Author Topic: [GB] Polaris - GB Complete  (Read 241256 times)

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Offline Popopro

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Re: [GB] Polaris - In production
« Reply #300 on: Fri, 06 December 2019, 16:23:57 »
> It said by EOY when it first hit KBDFans, but we were told 2020Q1 is more realistic while the buy is still open because of the vast amount of orders

So before April then. Cool.

Ai already said that the new estimate that they are trying to hit is before CNY. I'm gonna stay pretty optimistic about this eta.

Offline nathanchere

  • Posts: 707
Re: [GB] Polaris - In production
« Reply #301 on: Sat, 07 December 2019, 00:07:28 »
Even before the large number of orders I said the claim of delivering by December was never going to happen and we won't see anything until at least second half of 2020. The only update so far is 'counting orders' so I'd say we're still on track for Q3 2020.

Offline Knoxx

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Re: [GB] Polaris - In production
« Reply #302 on: Sat, 07 December 2019, 03:14:08 »
Even before the large number of orders I said the claim of delivering by December was never going to happen and we won't see anything until at least second half of 2020. The only update so far is 'counting orders' so I'd say we're still on track for Q3 2020.

It's been stated multiple times by ai03 that we are on track for CNY. They're finalising the packaging. Please don't misinform others.

Offline nathanchere

  • Posts: 707
Re: [GB] Polaris - In production
« Reply #303 on: Sat, 07 December 2019, 07:09:50 »
It's been stated multiple times by ai03 that we are on track for CNY. They're finalising the packaging. Please don't misinform others.

No such thing stated in this thread or the Polaris ai03 page or kbdfans updates page. Last official post from any of the 3 channels was October. If someone said someone else said something on some Discord channel, good for them.

Offline Mekberg

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Re: [GB] Polaris - In production
« Reply #304 on: Sat, 07 December 2019, 07:32:01 »
Ai03 has confirmed it multiple times on Discord. I agree it should be posted here too, but it is official information nonetheless.

Offline delrn

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Re: [GB] Polaris - In production
« Reply #305 on: Sat, 07 December 2019, 08:00:19 »
I was expecting Q2 2020 when I ordered, so everything before that would be a pleasant surprise


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Offline Create_alt_delete

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Re: [GB] Polaris - In production
« Reply #306 on: Sat, 07 December 2019, 08:36:33 »
It's been stated multiple times by ai03 that we are on track for CNY. They're finalising the packaging. Please don't misinform others.

No such thing stated in this thread or the Polaris ai03 page or kbdfans updates page. Last official post from any of the 3 channels was October. If someone said someone else said something on some Discord channel, good for them.

He absolutely has said it in this thread...

Polaris has begun production.
Although a bit delayed compared to the original December ETA due to the sheer number of orders, we are still on track for the adjusted shipping date of Chinese New Year (Late January 2020).
We managed to overwork ourselves with the logistics of Polaris to the point where both Kevinplus and I fell sick; we will be less responsive than usual as we recover.

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Offline Knoxx

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Re: [GB] Polaris - In production
« Reply #307 on: Sat, 07 December 2019, 10:44:07 »
Oh well. Can't expect everyone to read every single post on this thread.

Offline jooobe

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Re: [GB] Polaris - In production
« Reply #308 on: Sat, 07 December 2019, 11:38:21 »
I mean if you can't be bother to read and have patience probably shouldn't be joining any sort of GB in the first place. Yes offence.

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Offline NitPik

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Re: [GB] Polaris - In production
« Reply #309 on: Mon, 09 December 2019, 12:40:17 »
Oh well. Can't expect everyone to read every single post on this thread.
you can if they stated that "No such thing stated in this thread"  and then lo and behold.. it did... why would he say it didn't say that anywhere in the thread and then just not bother to check at all? thats just being lazy

Offline jooobe

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Re: [GB] Polaris - In production
« Reply #310 on: Mon, 09 December 2019, 12:44:46 »
He's been a negative Nancy from the beginning

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Offline KingOfMemes

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Re: [GB] Polaris - In production
« Reply #311 on: Mon, 09 December 2019, 12:49:01 »
Oh well. Can't expect everyone to read every single post on this thread.
you can if they stated that "No such thing stated in this thread"  and then lo and behold.. it did... why would he say it didn't say that anywhere in the thread and then just not bother to check at all? thats just being lazy
I think the claim is fair, and that you can't expect everyone to read every post. Everyone SHOULD read the posts if before making a claim that there is 'no such thing in the thread', but people are apes. If I expect everyone to read every single post in the the thread, I'm only setting myself up for disappointment.

Offline jooobe

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Re: [GB] Polaris - In production
« Reply #312 on: Mon, 09 December 2019, 13:25:07 »
Ai is quite active on discord

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Offline Knoxx

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Re: [GB] Polaris - In production
« Reply #313 on: Tue, 10 December 2019, 04:15:51 »
Oh well. Can't expect everyone to read every single post on this thread.
you can if they stated that "No such thing stated in this thread"  and then lo and behold.. it did... why would he say it didn't say that anywhere in the thread and then just not bother to check at all? thats just being lazy
I think the claim is fair, and that you can't expect everyone to read every post. Everyone SHOULD read the posts if before making a claim that there is 'no such thing in the thread', but people are apes. If I expect everyone to read every single post in the the thread, I'm only setting myself up for disappointment.

^ Essentially this. You would think it's common sense but after enough internet-ing I have learnt that common sense isn't so common.

Offline nathanchere

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Re: [GB] Polaris - In production
« Reply #314 on: Wed, 11 December 2019, 00:44:01 »
Ai is quite active on discord
Show Image


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Perfect, thanks

Offline ai03

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Re: [GB] Polaris - In production
« Reply #315 on: Mon, 23 December 2019, 00:04:36 »
Sorry for the inactivity on Geekhack; was a bit busy with life and forgot to post updates here.
Everything is still on track for CNY deadline, with a few colors of cases already finishing production. Packaging and such is under production as well.
I'll repost some of the photos from Discord when I get back to a PC.

Offline bball2

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Re: [GB] Polaris - In production
« Reply #316 on: Mon, 23 December 2019, 02:04:12 »
Awesome, thanks for the update!

Offline jooobe

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Re: [GB] Polaris - In production
« Reply #317 on: Mon, 23 December 2019, 04:21:52 »


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Offline ai03

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Re: [GB] Polaris - In production
« Reply #318 on: Wed, 01 January 2020, 06:16:19 »
Purple unit


Various ano samples using actual tops sliced in half


A few units of rose gold


A group photo
Notice: The upper right white unit is not a Polaris; the blue used on the whole unit will differ from final production run (Blue grey was the hardest one to get down, requiring many samples).

Offline MacSurfy

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Re: [GB] Polaris - In production
« Reply #319 on: Wed, 01 January 2020, 06:39:26 »
Nice to see this coming along! tnx for the update

Offline noorejji

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Re: [GB] Polaris - In production
« Reply #320 on: Wed, 01 January 2020, 07:20:59 »
Man now I regret not going for blue grey.

Offline Robosculpts

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Re: [GB] Polaris - In production
« Reply #321 on: Wed, 01 January 2020, 08:47:40 »
Yes! Kinda wish I got another. Bought a hhkb top and I wish I got a wkl. Oh well, it'll still be badass

Offline jooobe

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Re: [GB] Polaris - In production
« Reply #322 on: Wed, 01 January 2020, 09:39:53 »
That purple is crisp

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Offline xantiema

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Re: [GB] Polaris - In production
« Reply #323 on: Wed, 01 January 2020, 11:40:06 »
E-white WKL /w black matte - looking mighty fine if I might say so  :cool:

Offline bball2

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Re: [GB] Polaris - In production
« Reply #324 on: Wed, 01 January 2020, 12:37:20 »
Man those look gorgeous, thanks for the pics!

Offline ai03

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Re: [GB] Polaris - In production
« Reply #325 on: Mon, 06 January 2020, 01:48:26 »
Plate files have been released.

https://dl.ai03.me/Polaris%20Resources/

Offline pr0ximity

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Re: [GB] Polaris - In production
« Reply #326 on: Mon, 06 January 2020, 07:22:38 »
When you say "parts and packaging in progress for CNY deadline" does that mean they will be packaged and shipped around then, or do the parts and packaging need to go to another place to be put together and shipped?
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Offline NitPik

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Re: [GB] Polaris - In production
« Reply #327 on: Mon, 06 January 2020, 10:28:27 »
When you say "parts and packaging in progress for CNY deadline" does that mean they will be packaged and shipped around then, or do the parts and packaging need to go to another place to be put together and shipped?
I believe we are on track to have them shipped out to customers before cny

Offline jooobe

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Re: [GB] Polaris - In production
« Reply #328 on: Mon, 06 January 2020, 11:24:22 »
When you say "parts and packaging in progress for CNY deadline" does that mean they will be packaged and shipped around then, or do the parts and packaging need to go to another place to be put together and shipped?
I believe we are on track to have them shipped out to customers before cny
Yesssssss

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Offline repo156

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Re: [GB] Polaris - In production
« Reply #329 on: Tue, 07 January 2020, 02:05:21 »
Can't wait to receive mine soon, will be my first custom board! :p

Offline ai03

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Re: [GB] Polaris - In production
« Reply #330 on: Thu, 16 January 2020, 03:20:32 »
As the ETA draws near, everyone is working at maximum effort to get Polaris to ship.
At this time, we have good news and bad news.

Good news: The QC of the boards has progressed quickly, and some of the checked boards are already moving to packaging. The QC team led by Kevinplus worked for an entire week morning to evening to get this done; they’re the powerful people keeping Polaris moving towards shipment.

Bad news 1: The FR4 plates had the switch cutouts cut 1mm narrower than needed due to an unpredictable data misunderstanding, rendering them useless since the switches do not fit. These will need to be reproduced; however, the factory has already closed orders in preparation for the upcoming Chinese New Year, and production cannot begin until after the holiday.

Bad news 2: Although the factory has been churning out Polaris at top speed, a few things have fallen behind schedule. Some parts have been needed to be remade to meet quality requirements, and as fast as the QC team led by Kevinplus is, inspecting so many boards is taking longer than originally planned.

Bad news 3: The very tarnish-resistant clear PVD brass is showing some issues the factory just cannot get rid of, such as slightly shiny edges, a bit of discoloration, or small hook marks.  They’ve tried redoing it many times, but it wasn’t solved, so we’ve had to settle for picking out the better ones out of the batch. Unfortunately this means that some of the clear PVD brass parts will not be perfect; we will upload photos later of what we had to settle on to meet the quantity requirements.

Due to the situation of the parts, and the fact that the Chinese New Year is coming up very soon, it would require a lot of rushing to do the final sorting and packing at the KBDfans warehouse for the boards which have passed QC. This could result in order mix-ups and parts placed in the wrong boxes, so for the sake of getting things out properly rather than rushing and being disappointed for the duration of the holiday, we have decided it is safer to carefully sort and double-check all boards’ contents until after CNY, then ship the ready units very soon after, followed by the delayed boards as soon as they are ready. This means all boards will be delayed until after the Chinese New Year holiday, with differing delays depending on the parts and/or QC batch.

I apologize for the inconveniences, and thank you for your understanding.
I will post any further updates as they arrive, especially for the parts which are still underway.

ai03 on behalf of myself, Kevinplus, Polaris production team

Offline nathanchere

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Re: [GB] Polaris - In production
« Reply #331 on: Thu, 16 January 2020, 04:33:38 »
Greatly appreciate the update and the transparency around manufacturing issues.

Offline KingOfMemes

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Re: [GB] Polaris - In production
« Reply #332 on: Thu, 16 January 2020, 08:24:50 »
Out of curiosity, what is the timeline of the CNY?

Offline ninjacore

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Re: [GB] Polaris - In production
« Reply #333 on: Thu, 16 January 2020, 08:26:20 »
Thanks for the detailed update!

Will an option be provided to switch to the dark-coated brass instead of the clear-coat to avoid potential quality issues?

Offline HoodrowThrillson

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Re: [GB] Polaris - In production
« Reply #334 on: Thu, 16 January 2020, 09:45:27 »
Out of curiosity, what is the timeline of the CNY?
Chinese New Years starts on January 25th but most factories close 7+ days in advance to allow people to travel back home to their parents. I presume they won't be back for around 2 weeks so mid Feb is when stuff starts moving again.

Please note that this is a very important holiday in China, sort of like how Americans treat all the winter holidays (aka nothing happens in December).
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Offline KingOfMemes

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Re: [GB] Polaris - In production
« Reply #335 on: Thu, 16 January 2020, 10:02:15 »
Out of curiosity, what is the timeline of the CNY?
Chinese New Years starts on January 25th but most factories close 7+ days in advance to allow people to travel back home to their parents. I presume they won't be back for around 2 weeks so mid Feb is when stuff starts moving again.

Please note that this is a very important holiday in China, sort of like how Americans treat all the winter holidays (aka nothing happens in December).
Thanks lol. Don't worry fam, I get it, and figured it would be similar. Just wanted to know the expected timeframe.

Offline jooobe

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Re: [GB] Polaris - In production
« Reply #336 on: Thu, 16 January 2020, 10:14:08 »
Get that GMK 8008 on this bad boy

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Offline Popopro

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Re: [GB] Polaris - In production
« Reply #337 on: Thu, 16 January 2020, 14:19:40 »
Get that GMK 8008 on this bad boy

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Maybe 8008 will ship in time for this board after all

Offline YungDaff

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Re: [GB] Polaris - In production
« Reply #338 on: Mon, 03 February 2020, 07:39:18 »
Missed the GB on this, if someone wants to get their hand off one when they receive it. Please let me know  :D

Offline FearsomeCubedWarrior

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Re: [GB] Polaris - In production
« Reply #339 on: Mon, 03 February 2020, 07:53:02 »
Missed the GB on this, if someone wants to get their hand off one when they receive it. Please let me know  :D

Most likely there will be some extras, once the boards get shipped.

Offline ai03

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Re: [GB] Polaris - In production
« Reply #340 on: Sat, 08 February 2020, 07:35:39 »
Just a general update of what's going on:

First of all, the Wuhan Coronavirus has caused a massive shutdown of operations for just about everything; in this case, the lives of the workers are far more valuable than keyboards, so we're praying for their safety as the situation unfolds.
Second, the Guangdong province, which contains Shenzhen and other manufacturing central cities, has issued an order for all businesses to stay closed through the 9th. This means that at absolute earliest, things will start moving on the 10th.
However, the reality is that even after the closure order is lifted, many of the workers are unable to get to work due to quarantine zones and such, and the factories are facing a huge backlog amidst the labor shortage. Many factories are already declaring limited operations or closure for another extended period of time, so at this point it's difficult to gauge when things will get back to normal.

I will report back when there is more clear info on what's going on.

Offline sevenseacat

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Re: [GB] Polaris - In production
« Reply #341 on: Sat, 08 February 2020, 10:13:23 »
Absolutely we're hoping everyone stays safe and healthy. Thanks for the update!

Offline KingOfMemes

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Re: [GB] Polaris - In production
« Reply #342 on: Sat, 08 February 2020, 11:55:56 »
Just a general update of what's going on:

First of all, the Wuhan Coronavirus has caused a massive shutdown of operations for just about everything; in this case, the lives of the workers are far more valuable than keyboards, so we're praying for their safety as the situation unfolds.
Second, the Guangdong province, which contains Shenzhen and other manufacturing central cities, has issued an order for all businesses to stay closed through the 9th. This means that at absolute earliest, things will start moving on the 10th.
However, the reality is that even after the closure order is lifted, many of the workers are unable to get to work due to quarantine zones and such, and the factories are facing a huge backlog amidst the labor shortage. Many factories are already declaring limited operations or closure for another extended period of time, so at this point it's difficult to gauge when things will get back to normal.

I will report back when there is more clear info on what's going on.
Can this be said for your other projects, such as the equinox?

Offline ai03

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Re: [GB] Polaris - In production
« Reply #343 on: Sun, 09 February 2020, 16:29:48 »
Can this be said for your other projects, such as the equinox?

For most projects yes, although depending on the project things will likely move at different time schedules.

Offline LevelSteam

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Re: [GB] Polaris - In production
« Reply #344 on: Tue, 11 February 2020, 21:38:07 »
Will these also be available on the site after the group buy has completely been fulfilled?

Also stay safe over there!

Offline Kohsta

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Re: [GB] Polaris - In production
« Reply #345 on: Tue, 18 February 2020, 14:16:01 »
[retracted]
« Last Edit: Tue, 18 February 2020, 14:19:06 by Kohsta »

Offline ai03

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Re: [GB] Polaris - In production
« Reply #346 on: Sat, 29 February 2020, 19:46:41 »
As things finally begin to move slowly following the Coronavirus outbreak, here is the latest info I have regarding where things stand:

- Certain batches of brass plate: Ready to ship
- Certain batches of brass plate: Awaiting QC
- Poly plates: Finishing up production (Didn't finish before CNY, then got delayed to now)
- FR4 plates: Remanufacturing due to issues with fitment; not exactly sure what the ETA is just yet.

In addition,

- All PCBs are complete
- All gaskets, foams, and shims are complete
- All packaging and packaging foam are complete

Boards will ship out in a per-batch basis as they pass all the final checks.
Also, some of the clear PVD brass parts have a bit of uneven brightness; we tried eliminating this issue, but we could only minimize it in the end. The worst ones were filtered out during the QC process.

Finally, here is the build guide for the board; I highly recommend going through it once prior to the actual build process, for the board is very unusual in its construction. I cannot take responsibility if a board fails to assemble due to disregarding the build guide.

Build guide link

As further info comes in, I will update this thread, along with posting it to the Discord server linked in the first post.

Offline alanskiii

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Re: [GB] Polaris - In production
« Reply #347 on: Sat, 29 February 2020, 20:00:47 »
Let’s go boys!


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Offline ninjacore

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Re: [GB] Polaris - In production
« Reply #348 on: Sat, 29 February 2020, 20:44:28 »
Waiting on FR4, but excited for everyone who will gets theirs soon!

Offline donkey

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Re: [GB] Polaris - In production
« Reply #349 on: Sat, 29 February 2020, 21:29:13 »
Can you share the reasons behind attaching the adhesive gaskets to the plate instead of the case?