AM Neon 80
IC Form (https://forms.gle/cJ19iJy8CVkb4xKK6) | Discord (https://discord.com/invite/angrymiao) | Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/angry.miao/)
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IC form: https://forms.gle/cJ19iJy8CVkb4xKK6
Table of contents
- Background
- Specifications and features
- Colors
- LED matrix
- QMK and VIAL support
- Pricing
- Updates
Background
Hey all, Crazy Designers here. Some of you may recall that we did a poll last year asking the community and users in Discord about what kind of 80% board they want. And two designs came out top.
We have already delivered one of them, AM Relic 80 (https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=122180.0) and it was a hit. But there are still people waiting for the other winner, AM Neon 80 (that's what we are calling it for now) to come. And here we are.
Specifications and features
Typing Angle: 7°
Layout: 80%
Material: CNC machined 6063 aluminum alloy
Mount: Three-Stage Adjustable Leaf Spring Mount
Plate: FR4 plate
LEDs: In-switch RGB and LED matrix with 230 (main panel) + 70 (side) LEDs
PCB: 1.2mm hot-swap with in-switch LEDs and cutouts. Supports QMK and VIAL.
Connection: USB 3.0 (Type-C)
Dimensions: TBA
Weight: TBA
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The hotswap PCB will have a thickness of 1.2mm and have cut-outs. It can support normal and stepped Caps Lock.
LED matrix
This is what we have been working on. With 230 LEDs on the main panel and 70 more on the side, this is what it looks like when it glows:
With 300 LEDs in total, it can display 256 colors. You can create custom lighting effects on your PC. It can also display stuff like the current time or custom texts.
QMK and VIAL support
We have been roasted ever since we started making keyboards because our boards don't support QMK.
I have to make a defense for myself here. We actually have reasons why we didn't go with QMK.
Long story short:
- We want better wireless performance.
- The code is too bloated and lacks efficiency. We want to further expand on lighting effects, power management, and extended function interfaces.
After considering the suggestions we have received over the years, we made the decision to give QMK a try, which eventually led us to where we are now. This is the first board from AM that fully supports QMK.
Colors
We haven't decided which colorways to go with just yet. Please do help us via the IC form. If you have any other color in mind, please let us know as well.
Here are the renders I have for now:
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Silver
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White
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Titanium
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Black
Plus, I applied multi-color anodizing to the bottom panel. It allowed me to create the following effect:
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Considering the difficulty of perfecting these colors on a metal body, the amount of interest for each color will determine which colors will be made available for the official group buy. If you are interested in this keyboard and would like to see a specific color, I recommend you fill out the IC form.
Pricing
TBA
I'm currently working on getting a clear idea of what it would cost to produce this keyboard. With the inclusion of QMK and VIAL support, we don't need features such as Bluetooth, wireless charging, and a battery. However, since it's the first time using this LED matrix, there will be some costs involved with that.
Extras
- Hotswap PCB without RGB: supports normal and stepped Caps Lock, ISO enter, split left shift (ISO compatible), 2U split backspace
- POM plate
- Extra feet: increase the typing angle to 10°
If you would like to see something that's not on this list, please mention it in the IC form. We'll do our best to make it available if there's enough interest.
Updates
2024-09-30: New images and hardware progress (https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=122447.msg3193717#msg3193717)
2024-02-08: OP
It has been quite a while since I posted an update to this post. A lot of progress has been made in finalizing the design. I'll share some new pictures first.
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Craftsmanship
Working on this board I realized that despite its retro aesthetic, we actually need modern technology to produce this board. To achieve the case finish of the Neon 80 we have to drill 3120 holes in the keyboard case with a CNC machine, which is not an easy task.
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Lighting effects
To create the lighting effects of this board we use a total of 389 LEDs. We include 270 LEDs on the front, 70 on the side, and an additional 89 in-switch LEDs.
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The four-dimensional RGB Matrix Lighting Effects of the AM Neon 80 are fully customizable, just like CYBERBOARD. All you have to do is select an effect in our lighting effect library and upload it to the board. The LED effect control chip will spread the effect to all four dimensions of the RGB matrix, as well as the in-switch LEDs. This allows the board to deliver an overall, interactive effect that you can customize to your own preference.
Wired mode only
AM Neon 80 will be the first keyboard from Angry Miao that only supports wired mode. With 389 LEDs on it, energy consumption can be as high as 12W. Even if we put in two 5000mAh battries in it, it still wouldn't be able provide a decent battery life.
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This means we couldn't include batteries with this board. Also, when using this board you'll need a decent mainboard which supports USB 3.0, and a strong power supply. If your hardware isn't strong enough to support AM Neon 80, you could turn down the LED brightness (there are 10 levels). LEDs get disabled automatically if not enough power is delivered to the board, making sure you can still type on it.
Internals
AM Neon 80 will include Angry Miao's Three-Stage Adjustable Leaf Spring Mount with a total of 12 different typing combos. This allows you to fine-tune your typing experience, by adjusting between a harder or softer typing feel.
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Without batteries and wireless charging support, we were able to achieve an 18.5 mm front height with only 7 degrees of typing angle. This would be more comfortable for daily use and gaming.
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For the PCB sandwich, we opted for the following materials:
- FR4 plate with cut-outs
- 12mm hot-swap PCB with cut-outs, supports RGB
- Custom PCB foam
- PORON foam
- IXPE 8 switch pad
- Custom PET film for better typing sound
- Bottom adjustment pads *2
QMK support
We explained before why we opted to not include QMK support with our previous boards. Neon 80 will be the first AM keyboard that supports QMK and VIAL.
We are building a modified device center based on VIAL, AM Vialite. It's a quicker and easier in operation, while also being more aesthetically pleasing. Build on a more advanced cross-platform framework, it will perform better on both Windows and Mac.
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