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geekhack Community => Keyboard Keycaps => Topic started by: Jeci on Tue, 21 August 2012, 17:07:50

Title: WASD keycap - Known manufacturing issue
Post by: Jeci on Tue, 21 August 2012, 17:07:50
Hello,

I've just finished ordering, receiving and installing my first complete custom keycap set, and so far it's been a rather mixed experience!

For the most part i'm completely over the moon and extremely happy with the look of my keyboard (pictures below) although It hasn't been without it's issues:

(https://dl.dropbox.com/u/4005606/SH100477.JPG)

(https://dl.dropbox.com/u/4005606/SH100480.JPG)

(https://dl.dropbox.com/u/4005606/SH100481.JPG)

When i first got the package i was extremely excited - Everything was packed really efficiently with each row of keys being in a separate bag to make installation as easy as possible and everything was looking perfect... That was until i got to the 2nd from top row with the numeric keys and i started to see a lot of them had a lot of excess/run off ink splattered on them:

Here you can just about make out (more detailed pictures to follow) that out of 13 keys 10 of which had these marks on.
(https://dl.dropbox.com/u/4005606/Keycap%20issue/IMAG0126.jpg)

Same thing different angle:

(https://dl.dropbox.com/u/4005606/Keycap%20issue/IMAG0129%20-%20highlighted.jpg)

More detailed pictures:

(https://dl.dropbox.com/u/4005606/Keycap%20issue/IMAG0133.jpg)

(https://dl.dropbox.com/u/4005606/Keycap%20issue/IMAG0134.jpg)

(https://dl.dropbox.com/u/4005606/Keycap%20issue/IMAG0135.jpg)

(https://dl.dropbox.com/u/4005606/Keycap%20issue/IMAG0136.jpg)

Also a few of the black keys had some fairly major gouges/scratches in - Although this isn't such an issue for me as i appreciate the caps were shipped a long distance and this could have happened in transit:

(https://dl.dropbox.com/u/4005606/Keycap%20issue/IMAG0131.jpg)

Before having received the keycaps I was in touch with customer support as i had been charge $69.99 instead of the $59.99 (which im in the process of getting refunded, with no issues) so asked the customer services operative if the caps were placed in postage too soon after being printed (i have no idea about the manufacturing process) and have rubbed off on one another - But apparently and to quote:

" As far as the dark grey keycaps, this is due to the manufacturing process and unfortunately there isn't anything we can do to eliminate these darker "marks" you're seeing. They are very random and only happen to the dark grey keys. Some of the dark grey keys do not have these, but most of them do."

Which i found deeply disappointing as there doesn't appear to be any warning on the companies website saying that they is a potential issue with this key cap option (at least that was easily visible during the entire process).

So i thought that i would just take a little time to write up this brief note for everyone else to consider before ordering their caps, as it may, (like it would have done for me)  have changed my approach a little - As if you're like me, you take a lot of pride in your keyboards and the smaller things can sometimes tarnish an experience.]

TL;DR  Manufacturing issue with the Grey WASD keycaps causing lots of excess splattered ink on these keys - Happens to the majority of them.

All the very best,

Jeci
Title: Re: WASD keycap - Known manufacturing issue
Post by: danielucf on Tue, 21 August 2012, 17:14:02
Sharp looking key set, sorry to see about the defect though. How is the texture of WASD ABS keys?
Title: Re: WASD keycap - Known manufacturing issue
Post by: dorkvader on Tue, 21 August 2012, 18:11:36
On mine, they were smooth, not as rough as SP's ABS. I'm a rough texture fan, but it wasn't a bad typing experience for me at all, even with the smoother keys.

Thanks for the info. on the dark gray keycaps from WASD. I'll have to get my set out, and check my dark gray keycaps for defects, though I don't believe I saw any when they first arrived (almost a year ago: Wow).
Title: Re: WASD keycap - Known manufacturing issue
Post by: sordna on Tue, 21 August 2012, 19:22:20
Nice keys! The defect is minor and doesn't really show much. I bet the marks will fade over time anyway.
Title: Re: WASD keycap - Known manufacturing issue
Post by: fohat.digs on Tue, 21 August 2012, 21:22:42
Awesome key set, abysmal customer support.

They should be ashamed.
Title: Re: WASD keycap - Known manufacturing issue
Post by: Rafen on Tue, 21 August 2012, 21:26:01
I have ordered many different sets from them and have never had a problem. This is sad to see since they keycap set is not very cheap.
Title: Re: WASD keycap - Known manufacturing issue
Post by: sth on Tue, 21 August 2012, 21:27:55
Quote from: fohat.digs on Tue, 21 August 2012, 21:22:42
Awesome key set, abysmal customer support.

They should be ashamed.

i have never had anything but stellar support from wasd, so while this is definitely a mark on their reputation, I wouldn't go as far as to call their support abysmal.
Title: Re: WASD keycap - Known manufacturing issue
Post by: Jeci on Wed, 22 August 2012, 02:04:48
Quote from: fohat.digs on Tue, 21 August 2012, 21:22:42
Awesome key set, abysmal customer support.

They should be ashamed.


Thanks for your support here, whilst I think there should have been more in way of rectifying this issue and not just producing a defective product - I do not have a bad word about their customer support...

Very responsive, honest, and seemingly nice!
Title: Re: WASD keycap - Known manufacturing issue
Post by: AKIMbO on Wed, 22 August 2012, 07:13:59
WASD lasers the legend onto the key cap, they don't use paint.  I wonder why the laser is making these marks.
Title: Re: WASD keycap - Known manufacturing issue
Post by: fohat.digs on Wed, 22 August 2012, 07:35:43
My comment calling customer support abysmal was in response to the quoted excuse for quality control problems, and not offering to replace the problem caps.

From what I see, the buyer had a legitimate complaint and the seller should have immediately stepped up to fix it.

I have never bought from WASD, although I was planning to do so in the not-too-distant future. They seem to enjoy a very good reputation otherwise.

Title: Re: WASD keycap - Known manufacturing issue
Post by: Paranoid on Wed, 22 August 2012, 07:43:06
nice caps! too bad about the splatters :/
I ordered a belgian azerty layout not so long ago, but they just printed one key completely wrong ^^ I've sent them a mail now, we'll see how they respond :)
Title: Re: WASD keycap - Known manufacturing issue
Post by: 1stGenRex on Wed, 22 August 2012, 07:55:57
Quote from: AKIMbO on Wed, 22 August 2012, 07:13:59
WASD lasers the legend onto the key cap, they don't use paint.  I wonder why the laser is making these marks.

I doubt the marks are from the laser. It might have more to do with the Dye they use to get those keycaps that color, and it not dissolving completely, but I could be way off.
Title: Re: WASD keycap - Known manufacturing issue
Post by: Jeci on Wed, 22 August 2012, 09:51:44
So after having checked my email this morning there was a new message from WASDkeyboards:

(https://dl.dropbox.com/u/4005606/wasdcustomersupport.png)

It appears as though the customer services chap that was i talking to, is/was on the hunt for some replacement numeric key caps for the marked ones I currently have!

It also appears as though he's thrown in a pair of stabilisers (even though i did offer to pay for them) free of charge.

As i said in my original post from a customer services perspective i'm really happy with their communication and willingness to engage with their customers - With so many organisations these days you don't get this level of communication I must have sent him 4 or 5 emails about various bits and pieces!

I'm going to do a final post (i hope) when the caps arrive concluding my experience.

All the best,

Jeci
Title: Re: WASD keycap - Known manufacturing issue
Post by: sth on Wed, 22 August 2012, 14:39:28
wasd: like a bowse. too bad they still only sell ABS keys :(
Title: Re: WASD keycap - Known manufacturing issue
Post by: dorkvader on Wed, 22 August 2012, 22:53:30
Quote from: sth on Wed, 22 August 2012, 14:39:28
wasd: like a bowse. too bad they still only sell ABS keys :(
For now. Once they get PBT in, my wallet is ready to bleed for him.
Title: Re: WASD keycap - Known manufacturing issue
Post by: 1stGenRex on Thu, 23 August 2012, 11:21:18
Quote from: dorkvader on Wed, 22 August 2012, 22:53:30
Quote from: sth on Wed, 22 August 2012, 14:39:28
wasd: like a bowse. too bad they still only sell ABS keys :(
For now. Once they get PBT in, my wallet is ready to bleed for him.

I like that they have the "customize your keyboard" option and sell just the keycaps. I was looking for ANYTHING with 2 different colors, that would look good. The only other option was to buy 2 sets of keys and make the color combos myself, but screw that! The one option I found was over $100. Once they get the option to do PBT, I'll be all over that site as well, but for now, I'm pretty excited to get my order from them.

(http://i.imgur.com/w9AU7.png)
Title: Re: WASD keycap - Known manufacturing issue
Post by: Jeci on Thu, 23 August 2012, 14:33:01
Lookin' fresh.
Title: Re: WASD keycap - Known manufacturing issue
Post by: dorkvader on Thu, 23 August 2012, 23:18:27
Quote from: 1stGenRex on Thu, 23 August 2012, 11:21:18
Quote from: dorkvader on Wed, 22 August 2012, 22:53:30
Quote from: sth on Wed, 22 August 2012, 14:39:28
wasd: like a bowse. too bad they still only sell ABS keys :(
For now. Once they get PBT in, my wallet is ready to bleed for him.

I like that they have the "customize your keyboard" option and sell just the keycaps. I was looking for ANYTHING with 2 different colors, that would look good. The only other option was to buy 2 sets of keys and make the color combos myself, but screw that! The one option I found was over $100. Once they get the option to do PBT, I'll be all over that site as well, but for now, I'm pretty excited to get my order from them.

Show Image
(http://i.imgur.com/w9AU7.png)


If you like blue and white, you should consider the UK Wildcats keyboard from unicomp. It's much cheaper, and a great buckling spring 'board.

That said, my WASD V1 full custom is awesome, a good choice indeed.
Title: Re: WASD keycap - Known manufacturing issue
Post by: ra7c7er on Fri, 24 August 2012, 16:52:06
I wonder why it just affects the dark grey caps. Maybe something in the type of plastic doesn't let the ink set fast enough?

Also sounds to me like a product issue not a customer service issue. But I get where you are coming from. Being on the manufacturing end of the same type of problem though I can also understand how frustrating it probably is for them too. At least they were honest about the issue when you inquired about it.
Title: Re: WASD keycap - Known manufacturing issue
Post by: Amarok on Fri, 24 August 2012, 20:43:20
I had nothing but stellar customer support from WASD when I got a new board/key caps that came with a defective switch. I almost ordered the key caps with a whole section of dark grey. Glad I didn't now.

Also, I really like the key cap layout you chose.
Title: Re: WASD keycap - Known manufacturing issue
Post by: 1stGenRex on Sat, 25 August 2012, 03:13:57
Quote from: dorkvader on Thu, 23 August 2012, 23:18:27
Quote from: 1stGenRex on Thu, 23 August 2012, 11:21:18
Quote from: dorkvader on Wed, 22 August 2012, 22:53:30
Quote from: sth on Wed, 22 August 2012, 14:39:28
wasd: like a bowse. too bad they still only sell ABS keys :(
For now. Once they get PBT in, my wallet is ready to bleed for him.

I like that they have the "customize your keyboard" option and sell just the keycaps. I was looking for ANYTHING with 2 different colors, that would look good. The only other option was to buy 2 sets of keys and make the color combos myself, but screw that! The one option I found was over $100. Once they get the option to do PBT, I'll be all over that site as well, but for now, I'm pretty excited to get my order from them.

Show Image
(http://i.imgur.com/w9AU7.png)


If you like blue and white, you should consider the UK Wildcats keyboard from unicomp. It's much cheaper, and a great buckling spring 'board.

That said, my WASD V1 full custom is awesome, a good choice indeed.

I used the keyboard customizer and just ordered the keycaps (they have an option for that). They'll be going on my Filco Majestouch2.
Title: Re: WASD keycap - Known manufacturing issue
Post by: Kronen on Sun, 26 August 2012, 19:41:53
+1 for the good WASD custom service.  Weyman was incredibly helpful to me.  I just had a great experience ordering some custom setups from them.

They recently did this beauty for me without a blemish... sorry for the ****ty photo quality but I just wanted to put it up to show the clear crisp lines with the image across multiple keys.

(http://i.imgur.com/cbiid.jpg)

EDIT: The custom setup was the zerg numpad.  In case there was doubt :-)... the rest of setup is bleh for now I know...
Title: Re: WASD keycap - Known manufacturing issue
Post by: akuJIWA on Mon, 27 August 2012, 01:44:42
Quote from: Kronen on Sun, 26 August 2012, 19:41:53
+1 for the good WASD custom service.  Weyman was incredibly helpful to me.  I just had a great experience ordering some custom setups from them.

They recently did this beauty for me without a blemish... sorry for the ****ty photo quality but I just wanted to put it up to show the clear crisp lines with the image across multiple keys.

Show Image
(http://i.imgur.com/cbiid.jpg)


EDIT: The custom setup was the zerg numpad.  In case there was doubt :-)... the rest of setup is bleh for now I know...

How much did that cost?
Title: Re: WASD keycap - Known manufacturing issue
Post by: Kronen on Mon, 27 August 2012, 09:18:49
The fixed price for the custom image setup fee was 25 bucks, and then it was a buck a key after that.  Had I purchased it alone it would've been 45 or something, but 2 other GHers were interest and together we got sets for 26ish a piece.

If you more than 10 or 20 people they drop the 1$ a key down further.

EDIT: PMing you to clarify... don't want to hijack further.
Title: Re: WASD keycap - Known manufacturing issue
Post by: akuJIWA on Mon, 27 August 2012, 09:53:52
Quote from: Kronen on Mon, 27 August 2012, 09:18:49
The fixed price for the custom image setup fee was 25 bucks, and then it was a buck a key after that.  Had I purchased it alone it would've been 45 or something, but 2 other GHers were interest and together we got sets for 26ish a piece.

If you more than 10 or 20 people they drop the 1$ a key down further.

So original price was $45?
Title: Re: WASD keycap - Known manufacturing issue
Post by: wasdkeyboards on Wed, 29 August 2012, 21:25:03
I just wanted to drop in and let everyone know that the current dark grey keys do not have this problem anymore. We don't make the keys ourselves, so I'm not quite sure what the exact problem was. There was a small percentage of R4 Dark Grey keys that have some black marks in them. My guess is either the plastic was well mixed in the beginning when they start molding the keys. The new batch is completely clean, so no need to worry. And as always, if there's any issue, you can be sure we'll take care of it one way or another.
Title: Re: WASD keycap - Known manufacturing issue
Post by: blert on Thu, 30 August 2012, 06:42:25
In any case, that keyboard (Jeci's) looks awesome.  I also just ordered some blank keys (orange, ha!) from WASD. 
Title: Re: WASD keycap - Known manufacturing issue
Post by: damorgue on Thu, 30 August 2012, 06:58:42
Quote from: wasdkeyboards on Wed, 29 August 2012, 21:25:03
We don't make the keys ourselves, so I'm not quite sure what the exact problem was.

This seems to conflict the statements on your site: "in-house at our facilities in Milpitas, CA"

The link in your sig is broken btw, probably because of the new forum.

Any news on the PBT front? It seems ducky will be faster to getting theirs out, but I really like that you are able to customize the legends at your site. Any chance that one could send caps to be lasered or engraved? I suppose lasered depends on the plastic and might require some agents mixed in, but engraved should work with any caps.

Also, have you fixed the bugs in the layout designer yet?