Author Topic: [IC] Neptune 80 - A keyboard for heavy aluminium lovers  (Read 7512 times)

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Offline Neptune

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[IC] Neptune 80 - A keyboard for heavy aluminium lovers
« on: Wed, 23 September 2020, 06:33:11 »
252251-0252253-1252255-2252257-3


Hi!
I am a keyboard lover living in Korea.
Since I started collecting keyboards, I always wanted to create one that I designed and I think this is the time.
I always wanted a heavy aluminium keyboard that weighs over 4kg. So I decided to put a big huge weight on the bottom of this keyboard.
I cannot make sure that this weighs over 4kg, but I'm sure its going to be heavy.

The main concept of Neptune 80 is "weight."
Its a simple boxy looking keyboard with huge weight on the bottom.
The weight takes about 1/2 of bottom case and is visible from side.




Even though this is my first IC and GB experience and I'm kind of afraid, I want to give it a shot.

[specs]
Angle: 7degrees
Material:
- Top and Bottom Case: 6063/6061 (either one of them), thinking of making in FE too.
- Weight: SUS and Brass
- Plate: Alu and Alu half (same plate design as Whale, Tgr Jane v2 etc)
Colors: Black, Gray, White, Silver (might add beige and skyblue) There won't be any anodized option. All of them will be cerakoted.
PCB: Currently working on them.
Layouts: WKL only (maybe wk if theres enough buyers)
Mounting: Supports top mount and Gasket with provided orings.
This is just a very first render. Designs and prices might change during IC but there won't be any big change.

Estimated Price: 600 USD for Brass weight and 800 USD for SUS weight. 1.3k USD for FE (prices might depend on quantity. Since all are cerakoted, prices went a bit higher than other ICs. I have contacted some aluminium CNC companys and SUS costs more than I expected that's why it is more pricey than brass ver)

MOQ: looking around 100. Fe will be only made 10 to 15 if there's enough buyers.


I want to make sure that this is not the final Render/Design.
I will be reflecting opinions from you guys.
This GB/IC will be held via Discord which I found it easier to take opinions and communicate with users.

Thank you!

https://discord.gg/hKCZHE <- Discord server link
« Last Edit: Wed, 23 September 2020, 06:38:22 by Neptune »

Offline vi0till

  • Posts: 237
Re: [IC] Neptune 80 - A keyboard for heavy aluminium lovers
« Reply #1 on: Wed, 23 September 2020, 06:36:55 »
Nice. Interested. Mounting method? Please offer WKL

Sent from my VOG-L29 using Tapatalk


Offline 002_GT

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Re: [IC] Neptune 80 - A keyboard for heavy aluminium lovers
« Reply #2 on: Wed, 23 September 2020, 06:37:48 »
what kind of usb port are you going to use?

Offline Neptune

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Re: [IC] Neptune 80 - A keyboard for heavy aluminium lovers
« Reply #3 on: Wed, 23 September 2020, 06:39:25 »
what kind of usb port are you going to use?

It will be USB Mini or USB C. There will be two choices.

Offline Neptune

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Re: [IC] Neptune 80 - A keyboard for heavy aluminium lovers
« Reply #4 on: Wed, 23 September 2020, 06:40:20 »
Nice. Interested. Mounting method? Please offer WKL

Sent from my VOG-L29 using Tapatalk



There will be WKL since I'm a huge fan of WKL. It will be top mount and Gasket mount if you insert Orings provided.

Offline vi0till

  • Posts: 237
Re: [IC] Neptune 80 - A keyboard for heavy aluminium lovers
« Reply #5 on: Wed, 23 September 2020, 06:40:30 »
what kind of usb port are you going to use?

It will be USB Mini or USB C. There will be two choices.
Would prefer with daughterboard.

Sent from my VOG-L29 using Tapatalk


Offline Neptune

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Re: [IC] Neptune 80 - A keyboard for heavy aluminium lovers
« Reply #6 on: Wed, 23 September 2020, 06:41:56 »
what kind of usb port are you going to use?

It will be USB Mini or USB C. There will be two choices.
Would prefer with daughterboard.

Sent from my VOG-L29 using Tapatalk



Ok i will think about it!

Offline Sissy

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  • Location: Australia
Re: [IC] Neptune 80 - A keyboard for heavy aluminium lovers
« Reply #7 on: Wed, 23 September 2020, 06:55:03 »
I love heavy boards.
price us somewhat higher than I like to see for a board self described as "simple boxy looking"

Offline Bamboo238

  • Posts: 49
Re: [IC] Neptune 80 - A keyboard for heavy aluminium lovers
« Reply #8 on: Wed, 23 September 2020, 07:13:10 »
I think since so much of this board is centered around its weight, it would be useful to have a view of the bottom in the renders.

Offline Neptune

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Re: [IC] Neptune 80 - A keyboard for heavy aluminium lovers
« Reply #9 on: Wed, 23 September 2020, 07:26:59 »
I love heavy boards.
price us somewhat higher than I like to see for a board self described as "simple boxy looking"

Yeah I'm contacting few CNC companys for better prices. But with all of them cerakoted and the weights are made out of SUS, its hard to get the price down. Still I'm trying my best!

Offline Neptune

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Re: [IC] Neptune 80 - A keyboard for heavy aluminium lovers
« Reply #10 on: Wed, 23 September 2020, 07:27:43 »
I think since so much of this board is centered around its weight, it would be useful to have a view of the bottom in the renders.

Ok! I will work on that rendering!

Offline irohasu

  • Posts: 17
Re: [IC] Neptune 80 - A keyboard for heavy aluminium lovers
« Reply #11 on: Wed, 23 September 2020, 07:42:31 »
This looks good!

Offline gilbert

  • Posts: 127
  • Location: Germany
Re: [IC] Neptune 80 - A keyboard for heavy aluminium lovers
« Reply #12 on: Wed, 23 September 2020, 07:46:29 »
thicc boi
Collection: F1.69, G80-5K, Bliss TKL, Ecliptica, Cypher, Safa S588, Southpaw Fullsize, HHKB Pro2, Zenith G80-1192HAD

Offline MoonOperator

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Re: [IC] Neptune 80 - A keyboard for heavy aluminium lovers
« Reply #13 on: Wed, 23 September 2020, 08:08:45 »
I’m interested! Love the WKL layout

Offline GaNeBaL

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  • Location: Toronto
Re: [IC] Neptune 80 - A keyboard for heavy aluminium lovers
« Reply #14 on: Wed, 23 September 2020, 09:10:14 »
I would really like this to be h87/h88 compatible and hopefully not need a 3rd party PCB. It would also be nice if the design were a bit more finalized and maybe try to avoid prices starting at $600.
Obsessed with 60%TKLs

Offline FlitzDeelman

  • Posts: 180
Re: [IC] Neptune 80 - A keyboard for heavy aluminium lovers
« Reply #15 on: Wed, 23 September 2020, 10:05:20 »
I really like the shape and angles of this box and how the weight emerges from the alu at the back. I normally prefer more sculpted boards, but this is great.

I can appreciate that the straight lines are easier to manufacture, and $600 / $800 is steep for a first GB, so I understand the comments other readers made about price.

However, I still want one! On first glance this is one of the more attractive boards I’ve seen this year, and I saw many beautiful ones! I think and hope you will sell out your units within a few seconds.

My wallet will be stretched, I already have too many boards I’m interested in. But I’ll keep an eye out for this anyway, and hope I can snag one.

Offline IOVERCALLHISTIOCYTES

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Re: [IC] Neptune 80 - A keyboard for heavy aluminium lovers
« Reply #16 on: Wed, 23 September 2020, 10:33:58 »
You've said MOQ, minimum order quantity, is 100. Or is there a limit of 100?

Offline elmo

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Re: [IC] Neptune 80 - A keyboard for heavy aluminium lovers
« Reply #17 on: Wed, 23 September 2020, 11:02:08 »
maybe finish your design first before opening an IC.

There is no mounting on the plate, the internals of the board are not finished, you don't even have a USB port placed yet meaning you probably don't have a PCB design either.
For top mount style seamless case design doesn't really work well and for bottom mount the walls of the bottom piece are way too thin. You won't be able to put tab cutouts on there without making the board too fragile to machine.
Also your keycap cutouts are wrong...

How are you going to get quotes from CNC manus without even having that stuff figured out?

But hey lets just throw a casual $600-800 in the room because why the f*** not.
Sorry but this reeks like a giant cash grab from someone who is completely new to this hobby...  :confused:
« Last Edit: Wed, 23 September 2020, 11:08:23 by elmo »

Offline unknownh

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Re: [IC] Neptune 80 - A keyboard for heavy aluminium lovers
« Reply #18 on: Wed, 23 September 2020, 11:16:12 »
ne screws avail?

TGR-Jane v2
 | TGR X SINGA UNIKORN 60 | Duck TC-V3 | Geonworks F1.69 | EX: GS "GUGA" 60 | yoot Calliope - XTFRLWKLTKL | AEK64 SKCM Browns | unknown60 WKL (x2) unknown60 WK (x2) RAMAWORKS M65-A RAMAWORKS KOYU RAMAWORKS M60-A |HHKB Pro 2 Type-S | HHKB Pro 2 


https://imgur.com/ntJaJ1c.png[/img]

Offline Ramen Champ

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Re: [IC] Neptune 80 - A keyboard for heavy aluminium lovers
« Reply #19 on: Wed, 23 September 2020, 11:16:46 »
Piggy backing off of Elmo, I do the think the keyboard design has potential and it's a great starting off point. However, an Interest check in this day and age should be more than just a couple of renders thrown together and a name. I would highly urge you to start working on additional renders that capture some of the concerns listed here, pcb designs and more thorough renders being two of the main ones.

Looking forward to seeing more!
twitch.tv/ramenchamp_

Offline huey

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  • Location: UK
Re: [IC] Neptune 80 - A keyboard for heavy aluminium lovers
« Reply #20 on: Wed, 23 September 2020, 11:22:55 »
There are soo many flaws in this design that I can't be bothered to help you. It looks like you watched Quantriks' video, opened fusion and posted what you made in 30 minutes.

I don't even need to see evidence that the $600 price tag you've put on this is even realistic because, based off how much effort you've put into your design, there is no chance you've actually reached out to a manufacturer to get a quote.

This is another cash-grabbing IC it seems. I ask that you evaluate what matters more to you, money or making a passion project come to fruition.

Offline Onnimar

  • Posts: 42
Re: [IC] Neptune 80 - A keyboard for heavy aluminium lovers
« Reply #21 on: Wed, 23 September 2020, 11:52:17 »
Yes, as others have said the price is heavily inflated. Especially when you have an MOQ target of 100. However, I wish you luck.

Offline illusixn

  • Formerly illusixn
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Re: [IC] Neptune 80 - A keyboard for heavy aluminium lovers
« Reply #22 on: Wed, 23 September 2020, 12:20:01 »
> IC posted in IC section -> geekhack users mad

> Pre-GB advert posted in IC section -> geekhack users also mad

While this is obviously an early idea, there is a lot that needs to be worked on (much of which has already been stated by other users). My only real issue is the price. Seems weird to have pricing figured out, especially considering the design isn't even completed.

Offline packman86

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  • Morning Coffee
Re: [IC] Neptune 80 - A keyboard for heavy aluminium lovers
« Reply #23 on: Wed, 23 September 2020, 12:29:36 »
Interesting design.
People have made some helpful comments already and I am looking forward to seeing more updates.
Keyboard Collection:

More

TGR Jane V2 | TGR Jane V2 CE | TGR Alice | TGR Dolice | TGR 910 | TGR x Singa UNIKORN 60 | Matrix 8XV 2.0 Korea Version | Matrix 8XV 2.0add | LZ CLS s h x | Duck Jetfire | TX-CP | QXP | Noxary X65 | RAMA M60-A | Model F62 "Kishsaver"

Offline elmo

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    • Elmo's keyboards
Re: [IC] Neptune 80 - A keyboard for heavy aluminium lovers
« Reply #24 on: Wed, 23 September 2020, 12:59:38 »
> IC posted in IC section -> geekhack users mad

> Pre-GB advert posted in IC section -> geekhack users also mad

While this is obviously an early idea, there is a lot that needs to be worked on (much of which has already been stated by other users). My only real issue is the price. Seems weird to have pricing figured out, especially considering the design isn't even completed.

There is nothing wrong with posting an early concept in the IC section even though there are categories in this forum that would be better suited for that ("making stuff together" for example).

But posting an unfinished design that has so many flaws and mistakes that it's obvious the "designer" had absolutely no idea what he was doing with a price tag of $600-800 gives a real foul taste to it and makes it look like a pathetic cash-grab.
Because like it was already said: There is literally no way that he even tried to reach out to a manufacturer with this. No serious CNC factory would have given out any quote based on something unfinished like this.

Offline illusixn

  • Formerly illusixn
  • Posts: 101
Re: [IC] Neptune 80 - A keyboard for heavy aluminium lovers
« Reply #25 on: Wed, 23 September 2020, 13:46:56 »
> IC posted in IC section -> geekhack users mad

> Pre-GB advert posted in IC section -> geekhack users also mad

While this is obviously an early idea, there is a lot that needs to be worked on (much of which has already been stated by other users). My only real issue is the price. Seems weird to have pricing figured out, especially considering the design isn't even completed.

There is nothing wrong with posting an early concept in the IC section even though there are categories in this forum that would be better suited for that ("making stuff together" for example).

But posting an unfinished design that has so many flaws and mistakes that it's obvious the "designer" had absolutely no idea what he was doing with a price tag of $600-800 gives a real foul taste to it and makes it look like a pathetic cash-grab.
Because like it was already said: There is literally no way that he even tried to reach out to a manufacturer with this. No serious CNC factory would have given out any quote based on something unfinished like this.

ok

Offline Techlet

  • Posts: 46
Re: [IC] Neptune 80 - A keyboard for heavy aluminium lovers
« Reply #26 on: Wed, 23 September 2020, 18:27:44 »
Hmmm, interesting IC.

>First GB
$600/800 standard, $1300 special edition, 100 MOQ

>WKL only
Render shows WK

>Colors: Black, Gray, White, Silver
Render in navy

Offline Janoma

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  • certified nerd
Re: [IC] Neptune 80 - A keyboard for heavy aluminium lovers
« Reply #27 on: Wed, 23 September 2020, 20:06:19 »
Not trying to jump on the pain train too hard here,
but I am not sure how many people would be interested in paying 1.3k for a RETAIL keyboard from a
manu with no prior GB experience.

Aside from that, the weight design is very interesting and would love to see this properly implemented with a more digestible price tag and finished design.

Offline Anthixious

  • Posts: 280
  • Location: Ohio, USA
Re: [IC] Neptune 80 - A keyboard for heavy aluminium lovers
« Reply #28 on: Thu, 24 September 2020, 10:19:37 »
Got some thoughts as well. Love the concept, love heavy boards, all in for the square, simple-looking design.....for 600-800, I'd be expecting the weight to be taking up 3/4 of the bottom, or have the whole bottom piece the weight itself. Also I don't know what SUS is, sorry. Also yes, steep price of 1.3K for the FE version of this board I feel like it absolutely has to have either 100% of the bottom be brass or SUS, along with all the bells and whistles. Constructive criticism aside, this has very high potential and I can see myself wanting to get this even though my plate is close to being full already. Best of luck for the future of this project!