Notare
antares.ci – Official website (*revision* looking into vendors now)(Custom Site - Still Updating and Optimizing for All Platforms)*Revision* Not sure if I'm going to get rid of the site entirely or what. But the people have spoken. I'm going to work something out with a few vendors to move the process forward
https://forms.gle/dGykhfT8ZZiNhSSN8 - IC Form
Outline- Greetings
- TLDR
- Design
- Assembly
- Unit Badge
- Colorways
- Technical Gallery
- Pricing & Kit Details
- Vendors
- Roadmap
- Special Thanks
Color CodesOrange: important details for Part II and revision info
Green: Prices/Costs
Red: Disclaimers/Significant Announcements
Purple: Communication/Notification Details
Yellow: Shipping Details
1. GreetingsAfter 2 years of revisions, head scratching, praying, and feelings of defeat, I am proud to finally reveal: Notare. This project is [hopefully] the first of many custom keyboard and tech product ventures that I aim to release. I posted a cringeworthy IC a little over 2 years ago (only on reddit) and received constructive criticism from the community. The design concept has changed immensely since then, and thankfully, so has my knowledge and experience (still far from an expert though). This is Part I of a two-part interest check.
Part II will essentially be an update of Part I, with more info on
logistics, accessories/packaging, typing tests, and any revisions. Now after reading some comments recently on other ICs, I feel this must be said: although many
aspects of this board appear to be set in stone, they are not. This is still in fact an
Interest Check. Feel free to
offer any suggestions on design or functional changes, and depending on practicality (and my vision for the project of course), I will genuinely consider implementing them. After my first attempt at an IC, I just wanted to ensure that this attempt provides enough details and hopefully conveys the amount of thought I have put into the project. Now that we got that out of the way, above you will find the link to the official website which is designed from scratch by myself and is still a work in progress. Below, you will find detailed information regarding the project, nicknamed –
The Genesis Project.
2. TLDR- Materials – 6063 aluminum, 5052 aluminum, mirror polished stainless steel
- Mounting System – isolated gasket mount (poron strips)
- Typing Angle – 8°
- EFH – 21mm
- Weight ~ 4.1kg (9 lbs) fully built
- Form Factor – TKL with options for WKL or Winkey
- PCB – QMK/VIA compatible, USB-C daughterboard, Solderable and Hot-Swap (fixed Stepped Caps, Backspace, RShift + WKL)
- Colorways – Crimson Red, Mother of Pearl, Meridian, Vino, Blood Moon
- LED Indicators – RGB; Caps Lock, Scroll Lock, M(1) Layer
- Magnetic Badge – Crimson Red, Sakura Rose, Mother of Pearl
- Price ~
$575-599 for base kit (manu is flexible, so still negotiating) - Vendors TBA
- Units ~ no clue, MOQ still being negotiated
- Discord: don't really have experience with running one but of course I can have this setup in the near future
- IC Part II Date - hopefully in the next month or so
3. Design a. Wave Pattern The name
Notare is derived from the hamon patterns often seen on Japanese swords and knives. The side profile is seamless, and the slight angle change caused by the wave pattern allows it to stand out in the right lighting. The overall
shape of the board was designed to slightly resemble a Japanese sword – from the back angle, to the hamon pattern, to the curved front face.
b. Keyboard Inspirations The aesthetics of Japanese swords and knives were the main inspiration regarding the theme of the board. Aside from that however, the Notare design language was inspired by modern classics such as the Duck Orion v3, the HHKB Professional HG, and the
Keycult No. 2.
c. Underside The bottom of the board features a screwless, mirror polished stainless steel bottom plate. The plate surrounds the centerpiece of the mid plate, sporting a laser etched logo in white.
*Feet coming for Part II of IC* 
d. Curves and Angles The front face of the board features a curve that causes it to gleam when light strikes. The back edge of the board is also curved to a certain degree for not only aesthetic purposes, but also to make lifting the board easier. All edges of the exterior
portions of the board are filleted aside from the chamfers on the key cutouts. This includes the fillet on the back edge that meets the stainless steel bottom plate. This will also cause a slight gleam when light hits the filleted edge of the stainless steel.
e. Switch Plate & PCB The switch plate will come in 3 variants: 5052 aluminum, sandblasted brass, and polycarbonate. There are 3 main flex-cuts that significantly contribute to the typing experience. Two between the number row and function row, and one above the home row.
This allows for a much softer and ‘bouncier’ typing experience. (I may actually need to tighten the home row flex cut as there is quite a bit of flex right now. We'll see.)
The PCB is custom but was derived from the
Hiney h87a to keep things simple and reliable. It will be available in
Solderable and Hotswap variants, with a fixed
layout on the Hotswap variant (
ISO support should be doable for in-stock after GB). The PCB also features LED indicators mapped to Caps Lock, Scroll Lock, and Layer 1 (M(1)). All switches mounted are south-facing and stabilizers are
PCB-mounted. There is built-in ESD protection, but this is also provided via the included daughterboard (based on
Unified C3). Now the
current PCB prototype is not up to date
in terms of color and layout, and the
switch plate has had small revisions as well including the layout and screw hole placements. But stay tuned for the updated IC with the revised protos. The available layouts of the PCB can
be found below along with photos of the previous plate and pcb iterations:
More
f. Badge A magnetic badge - depicting the house’s logo - sits perfectly in the function row to add another level of personalization. While the badge utilizes the negative space found in between the ESC and F1 keys, the option is available to 'debadge' the board due to
the absence of cutouts for the badge. The badge is CNC machined out of 6063 aluminum with a small magnet embedded within the bottom. It comes in three anodized colorways including Crimson Red, Rose, and Mother of Pearl.
*Disclaimer: due to the small size and shape of the badge, very small hook marks may be seen on the inside edges of the badge from anodizing. Still working this out with manufacturer.
4. AssemblyThe Notare is a three-piece case which allows for the screwless and seamless design. The assembly process is essentially identical to the Keycult No.2 and the Monokei Kei. The top and mid plates are screwed together first, followed by the bottom plate which is screwed to the mid plate via screw holes carefully placed in between certain switches. For the mounting system, it utilizes a classic isolated gasket mount. The gaskets are made of poron and are 1.5mm in thickness. As the board is screwed together, the gaskets are compressed as the switch plate is sandwiched in between. This dampens vibrations and alleviates the board of any pinging noises from metal-on-metal contact. Standard stuff. The switch plate has 4 mounting points at the top and 2 at the bottom, excluding a third mounting point underneath the spacebar of course.
5. Unit BadgeAfter brainstorming ideas for what should go on the inside of the mid plate, and then hearing about cloning issues on the aftermarket, I decided to add a unit badge on the inside of the board. The unit badge is mirror polished stainless steel to keep things consistent with the bottom plate, and will have the Unit Number, Model, and unique Serial Number laser etched on top. It will stay fixed to the mid plate via two small magnets on the bottom. Each unit and serial number will be kept in a database to keep track of each unit. I've already discussed this with my manufacturer who has confirmed that this will be possible for the GB. I have more ideas for authorizing each board on our website but I have to do more research before I can divulge. Below is an example of the unit badge with the serial number blurred out:
6. ColorwaysFor the next proto, I'm trying to get the manu to color match the
Mother of Pearl colorway. But they were hesitant to do this last time for just one prototype. Nevertheless, I'm going to order chips for all colorways prior to Part II and re-inquire about the full color matched prototype. You can also see the grey silicone feet in these renders. This color isn't final, but we will see after the samples come in.
More
7. Technical Gallery- For the hamon pattern, you can see that the light hits differently at certain points on the wave. This is not due to a manufacturing error, but an error on my part in CAD. It has since been fixed on my end and we'll see how it turns out for the next proto.
- There is a slight gap where the top plate meets the bottom plate. This will be revised for Part II. Also, you can see the angle change here. It is more drastic than usual in order to keep the side bezels of the board as thin as possible without warping the side wall.
- The screws pictured are M3 Philips only because that's what my manufacturer decided to send. The screws included for the GB will be M3 Hex. You can also see the cutouts for the LED indicators above the arrow cluster. I decided to go with a triangle layout because the house logo is somewhat in that shape, so I wanted to remain somewhat consistent.
More
8. Pricing & Kit Details- Keyboard Kit ~
$575-599 (still sourcing and negotiating)
- 3 Piece Keyboard Kit (Top, Middle, and Bottom Plate)
- PCB - QMK + VIA compatible
- Daughterboard w/ JST Cable
- 25mm M3 Screws (4), 14mm M3 Screws (5), 4mm M3 Screws (2)
- 1.5mm Pre-Installed Poron Gaskets (12)
- Injection Molded Silicone Feet (4)
- M3 Allen Key
- Gloves
- Accessories
- Switch Plates ~ $35, 40, 45 for extra PC, Alu, or Brass respectively (will be in stock after GB)
- PCBs ~ $50-55 for extras depending on hotswap or solderable (daughterboard included; will be in stock after GB)
- Badges ~ $15-20 for extras (will be in stock after GB)
9. VendorsUS: TBA
Canada: TBA
Europe: TBA
Asia: TBA
Oceania: TBA
10. Roadmap- Finish Sourcing Materials: feet, gaskets, Revised PCBs, daughterboards, JST cables, etc.
- Review Feedback from IC Part I
- Make Final Revisions to Full Kit
- Film Typing Test
- Look Into Build Stream if Possible
- Post IC Part II
- Finalize Website (constantly working on it but should be done before GB of course)
- Launch GB
11. Special Thanks- God - first and foremost
- The guy that refused to sell me the Orion v3 2 years ago for $700 which sparked this whole project
