Massdrop - HHKB Metal Case

[osi]

#realkeyboardshavecurves

LOL  ) ) ) )

Considering a HHKB isn't a real keyboard to begin with.....

Can you just shut the **** up already? We get it. You don't like it.

lol!!

[btctopre]

Can you just shut the **** up already? We get it. You don't like it.

Four posts a day for four years, he has mastered the art of the ****post.

[HoffmanMyster]

#realkeyboardshavecurves

LOL  ) ) ) )

Considering a HHKB isn't a real keyboard to begin with.....

Can you just shut the **** up already? We get it. You don't like it.

ArcherThankYou.gif

[Lurch]

Forget you guys....I'm buying one in silver. Will transfer my Type-S into it and review.

myyyyyy heeeerrrrroooooooo

[romevi]

Forget you guys....I'm buying one in silver. Will transfer my Type-S into it and review.

myyyyyy heeeerrrrroooooooo

Curses. Foiled again.

[alienman82]

removed.

[SpAmRaY]

Can you just shut the **** up already? We get it. You don't like it.

Four posts a day for four years, he has mastered the art of the ****post.

she

elrick is a dude

[alienman82]

removed.

[GL1TCH3D]

So there are 8 people that ordered one but the only person I know of is LSB

Unless akimbo actually ordered one.

The cpt is getting the prototype red one.

I think this just goes to show that a custom third party case for the HHKB, something people have wanted for a long time, can be thoroughly ruined by poor design.
Considering they do have a prototype, didn't they think to get feedback on it first?
Make a few, send them to more prominent members (Cpt, etc) BEFORE the group buy. (But Cpt, I thought you hated topre)

Even if the case turns out well and works well, it's still overly bulky for me and I like having my HHKB with the feet up.

[henz]

i passed on this now had to get the 456 gt from HT and now im broke

[btctopre]

The longer they go without saying anything, the more likely I am to skip out on it. It's like they said "HERE'S YOUR ALUMINUM KEYBOARD HHKB FANSTRAIGHTS, ENJOY!" and that's it. Now the drop is almost up to 100 comments, and there has only been one real employee reply that addressed anything (the colors, using photos from a different case, and even then we still don't know what green or champagne look like). It's like instead of easing our concerns with thought-out replies or pictures, they're relying solely on an outside party (CptBA) to indirectly sell the drop for them.

It's sad that they put more effort into explaining the backstory of the drop, than the details of the drop itself. At least some good might come of this in the form of capable members working together to move beyond the previous vaporware and generate a legitimate HHKB case GB.

[CPTBadAss]

Wow...the conspiracy is thick in here. What if I said I just asked to review it? Maybe I'm not the only one reviewing the prototype either.

A wise man once said, "chill fam".

[nubbinator]

I'm getting the one in the picture on Massdrop. I think that's the prototype. I'm not sure of the date I'll have it in hand yet.

I'd recommend reviewing it before/after krytox application. I suspect the metal will wear the stems (like we see in heavily used hall effect KBs) but we won't know until long-term users weigh in.

I would wager that you're right.  If you're willing to put a little work in, you should be able to bond Molybdenum Disulfide to the case and have a nice dry lube on the case that would reduce friction wear.

[Air tree]

At the rate that this is moving, it might not even reach mmq

[GL1TCH3D]

Wow...the conspiracy is thick in here. What if I said I just asked to review it? Maybe I'm not the only one reviewing the prototype either.

A wise man once said, "chill fam".

Even then. There aren't any reviews now that I can see. They could have easily sent out prototypes for review before the drop to get feedback on it similar to how they fixed the text on the K727 after reviewers got early units before the GB shipped.

At this point if they deliver something completely different than what's being shown then I'm sure some people will be angry.

[Elrick]

Can you just shut the **** up already? We get it. You don't like it.

A Mangina suddenly wants me to stop, dream on sunshine  .  Just get use to it......

[Air tree]

Can you just shut the **** up already? We get it. You don't like it.

A Mangina suddenly wants me to stop, dream on sunshine  .  Just get use to it......

I honestly had to look up what exactly a mangina is, and yet I'm still confused.

[HoffmanMyster]

Can you just shut the **** up already? We get it. You don't like it.

A Mangina suddenly wants me to stop, dream on sunshine  .  Just get use to it......

Okay let's cut the personal attacks in here.  If you really want to attack someone for wanting you to stop threadcrapping, take it somewhere else.

[MJ45]

Can you just shut the **** up already? We get it. You don't like it.

A Mangina suddenly wants me to stop, dream on sunshine  .  Just get use to it......

Okay let's cut the personal attacks in here.  If you really want to attack someone for wanting you to stop threadcrapping, take it somewhere else.

Start a new "Personal Attack/HHKB hate drama" thread

[Elrick]

Can you just shut the **** up already? We get it. You don't like it.

A Mangina suddenly wants me to stop, dream on sunshine  .  Just get use to it......

Okay let's cut the personal attacks in here.  If you really want to attack someone for wanting you to stop threadcrapping, take it somewhere else.

How could it be a 'personal attack' if you lot here on GH Central, have no idea what it means? 

Okay, just to not ruffle anymore feathers on the HHKB crowd here I shall cease, but I'm calling your mummies to come pick you up from GH daycare as soon as possible  .

[romevi]

Can you just shut the **** up already? We get it. You don't like it.

A Mangina suddenly wants me to stop, dream on sunshine  .  Just get use to it......

Okay let's cut the personal attacks in here.  If you really want to attack someone for wanting you to stop threadcrapping, take it somewhere else.

How could it be a 'personal attack' if you lot here on GH Central, have no idea what it means? 

Okay, just to not ruffle anymore feathers on the HHKB crowd here I shall cease, but I'm calling your mummies to come pick you up from GH daycare as soon as possible  .

Huh. I always thought Elrick's "incendiary" posts were just tolerated.

[Air tree]

Elrick, surely you can put on your big boy pants and quit being immature?


And, yes I've heard the expression mangina before, just not in the context that you used it in.

[inanis]

The longer they go without saying anything, the more likely I am to skip out on it. It's like they said "HERE'S YOUR ALUMINUM KEYBOARD HHKB FANSTRAIGHTS, ENJOY!" and that's it. Now the drop is almost up to 100 comments, and there has only been one real employee reply that addressed anything (the colors, using photos from a different case, and even then we still don't know what green or champagne look like). It's like instead of easing our concerns with thought-out replies or pictures, they're relying solely on an outside party (CptBA) to indirectly sell the drop for them.

It's sad that they put more effort into explaining the backstory of the drop, than the details of the drop itself. At least some good might come of this in the form of capable members working together to move beyond the previous vaporware and generate a legitimate HHKB case GB.

FWIW, they sent me a prototype of a case before full well knowing that I was going to think it wasn't good. They weren't looking for me to tell people it was awesome, they wanted someone that could provide insight as to why people kept saying it was ****ty. I was also pretty vocal in the discussion section before they ever offered. 

Now, one could argue that they are going to take the advice that I may have provided and tell the vendor how to fix it, and therefore take potential business away from me, since I also happen to make the same product. The untrusting, conspiracy ridden side of me me certainly thought this. However, I have chosen to believe that what I make will be better no matter what, because I'm focused on making things the best it can be, not the quickest, cheapest, or most profitable.

You have to remember that these guys at MD are there to run a business, they are not necessarily experts. These guys might be familiar with keyboards, but they aren't using an HHKB everyday. The don't know what makes a good CNC'd case beyond the basics. I'm not saying MD is altruistic in their motivations. But I don't think they had any realistic expectation that CPT was going to sell GH on a case that thus far has not gotten high praise. If anything, I'm guessing they are soliciting advice via payment of a case to figure out what can be done better. If they were expecting anymore than that, they are surely going to be disappointed.

I mean, we ***** that they don't listen to the community. Then they reach out to the community for feedback, and we ***** about that. I understand the reasons why, but maybe they really *do* want "our" opinion.

[jonathanyu]

Thought I'd mention it in this thread as well. We've talked about it a bit in mistake's thread, but if someone can send my a CAD file for a minimalist HHKB case, I might be able to get a couple milled at my local shop for not ridiculously expensive.

I fully support this, but you should really make a separate thread, both to keep the info organized and to avoid heading off topic in these threads.

This I can tell you, I got a sample of one of the wood cases that MD has been selling by Royal Glam (this is just speculation, but a I think all these recent CNC'd case offerings are from the same company), and the manufacturer certainly cut corners with the wood cases. I assume, as others have pointed out, that the reason this is a block instead of keeping true to the HHKB form factor is to save on CNCing time and costs.

I just don't get it.  If you want to save cost, give us an aluminum cast case.  We need dat curve + slope. 

hoffman, can you explain the curve a little bit? I understand the slope but cant really understand the curve.. (you know, i don't have any topre board yet)
Is the pcb also curve or just the case?

The case has a very subtle curve to it.  I actually didn't realize there was a curve until I took a closer look a few days ago.  It's just the case; the PCB is flat.

There are really a lot more angles to this case than you'd expect.

Show Image

get it now, didn't notice the case is curved before  :eek:

[AKIMbO]

So there are 8 people that ordered one but the only person I know of is LSB

Unless akimbo actually ordered one.

The cpt is getting the prototype red one.

I think this just goes to show that a custom third party case for the HHKB, something people have wanted for a long time, can be thoroughly ruined by poor design.
Considering they do have a prototype, didn't they think to get feedback on it first?
Make a few, send them to more prominent members (Cpt, etc) BEFORE the group buy. (But Cpt, I thought you hated topre)

Even if the case turns out well and works well, it's still overly bulky for me and I like having my HHKB with the feet up.

I ordered one in black just a minute ago so the total should be up to 8. Idk what the moq is for production though.

[GL1TCH3D]

So there are 8 people that ordered one but the only person I know of is LSB

Unless akimbo actually ordered one.

The cpt is getting the prototype red one.

I think this just goes to show that a custom third party case for the HHKB, something people have wanted for a long time, can be thoroughly ruined by poor design.
Considering they do have a prototype, didn't they think to get feedback on it first?
Make a few, send them to more prominent members (Cpt, etc) BEFORE the group buy. (But Cpt, I thought you hated topre)

Even if the case turns out well and works well, it's still overly bulky for me and I like having my HHKB with the feet up.

20 units needed, 8 sold, 7 days to go of the total 12 days. They probably will try and extend it to get the MOQ.



I ordered one in black just a minute ago so the total should be up to 8. Idk what the moq is for production though.

[a_ak57]

I mean, we ***** that they don't listen to the community. Then they reach out to the community for feedback, and we ***** about that. I understand the reasons why, but maybe they really *do* want "our" opinion.

The problem is that they're reaching out too late.  That's great if you guys tell them why their case sucks and they go "oh, guess we've learned something" but the fact is they're still running a drop for a product we don't want because they did things stupidly.  And if they do end up doing a drop later on for a case that is actually good, it's kinda unfair to those who are just gonna buy this one thinking there may not be another choice since frankly community projects aren't anything to bank on and there's no guarantee MD will go back to the drawing board.  And never mind design, there's even the basic things like not even showing all the colors they're offering and the fact they want to sell this to us without providing relevant info like how affects the feel and stuff.

They basically handled it as poorly as possible.

[inanis]

I mean, we ***** that they don't listen to the community. Then they reach out to the community for feedback, and we ***** about that. I understand the reasons why, but maybe they really *do* want "our" opinion.

The problem is that they're reaching out too late.  That's great if you guys tell them why their case sucks and they go "oh, guess we've learned something" but the fact is they're still running a drop for a product we don't want because they did things stupidly.  And if they do end up doing a drop later on for a case that is actually good, it's kinda unfair to those who are just gonna buy this one thinking there may not be another choice since frankly community projects aren't anything to bank on and there's no guarantee MD will go back to the drawing board.  And never mind design, there's even the basic things like not even showing all the colors they're offering and the fact they want to sell this to us without providing relevant info like how affects the feel and stuff.

They basically handled it as poorly as possible.

I agree with everything you have said here. I guess the optimism I have is that they will learn from these mistakes and get more community feedback up front. Also, I think there should be an expectation that if you are buying a first gen product it will improve going forward. It shouldn't be complete **** at first either, but it isn't likely to never change for the better.

[ideus]

I mean, we ***** that they don't listen to the community. Then they reach out to the community for feedback, and we ***** about that. I understand the reasons why, but maybe they really *do* want "our" opinion.

The problem is that they're reaching out too late.  That's great if you guys tell them why their case sucks and they go "oh, guess we've learned something" but the fact is they're still running a drop for a product we don't want because they did things stupidly.  And if they do end up doing a drop later on for a case that is actually good, it's kinda unfair to those who are just gonna buy this one thinking there may not be another choice since frankly community projects aren't anything to bank on and there's no guarantee MD will go back to the drawing board.  And never mind design, there's even the basic things like not even showing all the colors they're offering and the fact they want to sell this to us without providing relevant info like how affects the feel and stuff.

They basically handled it as poorly as possible.

I agree with everything you have said here. I guess the optimism I have is that they will learn from these mistakes and get more community feedback up front. Also, I think there should be an expectation that if you are buying a first gen product it will improve going forward. It shouldn't be complete **** at first either, but it isn't likely to never change for the better.

MD learning at the customer's expenses is great for them, it is not for the consumer.

[inanis]

MD learning at the customer's expenses is great for them, it is not for the consumer.

Indeed, it never is. However, no one is forcing anyone to buy this. I sure as hell wouldn't! If people buy this because they want it, and they are making an informed decision on the good and bad, that is what is most important. In this drop (and some others) MD needs to have better communication to make sure that is the case. What the consumer should be doing in situations like this, and to a large part are, is saying No! rather than buying into it and giving MD experience at unfortunate expense to the customer. They, just like anyone, should learn from their failures, not just their success.

[btctopre]

well- the chinese GB isn't drawing any interest, and i'm not seeing any mention of the case on some of the korean forums, so it does at least appear to be a consensual "no".

it seems a few people have been quietly putting together their own hhkb case already, hopefully you all learn from this as well that using community feedback is the best way to get a final product that the community will buy.

[a_ak57]

I agree with everything you have said here. I guess the optimism I have is that they will learn from these mistakes and get more community feedback up front. Also, I think there should be an expectation that if you are buying a first gen product it will improve going forward. It shouldn't be complete **** at first either, but it isn't likely to never change for the better.

Well, it can go both ways.  It's possible MD will look at this and think "okay, people weren't happy, let's try again using their feedback" but as a pessimist, it's also possible they'll look at this and be like "wow we expected more sales, not worth putting in the effort to try again since people may just reject our second version too and it's possible the people complaining wouldn't even put the money down anyway."  You would think the latter situation is unlikely, but video games taught me that companies can be silly (companies putting out horrible PC ports and nobody buying them, then the company deciding it's not worth pursuing the PC market because obviously there's no money there).

[Air tree]

Well, now it's back down to 7. I guess someone canceled their order.

[ideus]

Well, now it's back down to 7. I guess someone canceled their order.

She repented from her sin.

[absyrd]

WWWD?

What Would Wada Do?

[rowdy]

The longer they go without saying anything, the more likely I am to skip out on it. It's like they said "HERE'S YOUR ALUMINUM KEYBOARD HHKB FANSTRAIGHTS, ENJOY!" and that's it. Now the drop is almost up to 100 comments, and there has only been one real employee reply that addressed anything (the colors, using photos from a different case, and even then we still don't know what green or champagne look like). It's like instead of easing our concerns with thought-out replies or pictures, they're relying solely on an outside party (CptBA) to indirectly sell the drop for them.

It's sad that they put more effort into explaining the backstory of the drop, than the details of the drop itself. At least some good might come of this in the form of capable members working together to move beyond the previous vaporware and generate a legitimate HHKB case GB.

FWIW, they sent me a prototype of a case before full well knowing that I was going to think it wasn't good. They weren't looking for me to tell people it was awesome, they wanted someone that could provide insight as to why people kept saying it was ****ty. I was also pretty vocal in the discussion section before they ever offered. 

Now, one could argue that they are going to take the advice that I may have provided and tell the vendor how to fix it, and therefore take potential business away from me, since I also happen to make the same product. The untrusting, conspiracy ridden side of me me certainly thought this. However, I have chosen to believe that what I make will be better no matter what, because I'm focused on making things the best it can be, not the quickest, cheapest, or most profitable.

You have to remember that these guys at MD are there to run a business, they are not necessarily experts. These guys might be familiar with keyboards, but they aren't using an HHKB everyday. The don't know what makes a good CNC'd case beyond the basics. I'm not saying MD is altruistic in their motivations. But I don't think they had any realistic expectation that CPT was going to sell GH on a case that thus far has not gotten high praise. If anything, I'm guessing they are soliciting advice via payment of a case to figure out what can be done better. If they were expecting anymore than that, they are surely going to be disappointed.

I mean, we ***** that they don't listen to the community. Then they reach out to the community for feedback, and we ***** about that. I understand the reasons why, but maybe they really *do* want "our" opinion.

How did you get them to send you a prototype?

And did you get to keep it?

[RELLIK]

Needs more Iron Dioxide 

[livingspeedbump]

Ok, after this drop and seeing the subsequent resurgence in HHKB cases in the wake I figured I'd share a little about what I was working on, as I am a huge HHKB fan and really want to have something made worthy of the HHKB.

First, a list of what I want out of this case:

Milled aluminum
Similar in appearance to the HHKB. Same slant, approx size, etc.
Plastic plate
$200 or less for final product


Now, at work we have an excellent design department with many of the capabilities needed to create this case (experts in CAD as well as milling capabilities). Any group buy, however, would not be run out of my work's shop. There is not enough time for that to happen. I have been able to slowly put effort for a while though. So I can talk through where I am so far.

The HHKB case is probably one of the most difficult cases to replicate, especially out of metal. Due to the fact that the top half of the case is also the plate, milling gets extremely expensive very fast when a full metal option is considered. One of the first decisions I made when starting to brainstorm was that any case I worked on would have a plastic plate. Love it or hate it, the plastic plate really gives the HHKB a very distinct feel, and that feel is something I want to preserve. Furthermore incorporating a plastic plate will make the overall cost significantly cheaper.

The next considerations were purely aesthetic design choices. The first obvious choice I made was to concentrate on making a case that looks as similar to the original in appearance as possible. I have no interest in making a "GoN" looking case, or a "Box" case, rather a case that almost feels like it cam from PFU. The next huge deal if this was an interest check would be "Make it super MX Compatible!" which sadly, I do not have interest in. I love keycap sets as much as the next person, even spent months designing one, but I am really interested in staying as true to the HHKB as possible. Yes, I will absolutely want to make sure there are holes that allow Novatouch stabs to be used, but doing things like changing the bottom row to a 6.25u space won't happen. The main issue here is that there is no SA 6u spacebars, and that until there are molds, they won't be compatible. Personally, I like the Topre profile as well as keycaps and would want those to be useable with this case.

Finally, I am not saying any of this to prevent anyone else from working on a similar project! In this growing community there is no reason not to have a few cases available. If you like the Massdrop case, great! I have no issue with that. If you come out with one tomorrow, I'll probably buy it! Will I ever run an [IC]? Yes, when I have a working prototype. I am not personally a fan of running IC's that slowly bleed into group buys months later, only to be stuck in the GB stage for ages too. I will run a quick IC when ready to address any serious issues there may be, and then right into a GB. I am also not a fan of asking the community to fund my prototyping/etc. and will not be asking for money. This has been a project funded out of my pocket and I will continue to fund all the preliminary work and prototypes of my idea for a case.

So, all that being said. If you have little ideas you want to throw me via PM, that would be more than fine, though I hope this just helps people understand what I am going for a little better. Currently, we are brainstorming through the plastic plate. Should it be connected to the top case? If it is a standalone part, how will it be secured in the case? etc. If any big progress is made I will try to post pics to KC or something

[romevi]

Ok, after this drop and seeing the subsequent resurgence in HHKB cases in the wake I figured I'd share a little about what I was working on, as I am a huge HHKB fan and really want to have something made worthy of the HHKB.

First, a list of what I want out of this case:

Milled aluminum
Similar in appearance to the HHKB. Same slant, approx size, etc.
Plastic plate
$200 or less for final product


Now, at work we have an excellent design department with many of the capabilities needed to create this case (experts in CAD as well as milling capabilities). Any group buy, however, would not be run out of my work's shop. There is not enough time for that to happen. I have been able to slowly put effort for a while though. So I can talk through where I am so far.

The HHKB case is probably one of the most difficult cases to replicate, especially out of metal. Due to the fact that the top half of the case is also the plate, milling gets extremely expensive very fast when a full metal option is considered. One of the first decisions I made when starting to brainstorm was that any case I worked on would have a plastic plate. Love it or hate it, the plastic plate really gives the HHKB a very distinct feel, and that feel is something I want to preserve. Furthermore incorporating a plastic plate will make the overall cost significantly cheaper.

The next considerations were purely aesthetic design choices. The first obvious choice I made was to concentrate on making a case that looks as similar to the original in appearance as possible. I have no interest in making a "GoN" looking case, or a "Box" case, rather a case that almost feels like it cam from PFU. The next huge deal if this was an interest check would be "Make it super MX Compatible!" which sadly, I do not have interest in. I love keycap sets as much as the next person, even spent months designing one, but I am really interested in staying as true to the HHKB as possible. Yes, I will absolutely want to make sure there are holes that allow Novatouch stabs to be used, but doing things like changing the bottom row to a 6.25u space won't happen. The main issue here is that there is no SA 6u spacebars, and that until there are molds, they won't be compatible. Personally, I like the Topre profile as well as keycaps and would want those to be useable with this case.

Finally, I am not saying any of this to prevent anyone else from working on a similar project! In this growing community there is no reason not to have a few cases available. If you like the Massdrop case, great! I have no issue with that. If you come out with one tomorrow, I'll probably buy it! Will I ever run an [IC]? Yes, when I have a working prototype. I am not personally a fan of running IC's that slowly bleed into group buys months later, only to be stuck in the GB stage for ages too. I will run a quick IC when ready to address any serious issues there may be, and then right into a GB. I am also not a fan of asking the community to fund my prototyping/etc. and will not be asking for money. This has been a project funded out of my pocket and I will continue to fund all the preliminary work and prototypes of my idea for a case.

So, all that being said. If you have little ideas you want to throw me via PM, that would be more than fine, though I hope this just helps people understand what I am going for a little better. Currently, we are brainstorming through the plastic plate. Should it be connected to the top case? If it is a standalone part, how will it be secured in the case? etc. If any big progress is made I will try to post pics to KC or something

So far yours sounds like the most promising. Will be following closely!

[a_ak57]

While I'd actually prefer a full metal case (for me part of the draw of an aluminum case would be the different feel) I would definitely be interested in what you're working on, LSB.  I always figured a community project aluminum HHKB case would be $300-400 minimum so to see you're aiming for $200 and the HHKB style is pretty enticing.

[livingspeedbump]

While I'd actually prefer a full metal case (for me part of the draw of an aluminum case would be the different feel) I would definitely be interested in what you're working on, LSB.  I always figured a community project aluminum HHKB case would be $300-400 minimum so to see you're aiming for $200 and the HHKB style is pretty enticing.

And this is where the "keep designing other cases" comes into play. Also, If I ever do get one out, I will be more than willing to work with others or share the CAD files with others that are really interested and develop other options for the case if there is enough interest to warrant it. At this time though it is already such a huge undertaking I'm trying to keep options to a minimum. A lot of group buys I see start adding too many options and that either slows them to a crawl or kills them all together. A full metal could be cool, but at this time I just dont have the bandwidth to work on that too, but I'm not writing it off completely.

[a_ak57]

Yeah, I agree it's best to just focus on one design and go with that to make sure you perfect it.  Plastic vs metal isn't exactly a dealbreaker anyway considering those of us who would prefer metal wouldn't be using the HHKB if we actually disliked the plastic.  Especially given that I think it's probable the feel will be still be different simply due to most of the case being metal and however the plastic plate interacts with that.

[swimmingbird]

I don't know much about machining costs but I'm assuming that this hasn't happened until now because of the sheer expense that would go into making the complex shapes needed for the HHKB

I think that going with the original case is probably the best from a sheer "getting the numbers" approach

[Air tree]

Well, 1 day left and only 7 have been bought. R.I.P Aluminium HHKB, you will be remembered for not living up to your potential. 

[ideus]

Well, 1 day left and only 7 have been bought. R.I.P Aluminium HHKB, you will be remembered for not living up to your potential. 

Do you mean potential, as in brick-potential?

[btctopre]

still at 0 purchases in china, and still no replies from massdrop. at least cptBA got a collector's item out of this

[livingspeedbump]

still at 0 purchases in china, and still no replies from massdrop. at least cptBA got a collector's item out of this

well, I'll have it after him

[mrgoldenzombie]

It shouldn't cost that much for just a case

[livingspeedbump]

It shouldn't cost that much for just a case

Well, their price for what they offered was pretty spot on. Milling is very expensive, and the HHKB top plate/case is a hell of a thing to mill.

That is why I'm pretty adamant about having a plastic plate, for pricing and other reasons on my design.

[btctopre]

well, I'll have it after him

that works out then. put massdrop's failure in the hand of those who are making a legitimate effort to bring a hhkb case to market, that way they have a better idea of what works/what doesn't.