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[IC] Synth Labs 060 - GB Date Announced!
Nostril:
GB: February 24, 2023 !
Discord:
https://discord.gg/RBUvbu5qpf
Interest Form:
https://forms.gle/h9ZCCKVVaCJcLiz19
Overview:
Price: €429 in the EU, €399 outside of the EU
Typing Angle: 7°
Front Height: 19mm with feet
Case Variants: Standard, HHKB, and WKL
Plate: 1.5mm Gasket Mounted full brass, aluminum, or polycarbonate plate
PCB: Universal Soldered PCB by default with USB-C breakout board. Fixed-layout Hotswap PCB with backlighting will be an option for an additional cost. PCBs designed by 0xCB.
Firmware: QMK with VIA support
Compatible Switches: MX-style switches
Materials: 6063 Aluminum top and bottom chassis. Brass plate, bar, and weight.
Weight: ~1.9kg unbuilt (case only)
GMK Thinkcaps by voodoo6k
DSA Magic Girl by mintlodica
GMK Café by Langelandia
GMK Pâtisserie by Agilr
Confirmed Colors:
Top and Bottom Chassis: E-White, Silver, Anodized Black
Plate, Bar, and Rear Weight: PVD Gold, PVD Rose Gold, PVD Silver, PVD Black
Other colors are still being decided.
Supported Layouts:
The plate will support standard ANSI 60% layout, split backspace, split left shift, split right shift, 3-way split space, 2-way split space, and ISO enter. The universal soldered PCB will support all of these options as well.
The hotswap PCB will be a fixed ANSI layout, with a Tsangan bottom row, and split right shift.
* Layouts supported by the soldered PCB (KLE)
* Fixed layout for the hotswap PCB (KLE)
Assembly:
Assembly features all hidden screws.
Sales Plan:
* Will be manufactured, QC'd, and vended by keebwerk.
* Planning on launching as a GB, with in-stock sales after fulfillment This will be customizable via keebwerk's shop. Unit quantity of each part and color combination will be limited - and allocations will be proportional to interest-check popularity. Exact total number of units to be determined.
* Pricing is TBD, but will be <$400 USD base
Timeline / Old Photo Albums:
Internals Renders - November 2020
Pictures from Keebwerk's manu - Unfinished - November 22, 2020
GMK Café Renders - November 2020
DSA Magic Girl Renders - November 2020
Received Prototype from Manu 2 (July 2020)
Renders - June 2020
Received Prototype from Manu 1 - May 2020
Renders - April 2020
Pictures from Manu 1's Factory - Finished - April 28, 2020
Pictures from Manu 1's Factory - Unfinished - April 20, 2020
Signature Banners - March 2020
HHKB and WKL Renders - March 2020
Assembly Renders - February 2020
Polycarbonate Renders - February 2020
Renders - February 2020
Original Concept Renders in Maya (August 2019)
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Inspiration & Design Process:
MoreTo “synthesize” means to combine a number of things into a coherent whole. As such, the 060 design takes inspiration from many places.
The original idea was to take aesthetic elements from audio equipment, and apply it with a modern take to a keyboard. For example, analog synthesizers with their flip-up control panels, amplifiers with their beautifully machined knobs, and rack mounted mixers with their clean bent-rod handles. I knew I wanted to make a keyboard with a prominent flip-up OLED screen, rotary knob, and handlebar.
Design cues were also taken from Apple’s MacBook Pro line - particularly the shape of the cutaways that the laptop has for opening the screen, and the unibody appearance which shows few visible gaps. Other sources of inspiration include keyboards from RAMA Works in general, the Primus, the Chimera65, the Leaf 60, the Polaris, and many others.
The bottom part of the keyboard’s rear mimics rear diffusers that are normally found on the bottom rear of sports cars. I also took inspiration from the Toyota Prius’ long and tall brake lights, which frame the back of the car nice and squarely - this resulted in the supports on the sides of the rear.
The side profile is inspired by pointy dress shoes. These have a triangular wedge shape which makes the side profile look distinctly sharp and acute. I believe it helps make an object appear thinner than it actually is.
With this pile of ideas, I was able to create my first concept design in Maya:
https://imgur.com/a/jH7jlrR
After some consideration, I determined this was an overly ambitious project for my first keyboard (maybe later), and decided to cut out many of the features to make a simpler design that I was happy with. I started creating the new design in Fusion 360 instead of Maya so that the design would actually be manufacturable, and polished the design along the way.
Acknowledgements:
Thanks to all my family and friends - you are my main motivation to keep doing cool things. You guys have also given me the most feedback on this project which has helped make it what it is.
Thanks to all the keyboard designers that I have taken inspiration from - there are really too many to list.
Thank you ai03 for the Keyboard Plate Generator tool that I’m using, as well as the PCB guide, and generally good resources in the Discord and wiki. This stuff is extremely helpful!
Thanks to Agilr, kema, olivia, and Zambumon for allowing me to use their keysets in my renders. They have also given some useful feedback and guidance for this project. Seriously, their keysets are awesome.
Thanks to 0xCB for the PCB design. My experience working with you guys has been so great - always so responsive and flexible!
Thank you David, Julien and the Keebwerk team! This has been a pleasure so far, and I'm excited to see everything progress!
Contact / More Information:
Discord: Nostril#0001
Just shoot me a DM on Discord if you have any questions - feel free to contact me directly or reply in this thread if you prefer.
Nostril:
Reserved
GR1NN1NGC4T:
I'm definitely going to follow the process because you got a look for that keyboard that just screams "Retro futuristic" and I love that style.
Gesendet von meinem SM-G973F mit Tapatalk
Rob27shred:
Wow, what a wild & aggressive design.... I kinda love it! Definitely will be keeping an eye on this one. I fully expect it to end up being quite expensive due to the design, but this one is so unique & cool looking to me, I'd be willing to shell out for it if I got the extra scratch at the time! GL with this project!
Zeelobby:
It's too fast! Too furious!
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