[IC] Copperfill Skull Keycaps

[v0idtek]

Edit: Available now @ http://v0idtek.storenvy.com/products/12600081-copperfill-skull-keycap
$15 plastic versions available here: http://v0idtek.storenvy.com/

Wondering if there's interest for these oversized fancy skull keycaps printed with copperfill. Copperfill is a plastic 3D printing filament with a high copper content, which when polished looks like copper and is considerably heavier than normal 3D printing filament.

I'm eventually going to sell plain plastic versions of these keycaps (I need to print like a million of them in all the plastic colors I have before I list them) but right now I'm wondering if anyone would be interested in these for a premium. Please let me know what you'd think a reasonable price would be for these:











Imgur gallery with more photos here: http://imgur.com/gallery/64qDf/new

[heedpantsnow]

Looks awesome.  What's the price for MX?

[Heliosphere]

They look great! I guess the obvious question is how much?

[v0idtek]

I haven't decided on pricing yet. I'm kind of hoping to figure out what people think is reasonable, please feel free to suggest what you think these are worth.
Maybe if there's a lot of interest in these I might be able to process them in a rock tumbler and sell them for cheaper than if I would if I hand polished them.

[JaccoW]

Just make sure you at the very least break even on the materials. How much are these if unpolished?
Add a few bucks for your time and tell us how much that is. Otherwise people will say $15 and be mad if it's $30

[tigersharkdude]

Interested

[FrostyToast]

Wow! 
These look absolutely stellar!
The details are absolutely amazing and those finishes are perfect.
I would definitely be interested in these, even at a premium.

[v0idtek]

The prices I'm currently thinking of is $15 for plastic versions (lots of colors) which would be chemically polished.

$20 for unpolished copperfill if you'd like to polish and stain it yourself, and $40 for the hand polished and stained. If I bought a rock tumbler that did most of the polishing for me I'd probably sell the polished for $30, but that's only if there was enough interest to justify investing in the rock tumber.

If anyone's super interested, let me know and I could make some to order and list them for you. The plan right now is to start selling them with the plastic versions, and I'm waiting on the chemicals to smooth those to come in still and I still need to print off a bunch of colors for those and then take photos of everything.

[Asininity]

I am certainly interested. I would love to see how the colored ones turn out after a proper polish.

One issue is longevity. Other 3D printed key caps have general quality issues. From my experience with messing around with 3D printers the issue seems inherent to it being layers. I'm sure someone else can better fill in on their own experiences.

None the less I am very much interested. Not only in this design but others that you may have in mind. I would be willing to pay $10-15 for the chemically polished single color caps and around $30-35 for the copperfill. The reasons for the price is concerns about longevity. Honestly it looks fabulous and that's where my only hesitation would lay.

I would love to pick up one!

[tbc]

$25 is fair, $35 maybe. absolutely not $45.

this is totally from a buyer's perspective without regard to materials costs

[v0idtek]

$25 is fair, $35 maybe. absolutely not $45.

this is totally from a buyer's perspective without regard to materials costs

It's not about material costs, it's about time investment and how much fatigue it puts on my hands. I couldn't do more than a couple of those a day without quickly developing a case of carpal tunnel. You're more than welcome to buy the unpolished $20 version and do it yourself for some money savings.

Again, if I decide to buy a rock tumbler, the price would likely be around $30. But at the same time, I know there exist people who would still buy them for $45.

[v0idtek]

One issue is longevity. Other 3D printed key caps have general quality issues. From my experience with messing around with 3D printers the issue seems inherent to it being layers.

The chemical polishing melts the layers and fuses them together, re-enforcing the plastic. On top of the I devide the keycaps into several models with different slicing settings to ensure parts like the stem are properly extruded so as to not be flimsy or easily breakable. Almost everyone else assigns a single slicing profile to the entire print and optimizes it for print speed rather than strength or quality.

[Asininity]

One issue is longevity. Other 3D printed key caps have general quality issues. From my experience with messing around with 3D printers the issue seems inherent to it being layers.

The chemical polishing melts the layers and fuses them together, re-enforcing the plastic. On top of the I devide the keycaps into several models with different slicing settings to ensure parts like the stem are properly extruded so as to not be flimsy or easily breakable. Almost everyone else assigns a single slicing profile to the entire print and optimizes it for print speed rather than strength or quality.

I'm glad you've focused on increasing the quality and strength of the key caps. I've had issues with stems even while using a uPrint. However, I still doubt it will ever be as strong as something that comes out of a mold. This isn't a disqualifier, just a inherent part of the product. On the other hand you can try out and offer new designs with a lot less hassle.

I'm looking forward to it but it's still a 3D key cap. Until I've had a chance to look at one myself (or see reviews) it will still come with some doubts about longevity thus lowering the price I'm willing to pay. I may not be alone in this sentiment.

Something you could always consider is making a first run at a special reduced price to get people to try it for themselves.

[YMSNoms]

IN IN IN IN

[v0idtek]

I'm glad you've focused on increasing the quality and strength of the key caps. I've had issues with stems even while using a uPrint. However, I still doubt it will ever be as strong as something that comes out of a mold. This isn't a disqualifier, just a inherent part of the product. On the other hand you can try out and offer new designs with a lot less hassle.

I'm looking forward to it but it's still a 3D key cap. Until I've had a chance to look at one myself (or see reviews) it will still come with some doubts about longevity thus lowering the price I'm willing to pay. I may not be alone in this sentiment.

Something you could always consider is making a first run at a special reduced price to get people to try it for themselves.

Good feedback. I haven't tested long term longevity of these stems yet. Might be worthwhile for me to try and print some blanks and replace some common keys and test the long term durability.
One thing I can tell you for sure is that the stems of the chemically treated caps don't snap. Attempting to break them with a screwdriver results in them just bending. Now that does mean I should test that they don't become loose over time, but I doubt breakage will be an issue.

And no, 3D printed caps will never be as durable as injection molded ones, I'm certainly not making that claim. I do however feel that under standard use (ie: not rage smashing your keyboard with your fist) there shouldn't be a reason for these keycaps to break.

[v0idtek]

Mmm, yeah I think I have a good idea how to tackle this.
Print out some WASD blanks. Play some multiplayer shooters for a few dozen hours. Seems like a pretty solid durability test.

I think on top of that I'll equip these on one of my old mech keyboards and go full fist smash mode on it. If they survive a literal beating, I think that might be solid enough proof of their longevity. Might make a video for it for potential buyers.

Thanks for the inspiration.

[Asininity]

If you're planning on focusing on artisan key caps I would, as a customer, concern myself with the durability of the stem after repeated removal and placement. Because artisan key caps are generally primarily decorative and ergonomically unfriendly they aren't used very often. I would be interested in seeing how they would function as a general key cap but more importantly I would want to see how they survive being attacked by a key cap puller.

Another thought. For the same price as your single color key cap ($15) there are a number of artisan key caps that I could purchase made from molds. If I have $15 to spend on a key cap what would you offer that would make me choose you over them? Hypothetically of course. Artisan key caps are addictive and I'd probably buy both. Key caps made with copperfill are different of course, since they offer the look of a metal key cap without the cost.

[v0idtek]

Well, actually the skull model itself is a good example of a cap that is pretty damn hard to make with a mold. There's a cavity inside of it that lets light through the back of the keycap and leaks through the eyes. It's probably not impossible to make a keycap with a large cavity through the middle in the way that I have it, but it certainly would be quite challenging.



I'm generally trying to make more intricate designs instead of cloning what might already exist.

If damage during replacement is the primary concern, it would certainly not be hard for me to just place and remove one of my keycaps a few hundred times with a keycap puller.
Also, I could easily just reassure people by offering some type of warranty on the keycaps where if any part damages during normal use I just send a replacement.

[v0idtek]

Just tried out 100 insertions and removals of a standard printed keycap, a chemically smoothed one and a copperfill one. None of them broke or had any visible sign of damage after 100 pulls.
They still fit well enough that I could lift the end of my 900g 80% size cm storm quickfire holding just by the keycap.

Is 100 pulls across 3 different keycaps a good sample size or do you think the average mechKB enthusiast might put more abuse into them?
Still printing the WASD blanks to test everyday abuse.

[Heliosphere]

Just tried out 100 insertions and removals of a standard printed keycap, a chemically smoothed one and a copperfill one. None of them broke or had any visible sign of damage after 100 pulls.
They still fit well enough that I could lift the end of my 900g 80% size cm storm quickfire holding just by the keycap.

Is 100 pulls across 3 different keycaps a good sample size or do you think the average mechKB enthusiast might put more abuse into them?
Still printing the WASD blanks to test everyday abuse.

That sounds pretty good. I don't think many people would be pulling their keycaps off 100 times anytime soon.

[Asininity]

I must admit, I am somewhat surprised at the durability of the stems on 3D printed caps! A 100 pulls seems like a relatively good sized sample size. That at least speaks to a degree of durability. I presume most artisan key cap collectors are pretty gentle and careful with their key caps. I'm sure you'll learn more once they are in the hands of people.

[SlotH42]

I think these look great, and would have no problem paying around $30 for one.

[v0idtek]

I've gone ahead and made these available for sale on my webstore (link in my sig), along with the plastic variants of the same skull. I'll list the unpolished version later today if anyone is interested in saving some money and doing the polishing and staining themselves.

Also ordered some filament with stainless steel dust, so there will be a grey shiny steel version of this eventually.

[Zeroo]

These look awesome Once I've recovered from my buying spree a bit I'll definitely get one if they're still available

[Heliosphere]

$40 is higher than I expected, I was hoping for around $30. I will hold off on buying for now. The other colors look nice though.

[csnickba]

These skull caps are pretty damn rad, definitely gonna have to snap up one of those sky blue ones.