Hi everyone,
Apologies for the lack of update in the past few weeks, things have been quite busy on our end and there have been a few major changes with our manufacturer during the holiday period. We wanted to wait and gauge how these developments unfold before making a decision and posting an update.
Unfortunately, we will no longer be running a GB for the Prelude. To everyone who was interested in the GB, I’m sorry; this was not the outcome we wanted.
The projected price of the Prelude was already quite expensive in comparison to other boards of its size; it was difficult for the manufacturer to produce the thick plates while simultaneously maintaining a standard for the machining and UV coating (to prevent oxidation) treatment. This plate drives the production cost of the whole board up by a considerable amount. As we weren’t looking to make a profit, we were running on extremely thin margins.
In 2019, our manufacturer announced drastic pricing changes. Their prices on keyboards increased significantly in January, and they expect another price increase in February. These price increases announced by the manufacturer makes it unfeasible for us to run a GB. We did consider the option of finding an alternative manufacturer, however this would mean that we would need to produce another prototype. We decided against playing ‘manufacturer roulette’ with the exact same design. It was better to move on and produce prototypes of the other projects that we currently have in the works.
For those of you who liked the Prelude, feel free to use its design! The intention of the IC was to share its design with everyone.
Although the GB could not happen, we’re grateful for all your feedback and comments. Thank you all so much.