved so quickly. I'll have to do some math on figuring out a more blended pricing so as not to reward someone managing to notice the thread and sign up a few hours before someone else - that was not the intention.
shampoo beam springs are louder than Model F's so I would not recommend them if Model F is the limit to the permissible noise in a given room.
goofy9x I believe the doubleshots are PBT but not confirmed.
