geekhack
geekhack Marketplace => Group Buys and Preorders => Topic started by: oneproduct on Fri, 16 March 2012, 16:44:06
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[video=youtube;qjjYCRJ-e20]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjjYCRJ-e20[/video][video=youtube;wyIwWf45Dss]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyIwWf45Dss[/video][video=youtube;2YLtQF0Emf0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YLtQF0Emf0[/video][video=youtube;Me-Zr7lCpwY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Me-Zr7lCpwY[/video][video=youtube;UO4_Eg6_E2s]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UO4_Eg6_E2s[/video][video=youtube;47p43RY9rNc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47p43RY9rNc[/video][video=youtube;CNSjdYfjhbk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNSjdYfjhbk[/video]
Pictures here: http://geekhack.org/showthread.php?28132-Got-an-awesome-price-quote!-See-post-230-Aluminum-poker-cases&p=548042&viewfull=1#post548042
And here: http://geekhack.org/showthread.php?28132-Interest-check-Poker-aluminum-or-stainless-steel-cases&p=540275&viewfull=1#post540275
Quick and updated info
Material: 5052 aluminum
Thickness: 3/16"
Weight with keyboard: 2 pounds, 8 ounces
Weight without keyboard: 1 pound, 14 ounces
Attachment method: the metal insert will be attached to the metal base using glue (not normal crappy white glue but glue meant for this kind of a thing)
Finish: brushed
Color options: blue, red, gold (see here http://geekhack.org/showthread.php?29356-ANODIZING-for-aluminum-poker-cases)
Cost: $82.62 for the case + optional anodizing + actual cost of shipping from me to you. Payable to: stephenpoconnor@gmail.com
Older info below which is still partially relevant
This is the order thread for hand made aluminum Poker cases. This is not made using a milling machine (CNC). So just as a warning, if you are looking for machine perfection, you may be disappointed as there will be minor signs of assembly (welding), so please take that into consideration. On the other hand, you could say that it gives it character! There are plenty of pictures and video footage of what you can expect for the most part. The one illustrated was the prototype however so most notably the USB jack cutout is very ugly looking but it will be cut square on the production versions.
The outside of the case will be glass beaded (similar to sandblasting). This is done to hide signs of scuffing that develop during the manufacturing process as the metal is handled, so it is not really optional. The top edge and inside of the case will not be glass beaded. It is made using 3/16" thick 5052 aluminum and weighs 1 pound, 14 ounces without the keyboard inside of it or 2 pounds, 8 ounces with the keyboard inside it. The body of the case is a single sheet of aluminum folded up to create the walls and the walls are then welded at the corners. The keyboard is mounted onto a separate metal insert that will then be [strike]glued[/strike] tacked (minor welds) to the body.
Price
The actual price I was quoted is $64 per case. This price will not go down if there are more orders as these are made by hand, not machine, so it's no easier to make them in bulk than it is to make just a few.
The effective tax rate in Quebec is 14.975%, so with taxes it comes to $73.584 ~ $73.50. I then need to charge for the price of screws, insulating material and [strike]glue (still looking into the possibility of having it spot welded aka "tacked")[/strike] (tacking confirmed!). I'd like to charge $80 per case then to cover this and it will probably leave me with just a little extra which will allow me to get a case for myself for free, which I think is fair for my part in this. Other than that this is a non-profit project I took up for the benefit of the geekhack community so prices are as close to the actual cost as possible, enjoy!
Rubber feet are not included, so you will have to figure out something of your own if you want to elevate the back end of the case. Ergonomically speaking though, it's better to let your keyboard lie flat! I don't plan to use any feet at all.
Shipping
This price does not include the cost of shipping. You will be charged the actual cost of shipping when it comes time to ship out the cases. Please bear in mind that when packaged this will weigh about 2.5 pounds (heavy in terms of shipping costs!) and will be placed inside a box approximately 3" wider than the Poker in all dimensions to allow for padding. If you are not located in the United States, I highly encourage you to look up the cost of shipping from Pointe-Claire, Quebec, H9R 5L9, Canada to your location using Canada Post (http://www.canadapost.ca/cpotools/apps/far/personal/findARate?execution=e1s1) so that you have an estimate of what shipping will cost you so you know what to expect. If you pay for the case and then realize that you can't afford shipping later I won't be able to refund you, so make sure you know what you're getting into!
If you are located in the United States, I will be shipping all the cases out to someone in the US (probably mkawa) and then he will distribute them from within the US which will be much cheaper. You will then be charged the actual cost of shipping from within the US plus a fraction of the cost of me sending it to the US distributor. For example, if it costs me $100 to send out all the cases to the US distributor and there are 40 cases destined for the US you will pay $2.50 in addition to the local shipping cost.
If anybody is interested in being a distributor for another country to try and save money please talk about it amongst yourselves and let me know.
Ordering
If you want to order, please PM me with the following (address format for US residents, but please use an appropriate format for your country):
Geekhack account name
1x Aluminum case
John Smith
123 Fake Street
City, State 12345
Country
If you accidentally forget to include the "1x Aluminum case" I will assume that you only want one. That line is mostly for people who would want more than one.
You can then send money using Paypal to stephenpoconnor@gmail.com as a payment of goods. You will have to add the 2.9% + $0.30 Paypal fee for a total of $82.62 USD. Please include the same information in the Paypal note as you did in the PM.
(two cases would be $164.94, three cases would be $247.26)
I'll keep this open till about March 29th.
Order List
Total orders = 26 (+1 for myself and +1 for a local friend if I can find him a Poker to use it with. edit: found one for him!)
United States (17)
Autolyze - 1 - paid
Blackhawk19 - 1 - paid
boost - 1 - paid
Changdrew - 1 - paid
dippingriz - 3 - paid
ekw808 - 1 - paid
emptythecache - 1 - paid
Gawkbasher - 1 - paid
kisakuku - 2 - paid
metafour - 1 - paid
mkawa - 2 - paid
WRXChris - 1 - paid
zzspectrez - 1 - paid
Canada (2)
Elrobo - 1 - paid
elton5354 - 1 - paid
United Kingdom (1)
J-P - 1 - paid
Germany (1)
xauser - 1 - paid
Italy (1)
xbb - 1 - paid
Australia (3)
jinzo.pk3 - 1 - paid
jonnybastard - 1 - paid
KyesaRRi - 1 - paid
Thailand (1)
net2522 - 1 - paid
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Pm'd, but will not be able to pay for a few days :(
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Pm'd, but will not be able to pay for a few days :(
That's fine. As long as you can pay sometime within about a week it's no problem.
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If we buy two are they going to ship separately?
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Pm'ed and payment sent.
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Where would one specify that he doesn't want it glued together because I will have the dip switch hole cut by a friend and Chrome dip it :D
Thanks
Sent from a phone...
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Can you chrome aluminum?
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If we buy two are they going to ship separately?
I'd probably ship them together, but if you want otherwise I could do so.
Where would one specify that he doesn't want it glued together because I will have the dip switch hole cut by a friend and Chrome dip it :D
Just mention it in the PM and I'll leave it as two separate pieces for you.
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I'm just trying to estimate shipping costs.
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If we want these powdercoated when we get them, can you do that over the glass beading, or do we need to ask that it not be glass beaded?
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Can you chrome aluminum?
I think so, if not ill have him powder coat it.
Also, when are you going to stop taking payment?
Sent from a phone...
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How much cleaner is the the final product going to be? Small touch ups from the prototype or a major difference?
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Will most likely PM in a day or two, any word on the insert being tacked down rather than glued (I know you mentioned the possibility, just wonder what will end up being "final spec"). Also will the insulating layer be attached to the plate or is it up to us to make sure it lines up/remove it on our own if we want to experiment or what?
Also anyone with a poker have the box handy for us trying to figure out shipping costs? I'm still waiting on mine but will probably be getting one of these to meet it here :)
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Poker box is 13" x 5" x 3.5" (length x depth x height)
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If we want these powdercoated when we get them, can you do that over the glass beading, or do we need to ask that it not be glass beaded?
I have no idea, you'd have to ask whoever plans to organize the powercoating. Just remember that the surface will be scuffed from the work done during assembly, which was why I was getting it glass beaded in the first place. I'm not sure that powdercoating would hide the scuffing if that's something that bothers you.
How much cleaner is the the final product going to be? Small touch ups from the prototype or a major difference?
For the most part it will be the same. In terms of visual differences the USB cutout will be cleaner and the glass beaded surface won't have the minor scratches that the prototype got from additional adjustments that were made to it.
Will most likely PM in a day or two, any word on the insert being tacked down rather than glued (I know you mentioned the possibility, just wonder what will end up being "final spec"). Also will the insulating layer be attached to the plate or is it up to us to make sure it lines up/remove it on our own if we want to experiment or what?
I'm going to try to push to get it tacked, because I like that a bit more. My point of contact was suggesting gluing but I think I might go against him there. Not that gluing is bad if it comes to it. It sounds unprofessional but this wouldn't be like simple glue that you use in preschool, there are sort of industrial strength bonding glues just for metal.
The insulating layer will be cut to have the holes that it needs for the screws and such to go from the pcb into the metal insert but wont me attached to the metal insert, you'll have to just line it up on your own as you screw the two together, which is a piece of cake.
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Last day taking payments?
Sent from a phone...
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Any color options for the case?
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nope.
but i think mkawa wants to provide a service to powdercoat the cases
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pm'd and paid. I hope mkawa shows up soon to talk about powdercoating. Want me some gunmetal.
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pm'd and paid. I hope mkawa shows up soon to talk about powdercoating. Want me some gunmetal.
He was here, I think he said he would talk to the company monday.
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Last day taking payments?
Sent from a phone...
I usually visit every Friday in person so I'd like to be able to submit the order then, so looking to get payments by Thursday next week.
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Order & payment sent, if anyone else in Australia is getting in on this send me a PM and we may be able to work out something with shipping.
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Payment sent, yay!
jonnybastard how low do you think we can get the Aus shipping down? Its only $44.00~ for the slowest shipping option. Ill send you a PM and wait to see if any other Aussies get in on this.
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ugh I dont even have a poker but I want this case..
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If this was a cmstorm or filco I'd be sorely tempted.
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pm'd for one! Will send payment early next week
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i can't talk to the company until tuesday at the earliest; i most likely won't have final shipping quotes, color options etc. until end of next week at the earliest
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So if it is purchased and a powder coating is used, would the ones that are coated all be sent to mkawa instead of the buyers, and once coated it would then be mailed out to the customers from mkawa?
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So if it is purchased and a powder coating is used, would the ones that are coated all be sent to mkawa instead of the buyers, and once coated it would then be mailed out to the customers from mkawa?
I'm pretty sure all US orders are going to mkawa.
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I usually visit every Friday in person so I'd like to be able to submit the order then, so looking to get payments by Thursday next week.
Do this gb need 50pcs inorder to get them for $65?
Sent from a phone...
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As long as were pretty close to that range it shouldn't be too much of a problem. If we only had 40pcs for example it would probably be fine as well. I'm hoping that we actually get to that amount, especially with the nice price it turned out to be. I've had two separate threads gauging interest and that seemed to be about the number of people who were interested. At some point I'll PM all the people who showed interest to make sure that they know about this thread, not everyone checks regularly.
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is there any update about the shipping to US? because i want it to be colored before it ship it to me.
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put me down for 2 for now. i'll pm with details later in the week.
also, how do you feel about keeping the gb open one more week? i don't want to inconvenience your buddy's shop, but i also want us to get to 50 and have solid quotes for shipping and paint..
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Okay, well I guess most orders will be from the US so couldn't do it without you anyways. Let me know when you're good, it can wait.
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k, thanks man
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Okay, well I guess most orders will be from the US so couldn't do it without you anyways. Let me know when you're good, it can wait.
This closes on March, 30?
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Seems it will be something like that.
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Put me down for two right now. I'll post payment in a week or so.
EDIT: just one KB will repost
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Pm sent, payment away, awaiting ownership of my fallback zombie defense weapon for the office.
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my only concern is the wielding on each of the corners that are visable on the edges. It kinda looks unfinished...
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I'm probably going to get them to glass bead the top edge of the case as well so that it matches the outside of the case since the top edge is visible. That should help hide the discoloration that comes from welding.
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I guess ultimately I'm waiting to hear more from mkawa about specifics needed for powdercoating, but tentatively I'll order one. PM incoming.
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I'm probably going to get them to glass bead the top edge of the case as well so that it matches the outside of the case since the top edge is visible. That should help hide the discoloration that comes from welding.
that would be great.
i was also wondering if it is easy to scratch the glass bead. yours looks really scratched up (which you explained was because it was a prototype). can it be scratched up by my finger nails?
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Paid! I'm almost interested in the powdercoating or whatever ends up happening.
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i was also wondering if it is easy to scratch the glass bead. yours looks really scratched up (which you explained was because it was a prototype). can it be scratched up by my finger nails?
Just tried it with my nails and it doesn't scratch. I also tried it using a scrap piece of metal I had lying around (using an edge of it) and that will do it though of course, but that would be true about scratching any metal vs metal.
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that would be great.
i was also wondering if it is easy to scratch the glass bead. yours looks really scratched up (which you explained was because it was a prototype). can it be scratched up by my finger nails?
Its just aluminum. They shoot glass beads at it to etch the surface like sandblasting. Thats why it looks "scratched".
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payment sent!
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Uploaded a few more videos.
[video=youtube;wyIwWf45Dss]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyIwWf45Dss[/video][video=youtube;2YLtQF0Emf0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YLtQF0Emf0[/video][video=youtube;Me-Zr7lCpwY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Me-Zr7lCpwY[/video][video=youtube;UO4_Eg6_E2s]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UO4_Eg6_E2s[/video]
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do you like the sound better when typing?
when i first typed on my imsto case the sound was totally different. more of a thunk sound to it, especially the space bar. liked it better than when it was in the plastic case.
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do you like the sound better when typing?
when i first typed on my imsto case the sound was totally different. more of a thunk sound to it, especially the space bar. liked it better than when it was in the plastic case.
Hmm, not sure. For sure the feel is better, but I can't even recall what it sounded like before it was in the metal case. My poker was sitting at the metal working shop for the past month or so before I got it back so I had kind of forgotten.
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I'm on the fence on this one talk me into it, the middle looks wobbly as hell and there's no dip switchers, how did the cut out look (on the usb hole) on the final version?
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^^Huh?
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I remember a lot of people complaining about the Poker's PCB flexing a lot, but I was never really bothered by it all that much. In the Pure they added another screw in the middle to help solve that but this should also do nicely. :)
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I thought you were saying the case looks wobbly as hell. I was like "I don't see that."
As far as the PCB flexing, it does, but at least for me, it's pretty minimal unless I'm really mashing keys.
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I figure he meant either that or my camera work in the typing video where I had the camera sort of hanging on the collar of my shirt lol
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does the case sit flat? i also noticed some noises when you were hitting the top left hand corner. i mean, im sure some rubber feet will fix that but just wondering.
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Yea, you need one of those helmet mounted ones. Only to be used to photograph keyboards.
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does the case sit flat? i also noticed some noises when you were hitting the top left hand corner. i mean, im sure some rubber feet will fix that but just wondering.
The metal insert on the prototype isn't attached to the base of the case so it's still free to move around inside it a bit so that's probably what the noise is. I haven't attached it because it's good to have it separable to take any measurements if I still need to. Both the case itself and the metal insert lie flat on a desk though, I'll take a quick video to show that later.
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ah, yeah it could probably be that then. thanks for answering my question :)
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I'm on the fence on this one talk me into it, the middle looks wobbly as hell and there's no dip switchers, how did the cut out look (on the usb hole) on the final version?
The middle piece in the videos is not attached to the case yet, which it will be for the production versions, so even if there is a little unevenness to the metal, which is not completely out of the question due to what the pieces go through, it would be held firmly in place once attached.
For DIP switches, it would be fairly unusual to change them more than once or twice during the period you owned your Poker for. I basically changed them once when I first got it and have never touched them since. If you do need to get to them you just have to unscrew the PCB from the metal insert and change them then screw it back in, which I think is much better than having a huge hole in the bottom of the case to touch something that you basically never need to change.
There is no final one yet, but the cut should be square, or at least relatively so, the bending may make it less than perfect. If you look at the oldest video linked in the first post which was before deciding to make the hole simply extend along the bottom you can see the cut is pretty nice.
Overall though, this is for function rather than form. If you want something that simply looks pretty, hand made things will never match up to something made by a CNC machine. This however is much cheaper and will give similar benefits with a bit less cosmetic nicety. If you're not sure, you can just stick with your money instead. :)
I'll do my best to keep everything honest though so that people can make informed decisions. You're not the only one who has doubts though I'm sure, so if you're not comfortable with it there's no pressure, I'm not going to try to sweet talk people into buying one. I was originally just going to make one for myself but then I figured I'd see if I could supply some geekhackers at the same time. But again, these are hand made, so there will be slight imperfections and differences between each of them, like some might have a little cleaner welds or smoother finishes than others.
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pmed and payment sent
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Edit my order to just one. Sending payment now.
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Here's the full disclosure on the noise that NorrisB and demik heard in the typing video. Long story short, there's like a fraction of a millimeter of wobble on the metal insert but when it's attached it won't be an issue.
[video=youtube;5Y_0GYvy9SQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Y_0GYvy9SQ[/video]
If anybody has any comments or question about anything don't be shy. I'm going to go visit tomorrow morning before class to talk about the tacking and glass beading the top edge.
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Just got back from my visit this morning with some good news:
1. confirmed that the metal insert will be tacked to the base which is a bit nicer than gluing.
2. Told them to glass bead the top edge in addition to the outside of the case.
3. They told me about an anodyzing/powdercoating place nearby, so I'm going to go take a peek and see what can be done there at some point.
4. I spoke with the owner of the company, who kind of double checks everything before it goes to production and he had suggestions to the design that should make it even better, mostly concerning the metal insert.
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Nice, definitely look into finishes; that would be cool if they could ship totally good to go as far as that goes.
Oh, and put me down for a second one; I know I want another poker, and it will feel incomplete without a case if my other has one :)
I get paid on Thursday so can pay then.
Now I just need to find someone that wants to part with theirs in either blues or browns :P
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Any chance of seeing the final product before we have to pay?
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i talked to a local metal place. it's <10$ a piece in lots of 30-40 to do either powdercoating or anodizing (including their thick anodize process). they bead blast when they anodize, and they chemical treat when they powdercoat, so if oneproduct doesn't do finishing and coloring, every unit that goes through me will probably get completely bead blasted.
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Morgo there that group buy for pokers
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i talked to a local metal place. it's <10$ a piece in lots of 30-40 to do either powdercoating or anodizing (including their thick anodize process). they bead blast when they anodize, and they chemical treat when they powdercoat, so if oneproduct doesn't do finishing and coloring, every unit that goes through me will probably get completely bead blasted.
Nice. So we would just send you that $10 or whatever it ends up being when we pay you for the shipping from your place to us?
Yea, Norris, I saw that group buy, but I think I sat on the fence just a little too long; I think they are all taken already.
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Any chance of seeing the final product before we have to pay?
During my visit today with the owner it sounded like he was going to make a second prototype because he wanted to make some changes. If he does I'll take some pictures of that but there won't be any pictures of the final product until it's made and they're only going to make them if we pay for them of course.
Nice. So we would just send you that $10 or whatever it ends up being when we pay you for the shipping from your place to us?
Yea, Norris, I saw that group buy, but I think I sat on the fence just a little too long; I think they are all taken already.
There's some for sale right now in the classifieds.
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There's some for sale right now in the classifieds.
Just bought one with Blues lol. Now I just got to get paid for that second case :)
Definitely put me down for a second one though, I'm good for it.
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i talked to a local metal place. it's <10$ a piece in lots of 30-40 to do either powdercoating or anodizing (including their thick anodize process). they bead blast when they anodize, and they chemical treat when they powdercoat, so if oneproduct doesn't do finishing and coloring, every unit that goes through me will probably get completely bead blasted.
I take it everyone would have to at least choose the same process and possibly the same color in order to get the <$10 rate? Any word on colors?
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Sorry bro, I wanted stainless steel. I live in a major mining town and have plenty of machine shops around. I was looking for something quick and easy.
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Also, does anybody have or know somebody who has a Pure? I think that the only difference is that there's an extra screw in the middle and if I could figure out exactly where it was (specific measurements) I could probably make the case work with either. If somebody does find one, make sure that nothing else is different either.
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I don't think the Pure is being released until early April unfortunately.
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well, supposedly vortex is going to make and ship some pures this week. if i can get one of those i can give you the location of the last screw.
hell, i've asked if i can buy all of them. we'll see what happens with that...
also, i'm going to see if i can combine the coloring service with the swede's gb. my guess is that prices will go up if we get different colors, but if i only offer a couple reasonable colors i think the difference won't be too bad.
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If you manage to get hold of multiple Pure's I'd be keen to purchase one from you :biggrin1:
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Can I call dibs on pures... is there such a thing as dibs?
I will gladly throw my wallet at the screen multiple times.
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do we want to make another thread to vote for finishes/colors to keep this thread from getting too cluttered?
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do we want to make another thread to vote for finishes/colors to keep this thread from getting too cluttered?
I imagine we will once both oneproduct and mkawa get definitive answers on price and color options.
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I may be able to guess where the extra screw is on the Pure. Assuming that it's exactly in the middle of G and H, you can see in these pictures that it has vertical play so I could put a tapped hole right in the middle horizontally and even if I'm off a little bit vertically it would be okay. There's also an extra integrated circuit along the bottom where the spacebar is and I could make an overgenerous cut for it.
Here are some pictures of it (the 4th one is the most relevant):
http://kbtalking.cool3c.com/article/50499
Could somebody take a picture of the bottom side of their Poker? Mine's at the shop again.
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I would, but it's the only board I have at work right now. So I would have to reassemble it before I could even type the post lol.
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i can tonight oneproduct
i shot off a quick email to the plating place on how pricing changes with multiple colors
also let us know how it goes with the plating place nearby you. if they're a comparable price we may just want to go with them
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i can tonight oneproduct
i shot off a quick email to the plating place on how pricing changes with multiple colors
Just throwing out another vote for the previously mentioned gunmetal color. And a blue, similar to imsto's, but maybe lighter. Like a baby blue :)
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yes! gunmetal! (This is not a third vote, just reiterating the first vote.)
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Black or white for color is fine with me.
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Simple black or white is fine with me too, possibly going to spray it myself if this drives the cost up too much.
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Payment finally sent :)
Can't wait for these
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oneproduct: would you prefer to deal with coloring service and US shipping service in this thread to keep things in one place? or do you want me to start another thread for that stuff.
i don't think we should try to guess where the last screw on the pure is. in fact, i don't think we should even assume that the existing screws will maintain their positions at this point. let's get a pure in hand before we start changing the design for it.
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You can talk about it here for now since this is where all the discussion is happening and then once the cases actually get into your hands maybe start a different thread to formalize coloring orders and local shipping.
Judging by the pictures I'm pretty confident that they decided to keep the same general PCB layout for the Pure and that the existing screws as well as other features, such as the DIP switches, have stayed in place. The new IC is probably to either control the LEDs or maybe does something for the new tilde and escape keys. I wouldn't need to change the design except to tap one more hole, which has no real penalty if I'm wrong, and to cut another whole in the metal insert for the new IC, which would remove a bit of weight but shouldn't affect stability really. I'm interested to hear people's thoughts about whether it's worth trying to make it compatible with the Pure.
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my feeling is that this is extra effort and time that is only worth it if it actually pays off. so, if we want to do it, we do it right; we wait until someone gets us accurate measurements and then make the changes. i'm all for doing it right, but i don't think it's worth half-assing it.
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I want it compactible for pure.. I don't really like the pure alu case but I like the backlid, this case is just awesome.
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it would certainly be nice. but i also don't want to make your buddy's company wait a month for this job to be finished...
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If it ends up compatible with the Pure I'll add a 2nd case to my order but not that phased if it doesn't happen for whatever reason.
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hmm, no response from vortex yet. hopefully qtan's talking with them on getting the first run of pures to the US...
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Would be happy to just have their blueprints, but I don't think that's something they'd want to hand out, especially if they knew what we were using it for. :D
I like the look of their case, but I use/would use the Poker/Pure as a travel keyboard and would worry about the stress on the side of the keys as I put the keyboard in my bag, so I like the walls of this one better for that.
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ok, so the current situation is: we have about 20 units on order, and it's still pretty hard to get hold of a poker, so it's not clear how many more we'll get in the next week. if we wait until pures get to the US and we amend the design we could get 10-20 more cases ordered, but we'll have to wait at least a couple weeks..
another option is we just get these 20 cases made as a trial run and then test the waters with a new design when there are enough pures in people's hands to generate interest again.
keep in mind the pcb will be able to handle backlighting, will have a better function layer etc; it's basically a poker 2.0
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I don't think I have enough flexibility with this to go with an order of 20. I'm hoping that we get to at least 30 orders and then I'd order up to 35 myself if I need to, which was the minimum range I had asked for a quote for (not that it's necessarily solid so I'll see). I already asked if it would be okay if we were a little short of what I was expecting, but the 23 we're sitting at is quite a bit lower than what the /two/ separate interest checks sort of showed, and that's not counting the people who wanted stainless steel. I had 38 people who said they were interested in aluminum and something like 16 for stainless steel and figured some might convert but I guess people have changed their mind. :(
I can understand though, some people are kind of scared off by the less than perfect nature of this, but I think it's pretty good for $80.
Delaying production would probably be okay, but doing a run of 20 and doing a second run probably isn't going to happen, or if we did a second run it would probably be more expensive since this run is kind of a favor for me. Even if we had 50 orders for this, at $80 a piece it's only $4000 total which is kind of like chump change to them, so what we're doing isn't really all that profitable for them for the amount of time and resources it takes to handle it.
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hmm, ok. let's keep it open, refine the design and nail down production + finishing while we wait for the pure then (it should hopefully be a couple weeks max -- qtan thinks he'll have some in two weeks, and vortex keeps making noise about producing some shippable but unclaimed product this week.
imo i think the finishing will pull the nail-biters in.
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Yea, I can wait a bit longer too, I guess. Kind of a bummer for those of us that don't have any intention of getting a pure right now, but I'll wait for the benefit of everyone, and hope more people jump on board here.
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Lets see how the numbers turn out next week. We're only missing like 7 more and we could go with this. I'm not sure how many more we'd even get after the Pure came out because I have a feeling that most people would just buy the official aluminum case for it. I'm off to bed for now.
I still like the idea of guessing on the two changes that the Pure brings. The new screw is in between G and H so that tells me where it is horizontally and the hole for it on the PCB has a lot of vertical play. I can see where the IC is on the pictures, can see about how big it is relative to the IC on the poker, and by cutting a bit bigger than needed I think it would be easy to account for it.
But again, we have a week to think things over so I won't do anything hasty for now.
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The production line of pure is Long~~. Is it possible to make this case to be universal by change only the bottom plate?
[video=youtube;qjjYCRJ-e20]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=qjjYCRJ-e20[/video]
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yah actually that's a good point, especially since i'd rather that plate be polymer anyway...
let's think about this as the week goes on...
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most of them actually Wait & See.
I'm sure the final product(oneproduct (http://geekhack.org/member.php?9586-oneproduct) ) will be close to imsto one(or even better):clap2:
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The only reason I'm on the fence about actually ordering one is because of the extra costs that are getting tacked on that bring the cost up REAL quick. The price went from $64 to $80 in the blink of an eye and then we still have to factor in shipping costs as well as possibly the anodizing/powdercoating. All said and done it seems like one case is going to cost >$100 which is a significant increase from that starting price of $64.
I also have to consider that I have more than one Poker and what is going to happen if I only order one case; will I just never use the other one as a result of not having one of these for it.
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The only reason I'm on the fence about actually ordering one is because of the extra costs that are getting tacked on that bring the cost up REAL quick. The price went from $64 to $80 in the blink of an eye and then we still have to factor in shipping costs as well as possibly the anodizing/powdercoating. All said and done it seems like one case is going to cost >$100 which is a significant increase from that starting price of $64.
I also have to consider that I have more than one Poker and what is going to happen if I only order one case; will I just never use the other one as a result of not having one of these for it.
You'll just have to buy 2 like I am lol.
But you have to remember that that $64 is what the guy told oneproduct was the cost to produce one. You don't run a business selling something at cost. But in the end, you are correct. It is the $80 for the case, then shipping from Canada, then the cost of finish, then the cost of shipping from mkawa. So yeah, definitely going to be over $100 each after its all said and done I think.
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remember that the CNC'd version of this cost twice as much.
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remember that the CNC'd version of this cost twice as much.
I thought that ended up at ~$130?
Edit: looks like it was 139+35 shipping.
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The extra 16 came from parts + supplies. He explains it all, so I don't know where you got that it came in a blink of an eye.
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The extra 16 came from parts + supplies. He explains it all, so I don't know where you got that it came in a blink of an eye.
Seriously? At no point did I suggest it was unaccounted for in the OP's explanation but thanks for not understanding the point of my figurative language and being so cynical. I was offering my explanation of why I'm on the fence about the conversion from Interest Check to order as a way to better understand why the total order count might be as low as it is.
Damn, no need to be so sensitive...
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Seriously? At no point did I suggest it was unaccounted for in the OP's explanation but thanks for not understanding the point of my figurative language and being so cynical. I was offering my explanation of why I'm on the fence about the conversion from Interest Check to order as a way to better understand why the total order count might be as low as it is.
Damn, no need to be so sensitive...
I hear ya. I remember that there were at least a few people that said they were in if it was under $100, and it does look like after everything it will be more than that, so that might be why some of the people bailed out.
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We must have two definitions for the word sensitive if you thought that was "sensitive". Your reply, on the other hand, seemed like I touched a nerve.
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if you're on the fence you're on the fence, but i think the price is pretty shockingly reasonable. go ahead and model up a case equivalent to imsto's and send it to a machine shop to have a few milled. they'll give you a price much much higher than this.
although this does remind me that my idea with the simple U-bend might be a few bucks cheaper -- cheap enough to recover our order bulk? who knows? it seems a lot of the people who were adamant that they wanted something that was exactly like imsto's now no longer want one for a price much less than imsto's...
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I think that me mentioning the $64 figure at all may have been a bad move on my part, I should have just mentioned the $64+tax which is $73.50, which is the real base cost. Then I was just bumping that to $80 for the rest of the things I need + about $2 so that when I collect from about 40 people I'd have $80 to buy a case for myself. I was trying to be transparent about everything but as you mentioned, then it looks like there's a bunch of costs being tacked on. Shipping from Canada to US should not add much to the cost of local shipping, because as detailed in the first post, maybe it will cost me $100 to send 30 cases to the US (assuming we get those kinds of numbers) so you only end up paying $3.33 extra for the non-local shipping part.
The shipping costs for imsto's case was $35, which is more than what shipping will cost for these (for US and Canadians at least), so if anything I could use that as an argument in my favor. But ignoring that, we're looking at $80 vs $140, then mkawa said that anodizing costs $10-20 so taking the midpoint it's about $95 vs $140. You also have to consider that imsto only had something like 14 cases to sell, so even if it was a good deal for the cost, it simply wasn't available. And though the cases I make will definitely not look as nice as imsto's, the PCB will be better mounted as there is a whole metal plate dedicated to the PCB instead of just having the PCB sit on 5 nuts that were welded onto the base of the case. This dedicated plate also makes the whole thing heavier (which everyone except mkawa likes ;)
So anyways, it's cheaper by a fair amount, available in whatever quantities we need, and not strictly worse in terms of function, only form. I'm not saying any of this out of anger though, so no worries. Geekhackers are picky people as several other forum members often point out (SP's QC, Filco arrows being slightly off, etc) so I can understand people not wanting a metal case that's less than perfect.
Let's not fight about it though, people who aren't interested have their reasons which are perfectly legitimate. Don't make me post more pictures of friendly ponies!
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pm'ed and in for 1 case
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And though the cases I make will definitely not look as nice as imsto's, the PCB will be better mounted as there is a whole metal plate dedicated to the PCB instead of just having the PCB sit on 5 nuts that were welded onto the base of the case.
On that topic actually, if mkawa or anybody else knows a good source to get some nicer insulating material it would be welcome. The PVC I have now works fine and is cheap, but it has a checkered pattern rather than being a solid sheet, so there's some risk when installing the insulation that it doesn't perfectly insulate. If you mess up though and there is a short circuit it doesn't cause any damage and once you do install the insulation and it works it will always work. This is what happened to me. The first time I put it in between I didn't break contact completely so the keyboard's LEDs would turn on when you plugged it in but you couldn't type. I quickly just fiddled with it and repositioned the insulation and then it's been fine ever since.
So not a huge issue, but this checkered stuff that both imsto and I used would be better as a solid sheet. But since I'd be looking for something nicer I might as well go all out if anybody can find me a good place to order something else. The material has to have some flexibility to it though because all those solder points from where the switches are attached need to be able to sink into the material, so a tough sheet or rubber wouldn't work for example.
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So it's time for a command decision. Are you making poker cases or are you making poker/pure cases? Powerdercoat or bare?
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I still have to go check the place that's near me for coloring. Since you are in the US though if I don't get them colored then mkawa said he has a place. I'd like to make them poker/pure cases since I think it would be an easy adjustment, but I can't make a decision without consulting you people first, especially since many people have already paid, but I doubt that anyone would really complain that their case would be compatible with a pure in addition to a poker.
Also, since I don't have a pure on hand, it would be guesswork, but I don't think it's really that hard to guess based on the pictures we have available of the pure: one extra screw between G and H which should be no problem and then a new IC along the bottom which I'm almost certain I could accommodate for by cutting a hole that's more generous than it would strictly need to be. The other option would be waiting until somebody got a pure but that would add a few extra weeks to this which I think most people would prefer not to have. Not too many people have spoken up about this, I sort of wish they would. Mkawa has been very vocal about things which is great, but for this particular consideration his vocal comment is against doing it or at least not until the pure comes out. I'd really love to have other people's opinions. I'd like to make it compatible for both personally but even if I do, I wouldn't be able to guarantee that the Pure will actually work with it until someone bought one later and tried to use this case with it.
Edit: I guess what's important is if I said that I'm going to try to make it compatible with the pure, how many people would actually NOT order because of that?
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I agree the guesswork on the Pure would not be that hard to do. I wouldn't mind a little guesswork for a chance to work with the Pure..but I haven't paid for compatibility with the Pure. I paid for this to be compatible with the Poker as the tittle of the thread says. If people want to by a custom case for the Pure, then a separate run should be entertained specifically for that. This is about the Poker.
As far as powdercoating goes:
I would prefer the option of shipped coated or bare.
"Edit: I guess what's important is if I said that I'm going to try to make it compatible with the pure, how many people would actually NOT order because of that?"
It's not that I woundn't order it because of that. It's due to the unknown shipping date of the Pure. How long is it going to take before you can get your hands on a Pure and make the adjustments? I don't want to drag out a Poker Case so it will be compatible with the pure.
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I'd love for it to be pure compatible, but if not, I'll just make sure you get a pure that comes with an aluminum case when I get one. I've got a poker on the way anyway.
edit: i don't want the goal of pure compatibility to delay it either. So my vote is guess at the hole. if you are wrong, it will not affect the finished product in any meaningful way.
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where's the photo you've seen of the pure board?
also oneproduct if you can give me a dxf of the mounting plate i can talk to a plastics place.
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Yea, having it be compatible with the pure certainly wouldn't make me not buy it. I just don't like the sound of a few week delay. I'm an American of the 21st century, I hate waiting for things and want immediate gratification lol.
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Yea, having it be compatible with the pure certainly wouldn't make me not buy it. I just don't like the sound of a few week delay. I'm an American of the 21st century, I hate waiting for things and want immediate gratification lol.
I'm an American Amazon Prime subscriber, and frankly anything taking longer than two days to reach my doorstep is unacceptable.
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where's the photo you've seen of the pure board?
also oneproduct if you can give me a dxf of the mounting plate i can talk to a plastics place.
may be http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?hl=en&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dkbtalking%2Brace%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1920%26bih%3D965%26prmd%3Dimvns&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=zh-TW&u=http://kbtalking.cool3c.com/article/56001&usg=ALkJrhjjMccna_VZK6luYUu3_sKISTo36Q
http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?hl=en&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dkbtalking%2Brace%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1920%26bih%3D965%26prmd%3Dimvns&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=zh-TW&u=http://kbtalking.cool3c.com/article/55343&usg=ALkJrhihq6f6LYtDVCAHdVqmSO9Bc-bwfQ
[ATTACH=CONFIG]45173[/ATTACH]
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Here's where I linked the pictures of the Pure: http://geekhack.org/showthread.php?28730-Taking-payments-Aluminum-poker-case&p=551498&viewfull=1#post551498
dxf stands for what precisely? I'll try to get you the measurements in any case.
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Okay, well I won't delay this case for the Pure then, but I think I'll go ahead and try to tap an extra screw hole in the middle and cut out another chunk for where the new IC is in the picture.
Also, if anybody is really that worried about anything, feel free to about it either here or with me in PMs and if worse comes to worse I can always refund your money on paypal.
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actually i think you're right, we should be able to make it compatible based on these pictures (although keep in mind this may not be the final board design, i suspect it's close enough). i'll pull my poker apart tonight and take some measurements and pictures
any kind of measurement accurate image file of the plate design (once we get these changes made) will be fine. just something i can send over to a plastics place to get a quote.
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I think I'll go ahead and try to tap an extra screw hole in the middle and cut out another chunk for where the new IC is in the picture.
Just go easy when you talk about taking out chunks lol. Easy to take away, hard to put back; if you know what I mean...
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oh, if i could get files for the outer big too that would help the plating place (although the more i think about it the more i think you should just get plating/finishing done locally)
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oh, if i could get files for the outer big too that would help the plating place (although the more i think about it the more i think you should just get plating/finishing done locally)
Yea, that was my thought. I mean if the insert is being tacked in. That would be something you would then have to get undone, the get the finish put on, then redo before you shipped out to us.
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well, they can powdercoat over the tacking, but it won't look as clean. anyway it simplifies everything if oneproduct has it done, and significantly simplifies logistics
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I'll see what I can do, but can't promise anything. Keep in mind that if I can do coloring over here, I'm going to try to keep things easiest for the metalworking place. Things are being done by hand in a sort of assembly line fashion with all the work being done at once. If I have to get the two separate pieces made and then colored and then bring them back at a later time to have them tacked together, that would probably change what it costs.
So if some coloring is done, it would be with the two pieces stuck together, unless you specifically told me you don't want the two pieces attached and will worry about attaching them on your own (a few people have asked for this in their PMs). I don't know if having the two pieces together would cause a problem for the coloring place, but just to bring up possibilities, in the worse case scenario perhaps they wouldn't be able to color the inside part of the case, which, if hypothetically was the case, I think would still be fine since it's not visible anyways with the keyboard inside. Anyways, I'll try to get more information about the coloring... hmm... maybe this Friday.
mkawa, if you are going to be looking at the underside of your poker, could you give me measurements in millimeters from the center of the top left screw hole (with the bottom side of the PCB facing up; this would be the screw hole that has no horizontal play to it) to the midpoint of G and H? I'll be doing so as well but it would be nice to have a second set of measurements for confirmation. I would need both a horizontal and vertical distance of course. If you're feeling ambitious maybe you could even offer a guess for the chunk that would need to be cut out for the Pure's second IC near the spacebar, with measurements again given relative that same screw hole. I like using that screw hole for relative measurements because of how absolute it is.
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maybe we should revisit not having them tacked then...
if that the full set of measurements that you want? i'll take it apart tonight (using it right now lol)
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I think tacking is still the better way to go, but if anybody would prefer to not have theirs tacked at all and then worry about attaching the two pieces together on their own later (by gluing; or I could do this for them afterwards if needed) then it's no problem for me to have some tacked and some not. But anyways, this was just a hypothesis, for all I know there's not going to be any problem having them colored while attached. I'll let you know for sure when I go and take a peek.
And yup, those are the only two new measurements I would need. Would just like to have someone else to compare to when I take my own to see if I'm about right.
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what do you think are the advantages of having them tacked? it's not like these plates are going to see enough shear force to rip glue, and the tacking is usually visible even under paint since it leaves a little lump of solder...
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The tack should be under the board and hardly noticeable. Are they mig tacking aluminium?
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actually you make a good point. i assumed the tacking would be on the side of the plate somewhere. maybe it won't be? probably important information.
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Yea, there's no way that you'd really rip the metal insert from glue, which is why that is a fine alternative. It's a bit harder to ensure that gluing is done properly compared to tacking, but other than that and a more "professional" air to it, there's nothing really I suppose. But in any case, the tacking would only be on the inside of the case, so it's not something that you would see with a keyboard sitting in it. If people are worried about what the paint job looks like on the inside of their case which can't even be seen, well... I think that's just a bit too much.
actually you make a good point. i assumed the tacking would be on the side of the plate somewhere. maybe it won't be? probably important information.
What they do is that they cut little lines out of the metal insert and then tack from there to the bottom of the case, so there's nothing along the edges, it would all be hidden underneath the keyboard.
Are they mig tacking aluminium?
I'm not really aware of the different ways of tacking, this isn't really my specialty. I'd have to ask.
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I'm not trying to insult anybody's intelligence but I'll try to explain what I'm saying. Tacking (with MiG) is like putting a setting nail or temporary hold on two pieces of metal. It's typically done so that you can then lay a seem to connect two pieces of metal with another piece of metal. MiG is not the easiest on aluminium.
Here: So everybody knows what a tack is
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50XejJZ9Dw4
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Order sent via PM and Payment sent as well. End of line.
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yay meta
you're not insulting anyone's intelligence dipping. none of us are very familiar with machineshops here (except for a few people who aren't participating)
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Although TIG is the go to for aluminum I have seen good MIG welds of aluminum. I have not tried aluminum on my MIG-Welder yet it is my understanding as long as you are using the proper shielding gas and enough flow of gas to prevent contamination of the weld you are golden. It obviously doesnt look as good as weld done by an experienced TIG welder.
Plus a few well placed tack welds are probably all you need considering what we are welding. A proper tack weld DOES have proper penetration of both metals.
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^ Word. I've tried MiG with aluminium with little success (for S's and G's). A tack should be fine though. Back to cases, I would like to have us all on one page.
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Bumping this for the weekend. Seems like lots of people just bought pokers from both a group buy here and the classifieds so maybe they'd be interested. Probably just going to keep this open until Friday before I submit the order.
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I might consider buying this if there's ever a second GB as I like to know exactly what I'm paying for before I buy it
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This will be the only one from me sadly, especially since after this I really don't think there would be enough people with Pokers left to generate sufficient order sizes. I understand everyone's concerns though, and trust me, I'm the most concerned. I want to try to make sure everybody is happy and would feel really bad if I somehow messed up and became hated on geekhack. :(
Hope this attempt to offer a service to the community doesn't bite me in the ass!
Edit: I believe there will be a second prototype for me to look at since they changed the design a bit. If I can get some pictures/video of it before the order date I'll put it up to help people decide if they want to jump in, but if not I'll probably order a few extra (probably no more than 3).
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I don't see how anyone could hate you over this? Its a generous thing you're doing, but just not everyone's cuppa.
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Well, I'm just worried that people won't be happy with the end product and will feel cheated of their money. I swear I'm going to die of stress each time I read through all the little comments for changes or additions that people want. :s
I'm just trying to offer a simple metal case lol.
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Well, I'm just worried that people won't be happy with the end product and will feel cheated of their money. I swear I'm going to die of stress each time I read through all the little comments for changes or additions that people want. :s
I'm just trying to offer a simple metal case lol.
Haha calm down. People should know by now its not perfect, and by paying they are taking the gamble. If they don't like it they can sell it to someone else who appreciates it more.
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got 2 pokers in marc's gb. looks like i'll need 3 cases.
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Any updates on powder coating availability?
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Yeah, Im curious as well
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no updates on my end. given the estimates i have so far and the number of units destined for the US, i think we're looking at minimum 12$ per unit for powdercoating, assuming everyone opts in and we can decide on a single color. i suspect we'll get better prices if a) oneproduct can find a shop locally and b) the international orders also opt for coating.
also i've handed off measurements to oneproduct for the pure compatibility point based on the pictures a couple pages back. i'm a little hesitant to get this hole drilled and tapped before we test i, as if it's badly located it makes adding the mounting hole later much more difficult.
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I was more worried that cutting out the extra hole for the second IC would remove some stability from the spacebar since the cutout would be right under it. It would still be far more stable than the plastic case of course because that one has nothing there at all and this one has a good deal of metal... well everywhere. Might just forget about it since it would make my life easier anyways.
I'll be going to check the local place for coloring sometime this week.
Also, if anybody is awesome at parallel programming using MPI and wants to help me cheat on my homework so I can spend more time on this, let me know. ;D
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you could cut out like 60% of that plate and it would be plenty rigid i think...
i don't know MPI, but i think a week is a reasonable amount of time to put things on hold while you finish up your projects lol
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I'm so fed up of programming now lol. I'm sort of in the wrong field I think. I use to be in natural science but I sort of got bored and moved to computer science after CEGEP (where I live this is between high school and university). I love doing the theoretical things and writing "formal" pseudo code but I don't like dealing with the language/environment specific nuisances that come when having to implement code. Ah well, I've got like three weeks left in this semester and only one programming assignment left then I'm basically done. Have two electives to take to get my last few credits in the summer.
A few people said they want to go with this ASAP though so I'm going to stick to the plan as much as possible and put in the order this Friday assuming they're ready for me. They have a habit of "no reply = no problem." They've never responded to any of my emails but when I go visit them in person on a weekly basis it's obvious that they read them, make any changes I ask for and prepare for my visit but for some reason can't send back a quick confirmation lol.
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lol, ok.
good luck with your homework.
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I'm so fed up of programming now lol. I'm sort of in the wrong field I think. I use to be in natural science but I sort of got bored and moved to computer science after CEGEP (where I live this is between high school and university). I love doing the theoretical things and writing "formal" pseudo code but I don't like dealing with the language/environment specific nuisances that come when having to implement code. Ah well, I've got like three weeks left in this semester and only one programming assignment left then I'm basically done. Have two electives to take to get my last few credits in the summer.
A few people said they want to go with this ASAP though so I'm going to stick to the plan as much as possible and put in the order this Friday assuming they're ready for me. They have a habit of "no reply = no problem." They've never responded to any of my emails but when I go visit them in person on a weekly basis it's obvious that they read them, make any changes I ask for and prepare for my visit but for some reason can't send back a quick confirmation lol.
It's not super hard to get a CS degree and then never write code again. You are like the exact opposite of me though, so much of the theory stuff bored me to tears, but the feeling of writing code and having the outcome do exactly what you want is incredibly satisfying to me.
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I'm so fed up of programming now lol. I'm sort of in the wrong field I think. I use to be in natural science but I sort of got bored and moved to computer science after CEGEP (where I live this is between high school and university). I love doing the theoretical things and writing "formal" pseudo code but I don't like dealing with the language/environment specific nuisances that come when having to implement code. Ah well, I've got like three weeks left in this semester and only one programming assignment left then I'm basically done. Have two electives to take to get my last few credits in the summer.
You could join the military. Do it for a couple years, and then realize how cool it was being a civilian. Then you should fit right back into programming. Problem solved. I'm here for you man.
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Alright, one last bump I think. Orders will be closing tomorrow as I'm going to place the order on Friday. For those who were on the fence and waiting to see more photos there won't be any more before then. For those who have ordered but not paid yet, if you've changed your mind please let me know as once these are made I can't return them or anything and I don't want to be stuck with them!
In particular mkawa I saw that the additional pokers you ordered sort of fell through so I think you're down to 1? (will send a PM later in case he doesn't see this)
I'll be looking into the coloring on Friday as well if I have the time, if not I'll have to do it the week after when I'm a bit less busy.
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yah i'm down to 2; one with corners welded, one without, and neither mounting plate tacked.
re: pure compatibility: i think we should at least try a least cutting out the space for the new IC. i'm going to toss a PURE in one, and it would save me the time of drilling that out myself lol
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Yeah I actually think I'm going to duck out of this one. My apologies, oneproduct.
I'm just too on the fence without knowing how it all will turn out to confirm an order.
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le sigh. guess i'm down to one. for simplicity's sake, let's not tack this one, but do weld the corners. that should make it easier on the shop.
with so few US orders, i think the only way powdercoating is going to happen is if oneproduct makes it happen (and please do!!)
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Mmm speaking of colours what's everyone's preference? I know we don't know whats being offered yet but we could get some numbers down.
I'd be in for a black / wrinkle paint.
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le sigh. guess i'm down to one. for simplicity's sake, let's not tack this one, but do weld the corners. that should make it easier on the shop.
with so few US orders, i think the only way powdercoating is going to happen is if oneproduct makes it happen (and please do!!)
worse case scenario, I'm getting mine colored when it comes.
Mmm speaking of colours what's everyone's preference? I know we don't know whats being offered yet but we could get some numbers down.
I'd be in for a black / wrinkle paint.
I'm going to say gunmetal one last time. I'm also not going to mention that it's been me saying it 3/4 of the times it's been said so oneproduct thinks everyone wants it.
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gunmetal/black wrinkle/dark is fine with me. so would a nice matte or wrinkle blue. tbh i don't really care that much about color. i'm sure we'll be able to find something everyone is good with
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Yea, gunmetal is good. I would just like one of mine unfinished I think then; I'll just straight up spray paint it i think haha. I really want like a really light blue/ baby blue
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Am interested in one, and I think I worked out shipping to the UK to be around 20 dollars, although not 100% sure on the sizes etc from the description.
When would they be getting posted etc?
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If I give in the order on Friday and they start working on it on Monday it probably wouldn't take them long to do it at all, probably a day or two, so if they do indeed start on it right away I could send them out late next week or early the week after. I have to also go and get screws and insulation now so hopefully those will be on hand at around the same time. I couldn't get them earlier because I wasn't sure how much I would need.
Also be aware that I can't guarantee coloring will happen, I haven't even gone to ask about it yet.
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I'm going to throw a vote out there for PURPLE anodizing or powder coating as a LOOOOOOONGSHOT.
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I'm going to throw a vote out there for PURPLE anodizing or powder coating as a LOOOOOOONGSHOT.
Oh, I like that idea a ton actually.
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I want it anodized GREEN!
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I could get behind purple as a second choice, but still GUNMETALLLL.
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Lol hold up on the colors until I figure out if I can do it at all and then, if I can, wait until I figure out what colors are available.
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Lol hold up on the colors until I figure out if I can do it at all and then, if I can, wait until I figure out what colors are available.
Gotta start lobbying now if I want to get enough support! ;)
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we can definitely get them painted. it's just a question of cost. also i'm not too crazy about purple. seriously?
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we can definitely get them painted. it's just a question of cost. also i'm not too crazy about purple. seriously?
Yeah seriously!!!
Historically speaking, isn't purple the color of royalty?
I'd much prefer purple over blue or red. What color would you choose?
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lol, i vastly prefer blue to purple. let us compromise: PINK!
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haha I good with pink or blue or purple; any happy colors really
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Heh no pink for me. Purple is way more awesome than blue.
Gunmetal is pretty close to the unfinished color of these isn't it?
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Would rather a dark colour like gunmetal, otherwise a bright/light blue or red, not that keen on purple sorry :laugh:
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Gunmetal is pretty close to the unfinished color of these isn't it?
Nar man gunmetal is considerably darker, like this (http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/5103/p1010003ox2.jpg)
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I would be down for the gunmetal color as well.
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gunmetal is a dark grey. the paint will also give us the ability to control reflectivity: matte, crinkle, slightly metallic, etc.
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I would rather just have it bare. It's really not that expensive to get one powder coated if you shop around your area. Or just powder coat a bunch of stuff at one time. Or get some bake-on powder coat that you can cure in your oven (use a friend's oven).
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I would rather just have it bare. It's really not that expensive to get one powder coated if you shop around your area. Or just powder coat a bunch of stuff at one time. Or get some bake-on powder coat that you can cure in your oven (use a friend's oven).
I didn't really think about it, but a small powdercoating kit would be really cheap, and if you get low temp powder you can totally bake them at home...
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how well does just multi coats of spray paint and clear coat adhere to aluminum?
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every shop i queried had a high enough minimum order that it was pretty far from "cheap" to get a single unit coated.
i also don't buy this oven curing. it sounds like unless you have a compressor and some kind of spray gun for it already diy would be just as expensive as the minimum charges at these shops.
if you look at the case modding community, everything except for straight krylon is actually really pricey (they're auto paints basically, and require adequate prepping, then primer then expensive auto paints then a clear coat)
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how well does just multi coats of spray paint and clear coat adhere to aluminum?
There's more to the process than that, but spray-on clear coat sort of sucks.
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Going to Chrome dip mine, if I can. :D
Sent from a phone...
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Paid.!!!
Sent from a phone...
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There's more to the process than that, but spray-on clear coat sort of sucks.
hmm...I figured as much. Every car I ever had, I just get like 10-15 cans of flat black spray paint at walmart and good to town, tho that is steel; and I want my cars to look like ****, but not my keyboard haha
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payment sent!
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I visited both the metal working place and the coloring place today and I have some fantastic news:
1. The case should be compatible with the Pure now as well. I made another cut out for the second integrated circuit on the underside of the Pure's PCB and I got another hole tapped between G and H. The cut out should work perfectly since I made it a little larger than strictly necessary and if the hole for the screw is somehow wrong the Pure would still fit inside just without using the middle screw (or you could attempt to tap a hole on your own afterwards).
2. The coloring place can brush aluminum, so we'll be going with brushed aluminum instead of glass beading for the outside finish which should look a lot nicer. They told me that brushing costs "about $4" for the case. I'll have to see how this affects our costs. While it's true that we won't have to pay for glass beading anymore, our final order count was a fair amount under what I had originally asked a quote for so I asked him to give me another quote. However since these are done by hand the cost is pretty linear since you are mostly paying for labor, it's just the setup costs that will be spread over fewer orders. For the most part I think I can absorb this cost myself.
3. For coloring, they can anodize the case for "about $4." This would be just the outer case and not the metal insert. If you wanted the metal insert colored it would be another $3. They only have red, blue and gold and the minimum charge per color is around $90. So we either have to all pick the same color or we could pick two colors but then we'd have to pay double the amount. Because of how anodizing is done we can't tack it anymore and it will have to be glued later. Again I just want to say that while gluing sounds less elegant, functionally speaking it will be more than strong enough to keep the two pieces together, and this had been the original plan anyways. I'll put up a thread for anodizing and PM all the people who ordered cases to get their input.
Production should start on Monday or the day after and should take a couple of days. Anodizing and brushing would take about 5-6 days (they have to "heat up the tanks" which alone takes 3 days).
If any of these changes make you unhappy, feel free to talk about it here or in a PM to me and you can always request a refund if you want to bail out.
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I'm psyched about all of that except it would be nice if they had more color options. Could you get pictures of what they mean by "red," "blue," and "gold?" Or tell us the name of the coloring place, I'm sure they have samples on their website. Also, do you think it would look like a finished product if it was brushed but not anodized? because that might actually be my vote. That or blue anodized, depending on the shade.
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A+ oneproduct! thanks!
i want both my insert and frame anodized. brushed aluminum = apple products, btw.
TEAM BLUE
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and i just sent payment
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yeah, team blue. and I'd also like my insert anodized too, do I need to send you more money for that?
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I'm psyched about all of that except it would be nice if they had more color options. Could you get pictures of what they mean by "red," "blue," and "gold?" Or tell us the name of the coloring place, I'm sure they have samples on their website. Also, do you think it would look like a finished product if it was brushed but not anodized? because that might actually be my vote. That or blue anodized, depending on the shade.
I just put up the new thread here: http://geekhack.org/showthread.php?29356-ANODIZING-for-aluminum-poker-cases
You can see samples of the colors, though ours will turn out a bit darker. If you don't get it anodized it will look very nice too, exactly as these look but in the natural aluminum color. I plan to leave mine un-anodized, but I might end up buying a second one in color.
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Actually, if people could put their interests in anodizing in this spreadsheet it would be easier for me: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ai3njS0ds_RVdFpxaXJodlZEU1pYTVl4VkJuOTdDelE
If you have any special instructions, such as not gluing the two pieces together, please put them in there as well.
You can still place new orders until Monday!
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Hey oneproduct, put me down for 1 more case.
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Since I know how many cases we have now I can start ordering the extra little parts. Any body care to chime in on brass vs stainless steel? The screw I need is #2-56 and of 5/16" length if you care to suggest others. Trying to keep to Phillips (cross) or flat/slot to keep things easy for people. The head of the screw has to be flat on the bottom side.
http://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Machine-Fillister-Slotted-Length/dp/B000FN1VAK/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1333165998&sr=8-8
http://www.amazon.com/Brass-Machine-Screw-Phillips-Length/dp/B000FN193Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1333165998&sr=8-1
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brass, phillips head: looks cool, should be softer than the aluminum
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Stainless I guess seeing as they're cheaper? Preferably phillips head.
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should be softer than the aluminum
Ah yes, that's a good point, going with that.
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Now I have to get some boxes, bubble wrap, glue and insulation. I'll do some looking on my own starting Tuesday next week (will be busy with homework this weekend) but any hints/suggestions will be welcome! :) I'm pretty sure the boxes and bubble wrap that Canada Post offers are very expensive compared to what it should cost.
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I might get some hate, but I vote for walmart when it comes to boxes, bubble wrap, and tape. They actually might even have rolls of that insulation in the kitchen section I bet.
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If not walmart check if you have a shipping store or some company that does that along with office supply (staples, grand and toy) near you. I've found them to be much better for bulk stuff than just the post office.
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Hey, this is food for thought, but could you just do a bottom plate for the Poker? No sides welded on, except for maybe a "guard" to protect the USB connector. Maybe a "lip" to protect the edges of the PCB if you have the capability to do press forming.
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At this point that's not going to happen, but Vortex's case is pretty minimal like that with exposed switches so you could get one of those when they came out.
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sent payment for second case
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this is the last day to order these folks. they're really going to be special, and there will not be a second run.
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so tempted, may have to order one....
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dooo ittt
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guys, they are going to be kick ass. you are going to feel like bau5es in two months, laughing at the chumps in the classifieds posting WTBs like little *****es.
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laughing at the chumps in the classifieds posting WTBs like little *****es.
LOL
Sent from a phone...
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I know I ducked out earlier but now that this looks complete and there's still time to order, I'm in for one.
Blue (both case and insert), Polished (both case & insert if possible). Sending required PMs & money and such.
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Welcome aboard, soldier.
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guys, they are going to be kick ass. you are going to feel like bau5es in two months, laughing at the chumps in the classifieds posting WTBs like little *****es.
Best sales pitch ever
Sent from my mobile
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Stop being little girls pulling daisies and buy one...I DONT EVEN OWN A POKER and I'm on board.
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wow, there's a real dearth of pokers around here. hmm.. maybe i should take vortex up on their offer after all..
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I bought this, and the bought a poker because of it. So there's that.
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last minute PM + PayPal sent
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will pay before 13.00 GMT+7:hail:
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fine i'm in! the polished blue just looks too awesome to pass (though emptythecache's sales pitch may have been the tipping point ;). sending pm and paypal payment now & adding myself to the spreadsheet for blue anodized (insert & case), and polished (insert & case)!
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So for everyone asking for theirs not to be glued, what are y'all planning on doing with the case and insert? Glue yourselves? Leave the insert & keyboard in loose in the case?
Just kinda wondering. Deciding if I want to stay unglued or not.
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I probably will glue it myself as soon as I get it, I just figured I'd give myself the option.
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i may have some fastener options for US orders. you can always glue the two bits together yourself using some JB weld or epoxy too.
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Fasteners would be pretty kewl, yah.
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i may have some fastener options for US orders. you can always glue the two bits together yourself using some JB weld or epoxy too.
that being said, i'm switching to no glue! thanks mkawa!
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So you're going to drill some holes on the plate and case to make a fastener on it?
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I prefer to have a chance to sniff my own glue.
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i'm not sure what i'll be doing for my own cases atm.
i have access to a drill press and standard set of drills and taps, and could probably drill and tap some units in a pinch. i also have access to several machine shops that i will query once i have the units in hand. if someone can come up with a non-destructive way to attach everything, i'm open to that too. (3m command strips?)
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Shall I leave the attachment to you for US orders then? If worse comes to worse you could always glue it on your end for those people who want it attached before they receive it and by the sounds of things you're more handy with this sort of thing than I am.
I'm going to the metal shop tomorrow morning to put in the final order. I may order a few extra, but probably no more than 3 if any. After that I might go back to the coloring place to ask a few questions if they don't answer my email before that time and if I'm my visit to the metal shop doesn't take too long.
This week I'll be pretty busy till Thursday, but after that I'll be good. I've got an exam and an assignment due.
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sure, that works for me.
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I'm going to remake that spreadsheet tomorrow after I get more info from the coloring place to make sure about what we can and can't do. Right now it's hard for me to be sure about exactly what people want and I'm not sure if everyone saw all the updates that are going around. Mostly I just want to take out all implied things, such as no response = brushed rather than polished. In the new one if you don't put anything I'm going to bug you to fill it in.
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Secured my poker =)
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Payment sent!
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Just got paid and im considering getting another one >.>
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You have about 1 hour to decide before I leave to go place the order!
Edit: Orders closed!
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I placed the order at the metal working place and it should be ready in one to two weeks. Then I went to the anodizing place and they should be getting back to me with exact quotes today. A few notes from the anodizing place:
1. When the case goes through finishing it's only the outside and the top lip, they can't get to the inside of it.
2. When the case gets anodized, it has to be held as they submerge it. These are called "racking" points. So there will be two little spots where the anodizing won't get to which will be on the bottom edge of the inside of the front and back walls along the middle (i.e. not the whole bottom edge, just two little points).
3. For those who are not going with blue (i.e. just keeping the aluminum's natural color), they do natural color anodizing which is just to protect the aluminum. This probably costs the same as coloring it blue but should be done to make the aluminum more scratch resistant.
I'll post the anodizing quotes once I get them and will make a new spreadsheet which will be easier for me to read and easier for me to make sure that I understand exactly what people want.
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Can't they use the USB hole as a racking point?
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Thanks for the blood, sweat, and tears poured into this GB
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If possible, I'd actually like mine without blood sweat or tears on it. Thanks.
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in individually marked jars
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Can't they use the USB hole as a racking point?
I imagine they probably could, but the USB hole is more visible than the bottom edge of the inside of the case. There will be one spot along the middle of the front and back walls, on the inside part of the wall along the bottom of the case that won't be visible at all with a keyboard inside it.
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If this ever happens again I'd be very interested. Even more so if we could somehow do it for the HHKB. Only thing I don't like about it is the weight.
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This was intentionally made to be heavy since most people here prefer their keyboards to be heavy. It could have easily been done with 1/16" aluminum instead of 3/16" though. The Poker case is considerably easier to do than others because it doesn't have a top piece which would then require consideration regarding how to attach the two together. But, all that being said, there is a minor possibility that I'll attempt something like this in the future. Now that I have a better idea of what's involved and where to get things done it should be a bit easier.
But for now we play the waiting game!
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shud do one for the race =)
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This was intentionally made to be heavy since most people here prefer their keyboards to be heavy. It could have easily been done with 1/16" aluminum instead of 3/16" though. The Poker case is considerably easier to do than others because it doesn't have a top piece which would then require consideration regarding how to attach the two together. But, all that being said, there is a minor possibility that I'll attempt something like this in the future. Now that I have a better idea of what's involved and where to get things done it should be a bit easier.
But for now we play the waiting game!
I meant the weight of the plain HHKB. :) Too light.
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shud do one for the race =)
Can't do one for a keyboard that I don't own and I don't plan to buy a race any time soon.
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Any updates?
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I know that last week they had already ordered all the metal but I'm not sure where they are in production. I have my last exam on Monday and I'll contact them to see after that.
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Hope you did well on your exam...
Any word from the machine shop?
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk 2
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I sent them an email yesterday morning, no word back yet. I'll be going to visit them in person on Friday if they don't get back to me. Like I had mentioned one time before, they don't tend to respond to my emails, but whenever I go to visit them I always see that they've printed them out and have them lying on their desk, so for the most part I assume no response = no problem.
For those that chose to opt out earlier, I've issued the refunds but it may take a few days since the money has to transfer from my bank to paypal before going out to you. It says 6-8 days.
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A big bah humbug for you guys, sucks you couldnt of known that treble was going to post one
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Any updates on this?
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yes, before the rollback, oneproduct said the machine shop would have the unfinished units ready by wednesday/thursday, and that he would shuttle them over to the anodizers after that.
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A big bah humbug for you guys, sucks you couldnt of known that treble was going to post one
I buy them both.