Author Topic: [IC]Lewis, 60% isolation mount|Glam shots added  (Read 28974 times)

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Offline DoctorNunu

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  • Posts: 158
  • Location: Borås, Sweden
  • Masterworks
[IC]Lewis, 60% isolation mount|Glam shots added
« on: Tue, 17 November 2020, 13:43:14 »
Striving to make each desk piece superior
to the last, we proudly present the
newest addition to your collection.



--------------------------------------------------------------



Ideology

Prominent; we wanted to create something that doesn’t already exist. While the classic
design of the Classy TKL fits perfectly on a modern desk, we wanted to go further. The
piece is based on design elements from the Victorian era, but with a modern take.

This time around we went with a smaller form factor, and will continue our journey into the
60% stage.






--------------------------------------------------------------



Aesthetics

Whilst physical appearance doesn’t matter in general (don’t judge a book by its cover and
what not), it certainly matters to us. We wanted Lewis to be identifiable from miles away,
and I certainly think we achieved that unique identity.

The thick bezels that were featured on Classy TKL certainly spoke to us; we wanted even
thicker bezels for Lewis!








While the top view certainly shows a “braggable” aesthetic, the side view is where Lewis shines.
We got the plateau inspiration from the Victorian era, when it was commonly used on
technical instruments with wooden details.








To achieve the plateau we had to keep the angle between the front and back side 90° to
the base.







The back side of Lewis shows off the connection capabilities. Normally you would see an
USB connector at this placement, but we went for something more rigid.
Lewis will feature a 4-pin GX12 connector:









As per usual, the pesky windows key makes no appearance on Lewis. But this time, if the
interest is high enough, the decision might be revoked.
Fill out the form to let us know if you're interested in the mod4 key.

To achieve a classy look we decided to keep the tolerances a bit tighter on key placement
and key-to-edge distance. Key placement will be with an 19.00mm offset (2.5 thumbnails
in Imperial) instead of the standard 19.05mm (An average piece of string in Imperial).







--------------------------------------------------------------



Technicalities

Now that we’re finished with the outside tour, it’s time that we get into the interesting parts.
Our goal was to create something that could both look and feel
amazing without compromising.

Now, I can with great pleasure announce that our goals are reached after long nights of
perfecting all technical aspects of Lewis.








Flipping the board over to get a view of the back we are greeted with a minimalistic
polished brass weight, don’t be fooled though, it’s only the tip of an iceberg.
The brass weight covers almost the entire internal surface to get that sought after monolith heft.

The feet that are featured aren’t perfectly placed for aesthetics, but there is reasoning behind it.
The amount of feet and their placement serve the purpose of a perfectly even sound and feel.
It’s very common that keyboards have their feet placed in each respective corner, we questioned
this norm of uneven pressure.
The result perfectly compliments the mounting of the plate for a pleasant typing experience.







Proceeding to the disassembly of Lewis; firstly we need to remove the four titanium screws
that are heat-treated for assuring a long life time of customization.








Separate the top and bottom enclosure to get a look of what’s inside.







The separation reveals the true form of the minimalistic brass weight. Hidden in the
enclosure is the now visible iceberg.
Weighing in at a whooping 3.1kg unbuilt, Lewis certainly deserves the monolith title.

Not only does the brass add heft, it’s also designed to perfect the sound signature.
The rails serve the purpose of “deflecting” unwanted noise by not allowing sound waves to bounce evenly.
The horrifying experience of typing your first words only to that hear hollow sound is no more!

Just like the bottom/top enclosure, the brass weight is fastened with 4 heat-treated titanium screws.








Removing the PCB + plate assembly from the top piece, you will find that there are no
screw holes visible, neither are there any holes in the bottom piece…

The plate is inserted in a silicone gasket which is sandwiched between the top and bottom pieces.
This isolates the plate from the aluminium parts and gives an enormous boost to the sound signature.
This mounting method differs from traditional isolation mount in the way that the pressure is evenly distributed
on the plate, instead of having certain pressure points.

We found this solution to be incredibly efficient in preventing vibrations through the enclosure,
and the sound difference between switch locations is minimal.

“I have to say that this is the best mounting method I have felt so far” - DoctorNunu








The PCB + plate assembly fits perfectly to the bottom piece, so there’s no need to fiddle
around with alignment.








The top piece simply slides over the plate, fasten the 4 bottom screws to tighten the enclosure
(tighten only until you feel resistance).

Put some keycaps on and get to work!







--------------------------------------------------------------



Hardware





Specifications



--------------------------------------------------------------



Aluminium top and bottom pieces

Polished brass weight

Ten rubber feet in two different sizes

Eight Masterworks M3 titanium hex screws

Four-pin GX12 connector

Silicone gasket

Carbon fibre plate (Soft plate material not yet decided)

PCB designed by 4pplet

JST cable connecting the PCB to the GX12

5.2 degree typing angle with 24mm height as the starting point.

3.4kg total weight built with a Carbon fibre plate.




--------------------------------------------------------------


Contributors


This project would not be possible if it weren’t for these amazing contributors,
they are true gentlemen/gentlewomen.




--------------------------------------------------------------



https://github.com/4pplet - Extraordinary PCB designer & community member who once again delivered a masterpiece.

https://www.youtube.com/koen-romers - Youtuber/photographer who offered his help once again with making footage and providing feedback.

https://www.instagram.com/rasmus.ask/ - Hobby photographer who should be professional for taking the shots shown in this post.

https://github.com/Wraul - Friend/colleague/coder who has been my right hand on these projects, everything from helping out with
quality control to giving feedback on designs in the middle of the night.

MangeHD - Community member who offered a helping hand with stress testing the plate when my computer gave up.

All members in the Masterworks Discord channel who have supported us since day one, you are truly amazing!





--------------------------------------------------------------



Interest/feedback form


Form is now closed, click "more" to see results. Thank you all for taking the time!

More
Overall design satisfaction:




Dislikes:



Layout preference:



Dense plate preference:



Flexible plate preference:



Colour preference:



Wrist rest demand:




--------------------------------------------------------------



Additional info:


As with the Classy TKL plate and PCB files will be open sourced, if you want to make a custom plate feel free to do so!

We would love to have you in our Discord server, join the discussion: https://discord.gg/qBvpswR

Typing test


--------------------------------------------------------------


Glam shots by Koen
More

































« Last Edit: Sun, 31 January 2021, 11:24:41 by DoctorNunu »

Offline paulgali

  • Posts: 251
  • Location: Dubai, UAE
    • SKME
Re: [IC]Lewis, 60% isolation mount
« Reply #1 on: Tue, 17 November 2020, 13:47:44 »
That connector is nutty!

Offline Ustinj

  • Posts: 390
Re: [IC]Lewis, 60% isolation mount
« Reply #2 on: Tue, 17 November 2020, 13:48:29 »
Wow - this is definitely pushing some boundaries. Looking forward to seeing where it goes!

Offline of_sam

  • Posts: 272
  • Location: United States
Re: [IC]Lewis, 60% isolation mount
« Reply #3 on: Tue, 17 November 2020, 13:50:09 »
Color me interested. Curious about price.
Typing on: HHKB Pro 2 - Stock :aware:
Collection: F1.69, Police, Jubi, RF 87U, En Dash, Rosenthal, Soulless, Frog, Calliope, GAF 910, Sabre, W1-AT

Offline KingOfMemes

  • Posts: 845
  • Location: Murica, the best country in the world
Re: [IC]Lewis, 60% isolation mount
« Reply #4 on: Tue, 17 November 2020, 14:08:49 »
HHKB?

Offline cong314159

  • Posts: 24
Re: [IC]Lewis, 60% isolation mount
« Reply #5 on: Tue, 17 November 2020, 14:09:04 »
24mm starting height. Are you planning a matching wrist rest? Because 24mm could be a turn off for many people.

Offline Carcha

  • Posts: 28
  • Location: Finland
Re: [IC]Lewis, 60% isolation mount
« Reply #6 on: Tue, 17 November 2020, 14:10:36 »
I'm very much interested. This one is stunning.

I guess it's my job to ask: ne iso avail? Release plate files and include PCB level support maybe?

Offline huey

  • Posts: 136
  • Location: UK
Re: [IC]Lewis, 60% isolation mount
« Reply #7 on: Tue, 17 November 2020, 14:11:47 »
Holy moly this is interesting. This IC is fantastic and has nailed the aesthetic.

Good luck with IC, it's a killer board.

Offline whirlwind

  • Posts: 212
Re: [IC]Lewis, 60% isolation mount
« Reply #8 on: Tue, 17 November 2020, 14:14:45 »
“I have to say that this is the best mounting method I have felt so far” - DoctorNunu

Excuse me my good chap but are you quoting yourself?

Offline DoctorNunu

  • Thread Starter
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  • Location: Borås, Sweden
  • Masterworks
Re: [IC]Lewis, 60% isolation mount
« Reply #9 on: Tue, 17 November 2020, 14:16:05 »
24mm starting height. Are you planning a matching wrist rest? Because 24mm could be a turn off for many people.

The question about a matching wrist rest is asked in the form.

I'm very much interested. This one is stunning.

I guess it's my job to ask: ne iso avail? Release plate files and include PCB level support maybe?

iso avail! Thanks for asking both questions, you reminded me to add the info on that ...
As with the Classy TKL, ISO plates will be available, and plate + PCB files will be open sourced.

Offline DoctorNunu

  • Thread Starter
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  • Masterworks
Re: [IC]Lewis, 60% isolation mount
« Reply #10 on: Tue, 17 November 2020, 14:17:41 »
“I have to say that this is the best mounting method I have felt so far” - DoctorNunu

Excuse me my good chap but are you quoting yourself?

Yes! I just had to put my own thoughts out there, incredibly cheesy I know ...  :p

Offline lush_bunny

  • Posts: 797
  • Location: Philippines
  • TBR Prime | 7V | Pandora | Kaze
Re: [IC]Lewis, 60% isolation mount
« Reply #11 on: Tue, 17 November 2020, 14:38:29 »
this is certainly making me feel things...

Offline DukeEsquire

  • Posts: 596
Re: [IC]Lewis, 60% isolation mount
« Reply #12 on: Tue, 17 November 2020, 14:40:32 »
I'm in the Classy TKL GB and hope to be in this one too!

Offline treeleaf64

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    • treeleaf64
Re: [IC]Lewis, 60% isolation mount
« Reply #13 on: Tue, 17 November 2020, 14:46:58 »
Treeleaf approved
treeleaf64: https://discord.gg/rbUjtsRG6P

This is the cat and pat!!!!!!!!

Offline Cahuib23

  • Posts: 21
  • Coasters & Keyboards
Re: [IC]Lewis, 60% isolation mount
« Reply #14 on: Tue, 17 November 2020, 14:52:02 »
Wow... this looks insane, the front height and thicc bottom bezel is a bit of a turn-off, but I bet I can accept that as the only drawback to this board as everything else is perfect! Nice Job! :thumb:

Offline Bl4ck

  • Posts: 174
Re: [IC]Lewis, 60% isolation mount
« Reply #15 on: Tue, 17 November 2020, 15:20:50 »
Not a buyer as this is not for me. But god damn does it look good!

Offline radishly

  • Posts: 1
Re: [IC]Lewis, 60% isolation mount
« Reply #16 on: Tue, 17 November 2020, 15:37:05 »
You’ve done it again, doctor!

Looks so good, can’t wait to own this.

Offline Havattack

  • Posts: 723
Re: [IC]Lewis, 60% isolation mount
« Reply #17 on: Tue, 17 November 2020, 15:45:19 »
I forgot to put it in the IC, becasue it's silly that it's not standard at this point, but make the thing hot swap, we're not living in the stone age people. New switches come out all the time, and the best way to test them, is in the actual keyboard they're going in.

Offline KingOfMemes

  • Posts: 845
  • Location: Murica, the best country in the world
Re: [IC]Lewis, 60% isolation mount
« Reply #18 on: Tue, 17 November 2020, 15:54:19 »
I forgot to put it in the IC, becasue it's silly that it's not standard at this point, but make the thing hot swap, we're not living in the stone age people. New switches come out all the time, and the best way to test them, is in the actual keyboard they're going in.
I'd rather have multi layout support. If you want hotswap just millmax a pcb or buy extras.

Offline Tyler

  • Posts: 26
  • hhkb >
Re: [IC]Lewis, 60% isolation mount
« Reply #19 on: Tue, 17 November 2020, 15:55:38 »
I think HHKB would be a nice option to have. I'm assuming we would have to provide our own female panel gx12 connecting cable? And would the pinout/wiring be predetermined?

Offline LubedHealios

  • Posts: 16
  • swede living in The Netherlands
Re: [IC]Lewis, 60% isolation mount
« Reply #20 on: Tue, 17 November 2020, 18:54:00 »
WOW this board is amazing it goes against what most people are doing and i love it. and it comes from my hometown :)

Offline kk73715

  • Posts: 126
  • Location: Hong Kong
  • Why are you even reading
Re: [IC]Lewis, 60% isolation mount
« Reply #21 on: Tue, 17 November 2020, 19:56:00 »
The bottom looks a bit like a casket... I'm interested to see where this goes, GLWIC!

Offline regionfree

  • Posts: 319
  • Location: Sa kagubatan
Re: [IC]Lewis, 60% isolation mount
« Reply #22 on: Tue, 17 November 2020, 21:45:01 »
Classy in all black, and looks like Dracula's keyb if you add maybe some read accent caps in there.

Offline Havattack

  • Posts: 723
Re: [IC]Lewis, 60% isolation mount
« Reply #23 on: Tue, 17 November 2020, 21:52:37 »
I forgot to put it in the IC, becasue it's silly that it's not standard at this point, but make the thing hot swap, we're not living in the stone age people. New switches come out all the time, and the best way to test them, is in the actual keyboard they're going in.
I'd rather have multi layout support. If you want hotswap just millmax a pcb or buy extras.
I'd rather have hot-swap. If you want multi layout, just have them provide more then 1 pcb option.
"buy extas" Sweet! Even more stupid soldering!

Offline KingOfMemes

  • Posts: 845
  • Location: Murica, the best country in the world
Re: [IC]Lewis, 60% isolation mount
« Reply #24 on: Tue, 17 November 2020, 22:43:50 »
I forgot to put it in the IC, becasue it's silly that it's not standard at this point, but make the thing hot swap, we're not living in the stone age people. New switches come out all the time, and the best way to test them, is in the actual keyboard they're going in.
I'd rather have multi layout support. If you want hotswap just millmax a pcb or buy extras.
I'd rather have hot-swap. If you want multi layout, just have them provide more then 1 pcb option.
"buy extas" Sweet! Even more stupid soldering!
Bruh, u trollin

Offline DasGnome

  • Posts: 160
Re: [IC]Lewis, 60% isolation mount
« Reply #25 on: Tue, 17 November 2020, 23:08:44 »
That's a thicc weight. I'm definitely interested in some typing tests to see how even the sounds. This is one to watch for sure!

Offline asciisii

  • Posts: 89
  • Location: Canada
Re: [IC]Lewis, 60% isolation mount
« Reply #26 on: Tue, 17 November 2020, 23:45:03 »
I forgot to put it in the IC, becasue it's silly that it's not standard at this point, but make the thing hot swap, we're not living in the stone age people. New switches come out all the time, and the best way to test them, is in the actual keyboard they're going in.
I'd rather have multi layout support. If you want hotswap just millmax a pcb or buy extras.
I'd rather have hot-swap. If you want multi layout, just have them provide more then 1 pcb option.
"buy extas" Sweet! Even more stupid soldering!

lol

anyways this looks very intriguing glwic

Offline DoctorNunu

  • Thread Starter
  • Posts: 158
  • Location: Borås, Sweden
  • Masterworks
Re: [IC]Lewis, 60% isolation mount
« Reply #27 on: Wed, 18 November 2020, 00:48:39 »
I think HHKB would be a nice option to have. I'm assuming we would have to provide our own female panel gx12 connecting cable? And would the pinout/wiring be predetermined?


HHKB might become a thing depending on the form results. Regarding the female part of the GX12, I've been working with SantiGo cables to see if we can include some vintage coiled cables with the board. The pinout follows the USB standard, and connects to the PCB with a JST cable (Follows the Ai03 standard).

I forgot to put it in the IC, becasue it's silly that it's not standard at this point, but make the thing hot swap, we're not living in the stone age people. New switches come out all the time, and the best way to test them, is in the actual keyboard they're going in.
I'd rather have multi layout support. If you want hotswap just millmax a pcb or buy extras.
I'd rather have hot-swap. If you want multi layout, just have them provide more then 1 pcb option.
"buy extas" Sweet! Even more stupid soldering!

Hotswap is not something that will be offered with this board, I consider soldering to be an exciting part of the build process.
And as KingOfMemes mentioned, offering multiple layouts would require multiple PCB's instead of one.


Offline Seoulcialite

  • Posts: 117
  • Location: Seoul, South Korea
    • MechSeoul
Re: [IC]Lewis, 60% isolation mount
« Reply #28 on: Wed, 18 November 2020, 01:32:57 »
Like: Overall design, book like side profile, big bezels
Dislike: Connector and front height

Please add more brightly lit pictures.
Please add pictures with the cable connected as it may change my mind about the connector.

Offline thestrayed

  • Posts: 33
Re: [IC]Lewis, 60% isolation mount
« Reply #29 on: Wed, 18 November 2020, 05:40:04 »
Love the design. Instant buy for me but would love to see more pics of the prototype

Offline dudewth

  • Posts: 63
Re: [IC]Lewis, 60% isolation mount
« Reply #30 on: Wed, 18 November 2020, 08:14:03 »
I need to think about/be sold on the connector. Other than that I love the aesthetic.

Offline lewisflude

  • Posts: 295
  • Location: London, UK
  • Hand Engineering
    • Hand Engineering
Re: [IC]Lewis, 60% isolation mount
« Reply #31 on: Wed, 18 November 2020, 09:20:46 »
Nice

Offline Scoscobola

  • Posts: 6
Re: [IC]Lewis, 60% isolation mount
« Reply #32 on: Wed, 18 November 2020, 10:01:20 »
Would be interested to hear a sound test that A-B's one weight with rails and one without to hear how they diffuse reflections and affect sound signature. Really neat design.

Offline zoo

  • Posts: 188
    • zoo
Re: [IC]Lewis, 60% isolation mount
« Reply #33 on: Wed, 18 November 2020, 14:05:23 »
interesting backside

Offline Bazookatooth

  • Posts: 7
Re: [IC]Lewis, 60% isolation mount
« Reply #34 on: Wed, 18 November 2020, 20:54:52 »
Likes:
- Really love the overall theme and high precision machining. The backside view reminds me of a chess piece.
- The connector along with the design really makes it stand out as it's own thing.
- It's a big chonker, 6.5lbs for a 60% unbuilt is pretty crazy.  Does anyone know what the fjell clocks in at? That's the heaviest 60% i've ever felt.
- I'm drooling over the titanium screws after just having built a KBD8X MKII

Worries:
- Front height and angle seems pretty steep.  You could potentially solve this with a matching wrist rest, but it's something that people might have to work around.
- As cool as the connector is - it's also worrisome.  What happens down the line if something happens to the cable? Now I have a dead board and I have to source some weird USB cable in order to get it usable again?  Not ideal - but not sure that's a deal breaker (I have two cats who love to chew at cables so I might be a little biased here)

Overall, great work Doc!  Will definitely be following closely!

Offline DoctorNunu

  • Thread Starter
  • Posts: 158
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  • Masterworks
Re: [IC]Lewis, 60% isolation mount
« Reply #35 on: Thu, 19 November 2020, 08:00:08 »
Thanks for the feedback everyone, I will leave the form open until the end of the week.
Please fill it out if you haven't already!  :thumb:

Offline Vigrith

  • Posts: 1843
Re: [IC]Lewis, 60% isolation mount
« Reply #36 on: Thu, 19 November 2020, 08:17:36 »
Bruh, u trollin

Why would he be trolling? Nowadays when hotswap PCBs are actually well made the only argument against hot-swap on the average Joe's user end is "soldering is fun" (and maybe the extra cost that could potentially incur if we're trying to be pedantic). I don't mind soldering, certain boards I would rather not hot-swap, but it the reality is lots of people could not give less of a ****. Most people won't be upset that their ISO left shift ANSI layout with f13 and stepped caps lock is not supported in the hotswap configuration. You need to waste your time and money looking for proper solder, you need to know which one to pick, you need to invest in a decent iron (especially if you're new, which whether we like it or not is the norm nowadays especially outside of Geekhack), if you mess up you need to go and look up how to do that and again, purchase the necessary equipment, you need to procure a fan so that you don't die from lead poisoning and then sit down for however long and melt **** onto your PCB for like two hours. Best hope that spacebar isn't rattling after you're done!

People can say it's exciting, as the designer has here, and it's their project so that is more than fair enough and it is their prerogative whether or not to supply an extra hot-swap PCB for those that want it, but the vehement defence of soldering is often ridiculous and, at best, outdated. Let's stop pretending horseback riding is more functional than owning a car just because some people find equestrianism fun.

Offline KingOfMemes

  • Posts: 845
  • Location: Murica, the best country in the world
Re: [IC]Lewis, 60% isolation mount
« Reply #37 on: Thu, 19 November 2020, 08:29:30 »
Bruh, u trollin

Why would he be trolling? Nowadays when hotswap PCBs are actually well made the only argument against hot-swap on the average Joe's user end is "soldering is fun" (and maybe the extra cost that could potentially incur if we're trying to be pedantic). I don't mind soldering, certain boards I would rather not hot-swap, but it the reality is lots of people could not give less of a ****. Most people won't be upset that their ISO left shift ANSI layout with f13 and stepped caps lock is not supported in the hotswap configuration. You need to waste your time and money looking for proper solder, you need to know which one to pick, you need to invest in a decent iron (especially if you're new, which whether we like it or not is the norm nowadays especially outside of Geekhack), if you mess up you need to go and look up how to do that and again, purchase the necessary equipment, you need to procure a fan so that you don't die from lead poisoning and then sit down for however long and melt **** onto your PCB for like two hours. Best hope that spacebar isn't rattling after you're done!

People can say it's exciting, as the designer has here, and it's their project so that is more than fair enough and it is their prerogative whether or not to supply an extra hot-swap PCB for those that want it, but the vehement defence of soldering is often ridiculous and, at best, outdated. Let's stop pretending horseback riding is more functional than owning a car just because some people find equestrianism fun.
I don't think asking for or suggesting hotswap PCBs in an interest check is trolling. I think the way he did it and the verbiage he used was trolling. It could have been a discussion. He made it a 1 way street.

Don't take this as me saying he shouldn't be trollin. Troll away. I'm just calling it what it is.
« Last Edit: Thu, 19 November 2020, 08:31:37 by KingOfMemes »

Offline Nuclear Nachos

  • Posts: 109
  • Anima and Animus
Re: [IC]Lewis, 60% isolation mount
« Reply #38 on: Thu, 19 November 2020, 08:30:26 »
Bruh, u trollin

Why would he be trolling? Nowadays when hotswap PCBs are actually well made the only argument against hot-swap on the average Joe's user end is "soldering is fun" (and maybe the extra cost that could potentially incur if we're trying to be pedantic). I don't mind soldering, certain boards I would rather not hot-swap, but it the reality is lots of people could not give less of a ****. Most people won't be upset that their ISO left shift ANSI layout with f13 and stepped caps lock is not supported in the hotswap configuration. You need to waste your time and money looking for proper solder, you need to know which one to pick, you need to invest in a decent iron (especially if you're new, which whether we like it or not is the norm nowadays especially outside of Geekhack), if you mess up you need to go and look up how to do that and again, purchase the necessary equipment, you need to procure a fan so that you don't die from lead poisoning and then sit down for however long and melt **** onto your PCB for like two hours. Best hope that spacebar isn't rattling after you're done!

People can say it's exciting, as the designer has here, and it's their project so that is more than fair enough and it is their prerogative whether or not to supply an extra hot-swap PCB for those that want it, but the vehement defence of soldering is often ridiculous and, at best, outdated. Let's stop pretending horseback riding is more functional than owning a car just because some people find equestrianism fun.
id say theres still downsides to hotswap pcbs, mainly being lack of layouts and theres always the chance a socket can get damaged. Lack of layouts is a very important feature to a 60 pcb with all the different layouts on a 60 (hhkb, tsangan, split backspace, split r shift, 6.25u, stepped caps lock) and i would much rather have a soldered pcb with different layouts than a hotswap one with a layout i dont like. This is also a smaller issue on this board where it has like 1 or 2 layouts. Also no matter what way you cut the cake, hotswap sockets are more prone to damage than just soldering a switch in as long as you have at least an idea of what ur doing soldering (and id imagine somebody buying this board would know how to solder+have a soldering setup). And ur not gonna die if u dont have a fan soldering something for 5 minutes and its really not that hard to solder :)

Offline Vigrith

  • Posts: 1843
Re: [IC]Lewis, 60% isolation mount
« Reply #39 on: Thu, 19 November 2020, 09:08:32 »
id say theres still downsides to hotswap pcbs, mainly being lack of layouts and theres always the chance a socket can get damaged. Lack of layouts is a very important feature to a 60 pcb with all the different layouts on a 60 (hhkb, tsangan, split backspace, split r shift, 6.25u, stepped caps lock) and i would much rather have a soldered pcb with different layouts than a hotswap one with a layout i dont like. This is also a smaller issue on this board where it has like 1 or 2 layouts. Also no matter what way you cut the cake, hotswap sockets are more prone to damage than just soldering a switch in as long as you have at least an idea of what ur doing soldering (and id imagine somebody buying this board would know how to solder+have a soldering setup). And ur not gonna die if u dont have a fan soldering something for 5 minutes and its really not that hard to solder :)

Customizability to that level (which I mentioned) is becoming less relevant as time goes on I feel. I'm not arguing that solderable PCBs should be fully replaced or that hotswap should become the norm with the alternative being an addon rather than the other way around (as we mostly have it right now), I'm just saying responses like "lol" and "no" and "why u trolling" coming out when someone is saying they would rather not waste their time pretending to be an engineer are definitely not helpful and those people absolutely have a valid point. Going down to the village well is really not that hard and only takes 5 minutes, but I'm assuming you prefer bottled or tap water.

Obviously I'm being deliberately obtuse when I say **** like you need to be an engineer to solder a keyboard PCB or that it's like horseback riding to work when cars exist, but for many people I'm sure that's close enough to being the way they see it, and I can understand why. I do firmly believe every board that which does not pride itself in being super niche (or even have that being one of its main features) should offer a hotswap PCB one way or another. This particular project is practically the poster child for that so it's a pretty bad place to have this conversation, I just can't help but find the "soldering good and fun, hotswap bad and unreliable" narrative annoying.

Offline paperassgasket

  • Posts: 468
Re: [IC]Lewis, 60% isolation mount
« Reply #40 on: Thu, 19 November 2020, 10:31:57 »
Hotswap is not something that will be offered with this board, I consider soldering to be an exciting part of the build process.

okay count me in.

Offline mangeHD

  • Posts: 35
  • Location: Sweden
  • Maybe slightly insane.
Re: [IC]Lewis, 60% isolation mount
« Reply #41 on: Thu, 19 November 2020, 10:35:21 »
haha tanks for the mention! im very happy to see this board in IC, good luck my man!

Offline DoctorNunu

  • Thread Starter
  • Posts: 158
  • Location: Borås, Sweden
  • Masterworks
Re: [IC]Lewis, 60% isolation mount
« Reply #42 on: Sun, 22 November 2020, 12:59:27 »
Quick bump to let you know that I have now closed the form, results are added to the post. Thank you all for taking the time!  :thumb:

Offline HungHingDaiLo

  • Posts: 569
  • Location: 大喜街
  • 無間道
Re: [IC]Lewis, 60% isolation mount
« Reply #43 on: Thu, 26 November 2020, 04:44:30 »
Interested! Brought here by your comment on r/mk!

Offline Havattack

  • Posts: 723
Re: [IC]Lewis, 60% isolation mount
« Reply #44 on: Thu, 26 November 2020, 21:05:30 »
id say theres still downsides to hotswap pcbs, mainly being lack of layouts and theres always the chance a socket can get damaged. Lack of layouts is a very important feature to a 60 pcb with all the different layouts on a 60 (hhkb, tsangan, split backspace, split r shift, 6.25u, stepped caps lock) and i would much rather have a soldered pcb with different layouts than a hotswap one with a layout i dont like. This is also a smaller issue on this board where it has like 1 or 2 layouts. Also no matter what way you cut the cake, hotswap sockets are more prone to damage than just soldering a switch in as long as you have at least an idea of what ur doing soldering (and id imagine somebody buying this board would know how to solder+have a soldering setup). And ur not gonna die if u dont have a fan soldering something for 5 minutes and its really not that hard to solder :)

Customizability to that level (which I mentioned) is becoming less relevant as time goes on I feel. I'm not arguing that solderable PCBs should be fully replaced or that hotswap should become the norm with the alternative being an addon rather than the other way around (as we mostly have it right now), I'm just saying responses like "lol" and "no" and "why u trolling" coming out when someone is saying they would rather not waste their time pretending to be an engineer are definitely not helpful and those people absolutely have a valid point. Going down to the village well is really not that hard and only takes 5 minutes, but I'm assuming you prefer bottled or tap water.

Obviously I'm being deliberately obtuse when I say **** like you need to be an engineer to solder a keyboard PCB or that it's like horseback riding to work when cars exist, but for many people I'm sure that's close enough to being the way they see it, and I can understand why. I do firmly believe every board that which does not pride itself in being super niche (or even have that being one of its main features) should offer a hotswap PCB one way or another. This particular project is practically the poster child for that so it's a pretty bad place to have this conversation, I just can't help but find the "soldering good and fun, hotswap bad and unreliable" narrative annoying.

Hot-swap should replace soldering as the norm. It sucks having to de-solder and re-solder every time i discover, or they release a new switch i like better then what i'm all ready using. Soldering sucks. I have to go get my station out, get my clamps out, my light and glasses, etc, it is not a hobby I enjoy.
I recently discovered those "mili" things, (or whatever they're called) so maybe i'll quite my complaining after i try them, but ugh, soldering still sucks.

Offline Oggi

  • Posts: 117
  • Location: Narnia
Re: [IC]Lewis, 60% isolation mount
« Reply #45 on: Thu, 26 November 2020, 22:12:45 »
That brass weight is a true work of art

Offline MilkTea_QAQ

  • Posts: 34
Re: [IC]Lewis, 60% isolation mount
« Reply #46 on: Fri, 27 November 2020, 08:07:01 »
solved
« Last Edit: Fri, 27 November 2020, 08:16:13 by MilkTea_QAQ »

Offline MilkTea_QAQ

  • Posts: 34
Re: [IC]Lewis, 60% isolation mount
« Reply #47 on: Fri, 27 November 2020, 08:07:23 »
solved
 
« Last Edit: Fri, 27 November 2020, 08:23:26 by MilkTea_QAQ »

Offline eyeon

  • Posts: 20
Re: [IC]Lewis, 60% isolation mount
« Reply #48 on: Sat, 05 December 2020, 16:03:09 »
Love the look of the board, including the height of it since it is very appropriate to the theme.  Not sure about the connector, but I have a detachable cable anyway and can easily just switch ends when needed so not a big deal.

The discord link/invite is not working.

Offline Havattack

  • Posts: 723
Re: [IC]Lewis, 60% isolation mount
« Reply #49 on: Sat, 05 December 2020, 20:29:08 »
This might be  one of my favorite looking keyboards ever... especially if we get an HHKB ver.