[IC] 永 - Forever (GB 1/9 at 10AM CT)

[driftingbunnies]

Forever by Drift Mechanics

永 (yong~3) - Forever,  eternal, permanent, always, everlasting

UPDATE - GB on Saturday (1/9) at 10AM CT. Drift Mechanics

I've also posted an update to my website with the details of the GB. https://www.driftmechanics.com/post/forever-gb

Theme

More

The theme forever was picked for my own personal reasons but it can truly mean anything. Forever is a concept that we know but can't truly grasp due to our limited time here on earth. For me, it's a reminder of a place very dear to my heart that will never be the same again after what's transpired over the past 5 years. I also imagined this to be the board that I would be happy to use forever. I wanted to have something that would have some flair when viewed on the sides but still classy enough to rock at work. The midpiece peaks out on the side and accents the rear and bottom logo. The Chinese character was picked due to it's beauty and meaning.

Having the same origins as its homonym 泳 (yǒng) which means “to swim,” the earliest manifestation of 永 was actually defined as “to swim with the current.”

To give a little background, the character for “water” or 水 (shuǐ) that makes up the bulk of 永, shares the same pictographic derivative as the word 川 (chuān) or “stream.”

Thus, the modern interpretation of the 永 paints a picture of a stream or river flowing endlessly, a stunning visual for the Chinese word for “forever.”

               

                 
IC Form




Specs:

• Case Angle: 7.5°
• Mounting Method: Gasket
• Plate Materials: Carbon fiber or POM
• Case Materials: Anodized Aluminum
• Mid piece Material: Polished Stainless Steel
• PCB: PCB with Centered USB-C daughterboard (QMK compatible)
• Blocker Material: Stainless Steel
• Layouts: 7u or 6.25u bottom row
• 18mm front height
• Price: TBD

Supported Layouts:



Prototype:


















Renders:

More

FAQ:

• Will you include ISO?
  Sorry, no plans to include ISO
  
  
• How many color options will there be?
  Most likely two to three depending on the number of units.
  
  
• How much will this cost?
  This isn't a budget board so don't expect budget pricing.
  
  
• Can you make a non-blocker version?
  It is something I considered but I'm hoping to keep the number of SKUs down. Maybe if there's enough interest, I'll do a blockerless version next round. The blocker is also to distinguish the board from other 65%. Without it, it looks like a kbd67 from the top down.
  
  
• Can we have a different logo?
  The logo is the word forever. We debated on whether we should keep it or try something more generic but since it carries some meaning for me, I decided to stick with it. I think it'll grow on you and it's definitely distinctive when you look at it from the top down.
  
  
• Can we have different mid piece materials?
  Maybe next round. This round will only be Stainless Steel.
  
  
• Can you run an unlimited GB?
  I have no intention to run an unlimited or high volume GB. I am only one person and I can only handle so many by myself.
  
  
• Can you include a brass/aluminum/ss plate?
  Based on various reasons, I've decided to opt out of metal plates. One of the main reasons is due to sound profile. Metal plates tend to be ping-y and a gasket mount doesn't help with the sound. The idea is to have a cleaner sound with CF and foam in between the plate and PCB to get that thocky sound.
  
  
• Can you change the blocker to be a badge or have replaceable logos?
  The blocker section is actually milled out and there will be a metal piece underneath. There's no way to easily change the logo without having multiple top pieces.

Special Thanks

• Starr for case design and PCB
• Bruce and Skewed for feedback

Come join our Discord! for the most up to date information!

[driftingbunnies]

11/13/20 - So we've received our first protos this week. We will be making some slight changes to the case. We've heard your cries and we'll be removing some screw holes so the bottom will only show 6 holes. Four corners and two where the logo is. We also have a few changes to fix some small errors that we found in the first prototype but everything else is looking really good. I'll be ordering new top and bottoms which pushes the GB back a bit. Current estimate for GB will be Q1 2021.

[CrazyAssMonkey]

Woah! this looks nice. I'm a sucker for that side profile.

[Vhawk]

This is soooo sickkk!!!!

[Nevermore012]

one sentence,


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Kinesiologist]

looking forward to this,

please remember to add ESD protection for the PCBs, thanks.

[VipermanGT2]

Soooo....... Backspace, Backspace, Backspace? Will my backspace work if the legends don't fit on the cap? Will the keyboard even work? LMAO. How much effort are you actually putting into this, if you can't take 5 mins to fix a simple layout image?

[Ustinj]

wow, this is cool .. reminds me of a certain 65, but with a much more interesting side pro

[super_tu]

LFG!

[VipermanGT2]

looking forward to this,

please remember to add ESD protection for the PCBs, thanks.

I think ESD protection is probably the least of the concerns with this board.

[driftingbunnies]

looking forward to this,

please remember to add ESD protection for the PCBs, thanks.

Thanks, we definitely know there have been issues with other PCBs that have fried due to lack of ESD protection. We'll include it in our PCB.

[hineybush]

starr, like pheonixstarr?

[OtherAndrew]

Soooo....... Backspace, Backspace, Backspace? Will my backspace work if the legends don't fit on the cap? Will the keyboard even work? LMAO. How much effort are you actually putting into this, if you can't take 5 mins to fix a simple layout image?

looking forward to this,

please remember to add ESD protection for the PCBs, thanks.

I think ESD protection is probably the least of the concerns with this board.

can't find anything remarkable to complain about?

[dRnRcRr]

Very nice DB.  I'm in

[kabocha]

here we go again *unzips wallet*

[Gondolindrim]

starr, like pheonixstarr?

Yes, PheonixStarr. She designed Austin too. I designed the Austin PCB, she designed the case. In this keyboard she designed the whole thing!

[Blastoise]

All I gotta know is where and when I can buy it. 100% in!

[Avijit]

Did Bruce ask for the top right blocker
The man loves his top right blockers

[Baka Bot]

I dont care about the price. I WANT IT

[Midori]

starr, like pheonixstarr?

Designer of the BruhMoment84 WKL?

[Vaiur]

Wow what a gorgeous side profile, I'm excited.

[Capsy]

Good job DB. Love it.

[yonghf]

Nice, insta-buy since that's my name in mandarin.  )

[digitvoid]

I like it except for the chinese symbol on the case. How about this, but with the triangle cutout for indicator LEDs like on the Austin instead of the chinese symbol in the top right corner?

[jimboytacos]

Will you consider the additional option of a top case without a blocker but put in an actual, functional key there?

[Blastoise]

Bruce is everywhere. I’m ready to buy the protos. Please and thank you!

[cadrev]

Holy hell! this, this is it, endgame for me!

[Kokaloo]

is this a vtuber thing

[Sissy]

Nice side view, love me some heavy solid boards.

[coffeeshopcoder]

This looks a bit like Quantrik’s Haatchi - esp. the side profile.
That’s a good thing IMO , and I like the accents.
Any thoughts on price ?

[SoraNoTenshi]

If i'd get 500$ for every board i'd like to buy, i would now have every board i'd like to buy.

I will investigate further, and already put some money away, so kinda count me in. Lol

[elmo]

I'd buy this in a second if there was a case option without the top right blocker available

[Lenux]

Lovely project ! GLWIC !

[illusixn]

Soooo....... Backspace, Backspace, Backspace? Will my backspace work if the legends don't fit on the cap? Will the keyboard even work? LMAO. How much effort are you actually putting into this, if you can't take 5 mins to fix a simple layout image?

[driftingbunnies]

Will you consider the additional option of a top case without a blocker but put in an actual, functional key there?

I have considered it but I didn't want to have too many skus. I might consider it for the future but the blocker kind of sets it apart from all the other 65% boards out there.

I like it except for the chinese symbol on the case. How about this, but with the triangle cutout for indicator LEDs like on the Austin instead of the chinese symbol in the top right corner?

Thanks for the suggestion. We actually did think about that option but I didn't think it would work in that corner. Plus, I wasn't looking to expand on the Austin series and I wanted this to be different.

[Clay333]

I also really like the design and normally like top right blockers. But something about it just doesn't look as good to me on this board to me. Maybe it's just the fact that it's a Chinese character and I personally don't like having anything on my board that I don't understand. Either way it's an excellent looking board, but just like stated above I would love to see an option with no blocker.

Also is the mounting method just a fairly stand Keycult/Iron 165 style system or are there any notable differences? I would hope to see pictures of the mounting system on a prototype or renders at minimum before this goes into group buy.

[driftingbunnies]

I also really like the design and normally like top right blockers. But something about it just doesn't look as good to me on this board to me. Maybe it's just the fact that it's a Chinese character and I personally don't like having anything on my board that I don't understand. Either way it's an excellent looking board, but just like stated above I would love to see an option with no blocker.

Also is the mounting method just a fairly stand Keycult/Iron 165 style system or are there any notable differences? I would hope to see pictures of the mounting system on a prototype or renders at minimum before this goes into group buy.

Thanks for the feedback. Does it help if the character means forever in Japanese as well?

Prototypes have been ordered so I'll show them before GB starts. The mounting method is similar to keycult/iron.

[Clay333]

I also really like the design and normally like top right blockers. But something about it just doesn't look as good to me on this board to me. Maybe it's just the fact that it's a Chinese character and I personally don't like having anything on my board that I don't understand. Either way it's an excellent looking board, but just like stated above I would love to see an option with no blocker.

Also is the mounting method just a fairly stand Keycult/Iron 165 style system or are there any notable differences? I would hope to see pictures of the mounting system on a prototype or renders at minimum before this goes into group buy.

Thanks for the feedback. Does it help if the character means forever in Japanese as well?

Prototypes have been ordered so I'll show them before GB starts. The mounting method is similar to keycult/iron.

For me personally I can't get behind characters on my boards that aren't in my native language, no matter what it means. That is just a personal preference and is in no way meant to take away from your design. There are plenty of people who don't feel that way. You should make this board what you want it to be. There will be no trouble selling it in the current market. I think it comes down to if you want to make your dream board or if you want to make a board for the people whether you add the option or not. Either way it looks like you have an amazing design and I can't wait to see how it turns out.

[dededecline]

looking forward to this,

please remember to add ESD protection for the PCBs, thanks.

I think ESD protection is probably the least of the concerns with this board.

And yet the thing you decided to gripe about was the legends on the KLE.

[JoltFX]

Love the design love the side profile and I love the right blocker with the character. Stoked for this!!

[carax]

The dark blue and stainless steel combination is stunning. Well done on the design excited to see the prototypes.

[CastleKeyboards]

Very sleek!

[kurple]

Great board! I can't really say more than what's already obvious (all good things).

I can't remember if I mentioned this in the IC form:

I'm hoping for a burgundy color option or that the possible red color option is dark. 

[jjoejimmy]

Middle accents are hot. I'm really looking forward to what kind of color options we'll get for the board, badge and accent!!

[bruceywane]

  IM ALL IN.

[RaiKami]

IC filled, very nice board.

[3yatt]

Unlimited or or a decent quantity of fcfs pls because this is incredible. Some heavy hitters on gh the last couple days.

[Solotov]

Please have a wkl option. 

Do you have any other words/design on the blocker in mind?

[bthezebra]

Looking real nice and a classy logo on the bottom

[driftingbunnies]

Thanks everyone for their feedback so far! I appreciate all the interest! I've updated the FAQ in the OP to try to answer some of the questions asked on the IC form or on the thread. Let me know if I've missed anything. Feel free to also ask your questions in the discord.