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geekhack Marketplace => Interest Checks => Topic started by: phoible on Fri, 29 April 2016, 21:57:08

Title: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: phoible on Fri, 29 April 2016, 21:57:08
I'm looking to make a run of 60% plates compatible with the AEKII (ANSI). It sounds like there might also be interest in AT101W compatible plates.

If there is enough interest, I would consider trying to procure some ALPS64 PCBs as well?

Is anyone interested?
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII Plates
Post by: climbalima on Fri, 29 April 2016, 21:59:30
Im down for one plate.
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII Plates
Post by: KaminKevCrew on Fri, 29 April 2016, 21:59:39
I'm somewhat interested. I've got way too many alps switches right now, and I don't know what to do with them, so I'd be interested.

Sent from my SM-G925T using Tapatalk

Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII Plates
Post by: emdude on Fri, 29 April 2016, 22:00:20
I would be, if you could get plates for other layouts, AT101, etc..  :p I'm not sure otherwise..

Definitely would be nice though, given hasu's current Alps64 round.
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII Plates
Post by: phoible on Fri, 29 April 2016, 22:08:32
If you could get 5+ people interested in AT101 plates, I might be willing to do it.
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII Plates
Post by: emdude on Fri, 29 April 2016, 22:12:15
Okay, great.  I'd be down for 2 AT101 plates myself. :D

Did you manage to get the CAD files from JDCarpe?
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII Plates
Post by: romevi on Fri, 29 April 2016, 22:29:06
I might be down.
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII Plates
Post by: KaminKevCrew on Fri, 29 April 2016, 22:47:06
I'd be more interested in at 101
 plates, since it would be easier to get caps for that. I'd be interested in at least two of those, I think.

Sent from my SM-G925T using Tapatalk

Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII Plates
Post by: emdude on Fri, 29 April 2016, 22:55:58
I'd be more interested in at 101
 plates, since it would be easier to get caps for that. I'd be interested in at least two of those, I think.

Sent from my SM-G925T using Tapatalk
I'm all for this, but I'm confused by your statement.  It seems to be much easier to get key caps for an AEK-style plate than it is for the AT101 101/103-key plate.

Do you mean the 104-key AT101W?
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII Plates
Post by: Radlife on Sat, 30 April 2016, 00:08:15
I was thinking of doing the same thing since I got into hasu's short run. I'm going to get plates anyways, might as well save some money.

Count me in.
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII Plates
Post by: Radlife on Sat, 30 April 2016, 00:13:38
Okay, great.  I'd be down for 2 AT101 plates myself. :D

Did you manage to get the CAD files from JDCarpe?

I PM'd JD about it cause I also wanted to get my own plates. He said that since the only way he earns anything is from his designs, and has a blanket policy of to deny requests like that. He did show me how to make my own alps plate design with builder.swllkb.com which has all you need
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII Plates
Post by: CosmosAtlas on Sat, 30 April 2016, 00:51:25
Count me one, I will definitely picked one up.
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII Plates
Post by: phoible on Sat, 30 April 2016, 00:51:42
Swill's KB Builder doesn't handle the AEKII spacebar (6.5u) properly. It uses the wrong stabilizers.

If there is sufficient interest, we can either license an existing plate design or generate our own.

The other problem is that having a one-off plate made is quite expensive (~$100). If we can get a group buy together (at least 5 of each type and possibly 10+), the cost per plate will go down considerably.

Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII Plates
Post by: emdude on Sat, 30 April 2016, 00:55:21
Okay, great.  I'd be down for 2 AT101 plates myself. :D

Did you manage to get the CAD files from JDCarpe?

I PM'd JD about it cause I also wanted to get my own plates. He said that since the only way he earns anything is from his designs, and has a blanket policy of to deny requests like that. He did show me how to make my own alps plate design with builder.swllkb.com which has all you need

Wow, I e-mailed JDCarpe about getting the files as well and haven't gotten a response, I guess that's why.  BlueNalgene said after his GB that one would be able to ask JD for the files as long as it was for a one-off or a non-profit GB..

Anyhow, I think having his CAD files would be ideal because SwillKB's plate designer doesn't seem to fully support Alps..

Like so, JDCarpe/BlueNalgene's AT101 plate:

(http://i.imgur.com/eFU9yvV.png)

versus the one I made with SwillKB's editor:

(http://i.imgur.com/nzj4LVm.png)

Note that it does not have the necessary holes for the spacebar stabilizer, has extra stabilizer cutouts, etc.  Perhaps someone knows how to fix these in some CAD program?

It does appear that the extra holes were simply hand-drawn in... :P
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII Plates
Post by: emdude on Sat, 30 April 2016, 00:57:16
Swill's KB Builder doesn't handle the AEKII spacebar (6.5u) properly. It uses the wrong stabilizers.

If there is sufficient interest, we can either license an existing plate design or generate our own.

The other problem is that having a one-off plate made is quite expensive (~$100). If we can get a group buy together (at least 5 of each type and possibly 10+), the cost per plate will go down considerably.

I hope we can get something like 25 plates done so the price will be around what BlueNalgene charged for them, about $27.50.
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: emdude on Sat, 30 April 2016, 01:52:40
Oh I noticed that you changed your IC to include AT101W plates, I just want to clarify that I'd be interested in AT101 plates (101/103-key), not AT101W (104). 

I hope other people will want AT101 plates.  :-[

EDIT: Here are all the options that BlueNalgene offered, might help to include them in the OP, if you're willing to offer more than just the AEK and AT101W plates:

More
AT101
(http://i.imgur.com/eFU9yvV.png)

AT101W
(http://i.imgur.com/6c1zo0I.png)

AT102W
(http://i.imgur.com/VEpgjGnm.png)

AEKII ANSI
(http://i.imgur.com/oDYXjW8.png)

AEKII ISO
(http://i.imgur.com/E2Qb2n4.png)

Infinity
(http://i.imgur.com/acGRa5gm.png)

HHKB
(http://i.imgur.com/JPuJwjd.png)

Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: lootbag on Sat, 30 April 2016, 06:19:09
Interested!
Would like to have an HHKB style plate ās well if there is enough interest.
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: njbair on Sat, 30 April 2016, 06:41:46
I have way too many Alps 60% boards right now, but if you're making plates from scratch I recommend considering the addition of Costar stab clip holes. That way the boards can support SP Alps keycaps.
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: jdcarpe on Sat, 30 April 2016, 07:47:32
Swill's KB Builder doesn't handle the AEKII spacebar (6.5u) properly. It uses the wrong stabilizers.

If there is sufficient interest, we can either license an existing plate design or generate our own.

The other problem is that having a one-off plate made is quite expensive (~$100). If we can get a group buy together (at least 5 of each type and possibly 10+), the cost per plate will go down considerably.



Yeah, if you all get a community GB going, and want to use my designs, let me know. My licensing fee is quite small, as other GB leaders can attest! :D
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: tintoret on Sat, 30 April 2016, 08:53:09
Definitely down for an AEKII
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: SJHL on Sat, 30 April 2016, 09:50:15
I was planning to just get an AEK and cut it myself but if this group buy happens, Im interested.
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: phoible on Sat, 30 April 2016, 11:09:18
I'm looking into 16ga 304 Stainless. 6061 aluminum is cheaper, but not nearly as strong.

I'm going to contact some local waterjet cutting places to figure out the cost at various quantities. There may be a MOQ on each style if we offer multiple styles, but if not, I'm happy to produce the full range of plates compatible with Hasu's PCB.

It would be awesome if we can get the price to about $30 per plate (plus shipping).
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: need on Sat, 30 April 2016, 11:25:17
I'd love to be in for a AEKII.

And if other plates are possible, I'd really want one that supports 1.5u CTRL & ALT.
Which are AEK and 103 from Hasu's PCB layout range.

Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII Plates
Post by: StormyMonday on Sat, 30 April 2016, 18:37:39
Okay, great.  I'd be down for 2 AT101 plates myself. :D

Did you manage to get the CAD files from JDCarpe?

I PM'd JD about it cause I also wanted to get my own plates. He said that since the only way he earns anything is from his designs, and has a blanket policy of to deny requests like that. He did show me how to make my own alps plate design with builder.swllkb.com which has all you need

Wow, I e-mailed JDCarpe about getting the files as well and haven't gotten a response, I guess that's why.  BlueNalgene said after his GB that one would be able to ask JD for the files as long as it was for a one-off or a non-profit GB..

Anyhow, I think having his CAD files would be ideal because SwillKB's plate designer doesn't seem to fully support Alps..

Like so, JDCarpe/BlueNalgene's AT101 plate:

Show Image
(http://i.imgur.com/eFU9yvV.png)


versus the one I made with SwillKB's editor:

Show Image
(http://i.imgur.com/nzj4LVm.png)


Note that it does not have the necessary holes for the spacebar stabilizer, has extra stabilizer cutouts, etc.  Perhaps someone knows how to fix these in some CAD program?

It does appear that the extra holes were simply hand-drawn in... :P

Swills tool uses Costar stabs for the spacebar and Alps stabs for the rest.
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: Mattr567 on Sat, 30 April 2016, 19:41:38
Somewhat interested in a AEKII and a PCB.
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: rand77 on Sun, 01 May 2016, 00:36:55
I would be interested in 2 AEK plates.
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: kiwi99 on Sun, 01 May 2016, 00:50:23
I have an aek II on hand as well as a 60% aek II plate I cut for myself that works, mine doesn't have the holes for the spacebar stabilizer hole thing but I could take some measurements and include it (didn't have the aek at the time) and I also did my clueboard plate that supports costar + alps mounting for the spacebar so I would be able to help out with the CAD if needed. I'd also suggest you try to not make the plate too thick so the switches still latch in nicely since I've heard some people complain about that a little.

plates I cut for reference.
More
(http://i.imgur.com/D5Q8LZR.jpg)
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: punkpc on Sun, 01 May 2016, 23:01:43
Interested in a AEKII plate for sure.
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: Scarpia on Mon, 02 May 2016, 01:42:17
I'm most likely in for an AEKII as well, as long as the stab holes will work with the stock AEKII caps
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: harlw on Mon, 02 May 2016, 09:12:13
Interested in both potentially.
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: rand77 on Mon, 02 May 2016, 22:54:24
I will be taking apart a AEK II this weekend and harvesting the switches and keycaps.   I can make some measurements if anyone is doing a design.   Unfortunately with work being as hectic as it is, I probably won't have time to do the design myself in the next couple weeks.
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: emdude on Mon, 02 May 2016, 23:07:04
For the sake of expediency, I feel it would be better to license JDCarpe's plate designs, unless somebody has already drawn up a design! :P
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: Luneth on Tue, 03 May 2016, 01:04:04
I would be in for an AEKII plate. Got in on Hasu's most recent PCB round, so I need to plate for it  :p
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: emdude on Sun, 08 May 2016, 00:27:39
Perhaps this is still too soon, but any updates? :o
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: phoible on Sun, 08 May 2016, 01:11:55
I'm working on getting some quotes on producing the plates locally. One place got back to me, but their prices are going to be significantly higher than the ALPS party GB. I'm supposed to chat with another place on Monday to get pricing from them. Will post here when I have more information.
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: emdude on Sun, 08 May 2016, 01:18:25
Okay, thanks for the update and best of luck with your negotiations!  :)
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: need on Sun, 08 May 2016, 04:09:52
Good luck man, we are very thankful for what you're embarking upon!
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: infodroid on Wed, 11 May 2016, 17:34:04
I'm definitely down for at least one of each, AEKII and AT101 and AT101W  :thumb:

Are you considering any fancy options like powder coating?
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: emdude on Wed, 18 May 2016, 08:48:57
I'm looking into 16ga 304 Stainless. 6061 aluminum is cheaper, but not nearly as strong.

I'm going to contact some local waterjet cutting places to figure out the cost at various quantities. There may be a MOQ on each style if we offer multiple styles, but if not, I'm happy to produce the full range of plates compatible with Hasu's PCB.

It would be awesome if we can get the price to about $30 per plate (plus shipping).

I'm wondering, have you consulted places that do laser cutting?  BlueNalgene's Alps Party plates were cut that way and it may be cheaper.
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: kiwi99 on Wed, 18 May 2016, 22:19:50
I'm definitely down for at least one of each, AEKII and AT101 and AT101W  :thumb:

Are you considering any fancy options like powder coating?

textured black powder coating looks dope imo, heres my AEK II plate I did.
More
(http://i.imgur.com/AsdzIG4.jpg)
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: murkey on Wed, 18 May 2016, 23:32:53
I'd be down for a PCB and 1-2 plates!
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: tintoret on Thu, 19 May 2016, 09:27:16
I'm definitely down for at least one of each, AEKII and AT101 and AT101W  :thumb:

Are you considering any fancy options like powder coating?

textured black powder coating looks dope imo, heres my AEK II plate I did.
More
Show Image
(http://i.imgur.com/AsdzIG4.jpg)

That looks great. And it would probably go well with anything in terms of case or cap colors.

I really hope this GB runs in time for the build I'm doing this summer.
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: need on Thu, 19 May 2016, 10:06:55
I'd be down for a PCB and 1-2 plates!
dude there won't be any PCB.
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: murkey on Thu, 19 May 2016, 10:45:59
If there is enough interest, I would consider trying to procure some ALPS64 PCBs as well?

I'd be down for a PCB and 1-2 plates!
dude there won't be any PCB.

OP mentioned it as a possibility and I want one, so I'm showing my interest. Thanks for your reply.
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: Radlife on Thu, 19 May 2016, 11:03:52

[/quote]

OP mentioned it as a possibility and I want one, so I'm showing my interest. Thanks for your reply.
[/quote]

Also showing interest for a pcb and 2 plates  :thumb:
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: need on Thu, 19 May 2016, 11:11:19
If there is enough interest, I would consider trying to procure some ALPS64 PCBs as well?

I'd be down for a PCB and 1-2 plates!
dude there won't be any PCB.

OP mentioned it as a possibility and I want one, so I'm showing my interest. Thanks for your reply.
oh sorry, just noticed that...you're right
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: murkey on Thu, 19 May 2016, 11:24:21
If there is enough interest, I would consider trying to procure some ALPS64 PCBs as well?

I'd be down for a PCB and 1-2 plates!
dude there won't be any PCB.

OP mentioned it as a possibility and I want one, so I'm showing my interest. Thanks for your reply.
oh sorry, just noticed that...you're right

No worries! If the PCB doesn't work out I hope someone can help me find one. Or give me some tips for hand-wiring :eek:
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: emdude on Thu, 19 May 2016, 11:27:12
The issue with PCBs is that Hasu just finished his current Alps64 run so he may not have any more.
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: need on Thu, 19 May 2016, 11:32:46
Yeah, I guess you could try to pm hasu to see whether he's ordered extras.
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: phoible on Mon, 23 May 2016, 21:09:34
Just to provide an update. I contacted a couple of local waterjet cutting places, and it's going to cost significantly more to have the plates cut here than the last ALPS Party GB. That's one of the downsides of living in San Francisco.

I'm going to see whether I can find someone who isn't local to do the cutting for less money.
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: emdude on Mon, 23 May 2016, 21:12:04
Sorry, I asked this a little while ago and I'm not sure if you saw the message or if you have already considered this option, but maybe laser cutting would be a cheaper option?

Thanks a bunch for the update though, we really appreciate the time you're putting into this.
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: rand77 on Tue, 24 May 2016, 00:57:12
Sorry, I asked this a little while ago and I'm not sure if you saw the message or if you have already considered this option, but maybe laser cutting would be a cheaper option?

Thanks a bunch for the update though, we really appreciate the time you're putting into this.

+1

Appreciate all the efforts.   Some shops are able to laser cut stainless steel (high powered laser) as emdude mentioned, I think this might be something to look into.

Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: fuzzycuffs on Tue, 24 May 2016, 19:22:24
Definitely interested.  I have a PCB from hasu but no plate.

Would prefer Dell layout, since I have some Tai Hao caps already to use.
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: harlw on Wed, 25 May 2016, 12:56:26
def interested!
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: brighenne on Thu, 26 May 2016, 17:33:10
I'd be in for an AEK plate and PCB.
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: tintoret on Mon, 30 May 2016, 20:23:44
If you can't find a suitable local place, it might be worth looking into bigbluesaw or lasergist or something similar.
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: Pyrelink on Sat, 04 June 2016, 23:08:15
If it helps, I would very much be interested in purchasing a HHKB and/or an Infinity Hacker plate.
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: phoible on Sun, 05 June 2016, 20:04:37
EMDude found a place in LA that does Laser Cutting for a reasonable price. I'm going to look into that.
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: Radlife on Sun, 05 June 2016, 22:23:00
Are you using JDCarpe's plate design or your own? Cause I wouldn't mind pitching in for jd's plates.
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: emdude on Sun, 05 June 2016, 22:44:46
Phoible will license JD's plate files after he hopefully works out a price with the machine shop! ;D
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: lootbag on Fri, 10 June 2016, 22:00:58
Do not mean to hijack this IC thread but just thought I would make a post because I am getting a few 60% ALPS plates cut for me.
I am located in Hong Kong and found a place in Shenzhen who quoted me some decent prices.

1 plate = 80 yuan
10 plates = 40 yuan each
50 plates = 35 yuan each

I think I will get a single plate first and see the quality, this is for 304 stainless steel, 1.3mm thickness.

Just thought I would throw it out there and see if you guys want me to proxy the plates over to the US.
I do not have time to ship multiple orders, I would just ship to a single person and they can then redistribute.
Probably cheaper than way anyways.
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: emdude on Fri, 10 June 2016, 22:09:02
Wow, that is incredibly cheap!  I think it would not be a bad idea for OP to look into this as well, prices should be very good even if overseas shipping is factored in.

Please let us know how your prototype goes!
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: lootbag on Fri, 10 June 2016, 22:14:50
Or maybe you guys can order direct from the Taobao seller haha.

By the way, is 1.3mm an acceptable thickness?
I read the ALPS spec sheet, says 1.0-1.2mm for plate thickness.
What is the thickest I can go while still having the switches click into place?
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: emdude on Fri, 10 June 2016, 22:20:15
I have read that 16 gauge (about 1.6 mm) is actually too thick for the switches to clip into place, so slightly thinner is probably better.  I'm not sure how thick the plate can go for the switches to fit comfortably though.

I think this will still need to be a GB because the proper plate designs need to be licensed from JDCarpe.
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: kiwi99 on Fri, 10 June 2016, 22:58:33
Or maybe you guys can order direct from the Taobao seller haha.

By the way, is 1.3mm an acceptable thickness?
I read the ALPS spec sheet, says 1.0-1.2mm for plate thickness.
What is the thickest I can go while still having the switches click into place?

my alps plate I made comes to 1.35mm with the powder coating and the switches snap in fine in both my clueboard and alps64 boards.

I have read that 16 gauge (about 1.6 mm) is actually too thick for the switches to clip into place, so slightly thinner is probably better.  I'm not sure how thick the plate can go for the switches to fit comfortably though.

I think this will still need to be a GB because the proper plate designs need to be licensed from JDCarpe.

Yea I wouldn't suggest more than 1.3mm mines pushing it.


Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: need on Sat, 11 June 2016, 08:52:45
I think 1.3mm is OK.
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: muon on Sat, 11 June 2016, 17:27:22
I'm in for a AEKII plate :)
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: E3E on Sat, 11 June 2016, 17:42:38
If you could make an HHKB-style plate in either 6 - 7 u. I'd be down.
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII Plates
Post by: infodroid on Sun, 12 June 2016, 06:07:12
Okay, great.  I'd be down for 2 AT101 plates myself. :D

Did you manage to get the CAD files from JDCarpe?

I PM'd JD about it cause I also wanted to get my own plates. He said that since the only way he earns anything is from his designs, and has a blanket policy of to deny requests like that. He did show me how to make my own alps plate design with builder.swllkb.com which has all you need

Wow, I e-mailed JDCarpe about getting the files as well and haven't gotten a response, I guess that's why.  BlueNalgene said after his GB that one would be able to ask JD for the files as long as it was for a one-off or a non-profit GB..

Anyhow, I think having his CAD files would be ideal because SwillKB's plate designer doesn't seem to fully support Alps..

Like so, JDCarpe/BlueNalgene's AT101 plate:

Show Image
(http://i.imgur.com/eFU9yvV.png)


versus the one I made with SwillKB's editor:

Show Image
(http://i.imgur.com/nzj4LVm.png)


Note that it does not have the necessary holes for the spacebar stabilizer, has extra stabilizer cutouts, etc.  Perhaps someone knows how to fix these in some CAD program?

It does appear that the extra holes were simply hand-drawn in... :P

Swills tool uses Costar stabs for the spacebar and Alps stabs for the rest.

What about using Input Club's open source plate CADs from the Infinity 60% as a starting point?

https://github.com/kiibohd/case
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: phoible on Mon, 13 June 2016, 23:33:46
Just wanted to provide an update. With a lot of help from Emdude, I managed to get in touch with a place in LA who can make the plates for a great price (in 304 stainless). I think pricing should be comparable to the ALPS party GB. MOQ isn't super high, meaning that it won't be hard to get enough orders to make this happen.

I reached out to JDCarpe, and hopefully we will be able license his plate design.

I think I'm only going to do AEKII plates this time around because most of the interest has been for that, and it will be simpler to do just one design rather than trying to do a whole bunch. I'm a noob at this, and would love to crush it the first time around and do something more complicated later.

Hoping to get this show on the road pretty soon!
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: gnmar2723 on Mon, 13 June 2016, 23:58:58
I just found out about this today and have an AEK II on the way from mechmarket so I'm definitely interested!
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: SirFelion on Tue, 14 June 2016, 02:43:03
I've been interested in building a 60% ALPS as well. Do you think you could manage to get plates shipped to Japan? I'd love to get my hands on at least one plate, but could do proxy shipping as well if others on this side of the planet are interested.
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: Wingpad on Tue, 14 June 2016, 11:58:03
I have one of hasu's PCBs on the way but no plate so I would be interested in a 60% AEKII plate.
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: emdude on Wed, 15 June 2016, 01:28:09
Just wanted to provide an update. With a lot of help from Emdude, I managed to get in touch with a place in LA who can make the plates for a great price (in 304 stainless). I think pricing should be comparable to the ALPS party GB. MOQ isn't super high, meaning that it won't be hard to get enough orders to make this happen.

I reached out to JDCarpe, and hopefully we will be able license his plate design.

I think I'm only going to do AEKII plates this time around because most of the interest has been for that, and it will be simpler to do just one design rather than trying to do a whole bunch. I'm a noob at this, and would love to crush it the first time around and do something more complicated later.

Hoping to get this show on the road pretty soon!

If it all possible, could you still include at least the AT101W and AT101 plates?  Those and the AEK plates seem to be the most wanted and I still would really like to get an AT101 plate myself..  :'(

I understand if you still wish to keep things simple and just have AEK plates done, I'll certainly get one of those in any case.
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: need on Wed, 15 June 2016, 07:32:28
Yeah I agree, adding the At101 / 102w option shouldn't be any more difficult.
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: Radlife on Wed, 15 June 2016, 18:52:11
I know I'd be in the minority but I wouldn't get an AEKII plate, only interested in the AT101W plate.
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: merlin64 on Thu, 16 June 2016, 11:08:42
FYI, I've been trying to do this GB since January. I gave up and ran the Octagon V2 Metal Insert instead.

JDCarpe has been super busy. I shoot him an email once every month or two and it's always "I'll draft up the royalty agreements for you". Last communication with him was a few weeks ago and I'm still waiting.
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: need on Fri, 17 June 2016, 17:41:28
FYI, I've been trying to do this GB since January. I gave up and ran the Octagon V2 Metal Insert instead.

JDCarpe has been super busy. I shoot him an email once every month or two and it's always "I'll draft up the royalty agreements for you". Last communication with him was a few weeks ago and I'm still waiting.
:confused: :confused: :confused:
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: emdude on Fri, 17 June 2016, 22:03:47
I've been looking into other resources, hopefully this is only a minor setback.
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: kiwi99 on Mon, 20 June 2016, 17:56:14
updated my aek60 plate a bit if anyone wants to use it :)
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: Wingpad on Mon, 20 June 2016, 18:38:17
updated my aek60 plate a bit if anyone wants to use it :)

Well the good news for me is that mine lines up pretty closely with yours, maybe that means there is still hope for mine, I think I am at worst ~0.4 mm off which should be acceptable. I am assuming that since you're uploading this you've tested it before?
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: need on Mon, 20 June 2016, 18:40:08
updated my aek60 plate a bit if anyone wants to use it :)
AEKII can use this as well right?
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: kiwi99 on Mon, 20 June 2016, 20:45:19
updated my aek60 plate a bit if anyone wants to use it :)
AEKII can use this as well right?
yea aekii layout

updated my aek60 plate a bit if anyone wants to use it :)

Well the good news for me is that mine lines up pretty closely with yours, maybe that means there is still hope for mine, I think I am at worst ~0.4 mm off which should be acceptable. I am assuming that since you're uploading this you've tested it before?

this is a mix between a generated plate from swills plate tool and the monarch keyboards plate which uses an aek layout and works. I cutout my own plate using a very similar design and changed some stuff I thought were needed when I built mine.. took out the hole between G&H because alps switches so wide screw wont fit between them so its pointless, made the other mounting holes a bit bigger since the screw holes were a bit off on my case, removed caps lock stabilizer holes because I think they're pointless (aekii capslock has an option to use a stab but doesnt use it on their own board.. weird), and kept costar support for the stab because why not.  I think I'll edit it soon for some more bottom row options and like split backspace if anyone is interested. :)

Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: Radlife on Sat, 25 June 2016, 20:24:46
Are there any updates to be had? And any chance AT101W plates will be run? I could just buy a Taihao doubleshot alps keyset instead of trying to look for a decent condition AEKII keyset and be done with it.
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: PriusProblems on Mon, 27 June 2016, 05:36:41
Has anyone else expressed interest in a 60% ISO AEKII plate?
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: Wingpad on Mon, 27 June 2016, 08:48:01
Has anyone else expressed interest in a 60% ISO AEKII plate?

I think you're the first.

Are there any updates to be had? And any chance AT101W plates will be run? I could just buy a Taihao doubleshot alps keyset instead of trying to look for a decent condition AEKII keyset and be done with it.

We're still waiting for the prototypes to come in and I am not sure if we're running an AT101W plate.

I had a pretty easy time finding AEKII keycaps, the hardest thing is the spacebar but that can be retr0brighted fairly easily. Plus, the Taihao double-shoot keycaps aren't exactly compatible with the AT101W. They don't have a stepped capslock and they use costar-style stabilizers for the spacebar (whereas the AT101W uses Alps-style).
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: emdude on Mon, 27 June 2016, 12:46:48
Are there any updates to be had? And any chance AT101W plates will be run? I could just buy a Taihao doubleshot alps keyset instead of trying to look for a decent condition AEKII keyset and be done with it.

If you want, I can throw together a plate that supports TaiHao's double-shot key caps with non-stepped caps lock, costar stabs, etc.  You would have to get the plate made yourself though.
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: Wingpad on Mon, 27 June 2016, 13:22:16
If you want, I can throw together a plate that supports TaiHao's double-shot key caps with non-stepped caps lock, costar stabs, etc.  You would have to get the plate made yourself though.

The Tai-Hao keycaps only have costar stabs for the spacebar and the rest are Alps-style, it would be really easy to generate this layout with Swill's tool since that's the default option for Alps-mount stabs.
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: emdude on Mon, 27 June 2016, 13:28:56
You are right, but Swill's plate builder actually does generate proper Alps-style stabilizers for 6.25u space bars so they'd have to be replaced with Costar stabs.

Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: MandrewDavis on Mon, 27 June 2016, 18:28:50
I already have one of Hasu's PCBs, but I am definitely interested in an AEK plate.
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: fuzzycuffs on Tue, 28 June 2016, 00:56:08
Definitely in for a 60% AT101W plate.
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: duynguyenle on Fri, 01 July 2016, 11:46:17
Are there any updates to be had? And any chance AT101W plates will be run? I could just buy a Taihao doubleshot alps keyset instead of trying to look for a decent condition AEKII keyset and be done with it.

If you want, I can throw together a plate that supports TaiHao's double-shot key caps with non-stepped caps lock, costar stabs, etc.  You would have to get the plate made yourself though.

I would be very grateful if you could make the plate files and share it with us, so we could try and make the plates ourselves!  :thumb:
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: kato on Fri, 01 July 2016, 12:01:51
Has anyone else expressed interest in a 60% ISO AEKII plate?

yes! this would be nice :) really hard to get AEKII ISO stuff.
would buy!
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: emdude on Sat, 02 July 2016, 02:02:10
Are there any updates to be had? And any chance AT101W plates will be run? I could just buy a Taihao doubleshot alps keyset instead of trying to look for a decent condition AEKII keyset and be done with it.

If you want, I can throw together a plate that supports TaiHao's double-shot key caps with non-stepped caps lock, costar stabs, etc.  You would have to get the plate made yourself though.

I would be very grateful if you could make the plate files and share it with us, so we could try and make the plates ourselves!  :thumb:

Sure, I'll be busy for a few days, but I will try to get one made as soon as possible.
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: Scarpia on Fri, 12 August 2016, 03:03:47
Bumping for AEKII plates
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: ipreferpie on Fri, 12 August 2016, 03:23:06
Any chance you'd do infinity plates as well? I'm in HK myself too :)
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: duynguyenle on Fri, 12 August 2016, 05:36:40
Any chance you'd do infinity plates as well? I'm in HK myself too :)

What would be the difference between an AT101 plate layout and an Infinity layout? I haven't come across that one before.

I have sent out a quote to a local laser fab company and waiting to hear back. It was mostly for myself since I'm cutting some Cherry MX and AEK plates. If people are keen, I could make a few extras (waiting to get prices first)
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: ipreferpie on Fri, 12 August 2016, 05:52:08
Any chance you'd do infinity plates as well? I'm in HK myself too :)

What would be the difference between an AT101 plate layout and an Infinity layout? I haven't come across that one before.

I have sent out a quote to a local laser fab company and waiting to hear back. It was mostly for myself since I'm cutting some Cherry MX and AEK plates. If people are keen, I could make a few extras (waiting to get prices first)

The Infinity layout allows for split backspace and split right shift. With the Alpine Winter set, it's a very useful combo. Is only aluminum and steel doable? Would carbon fiber be an option too?
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: duynguyenle on Fri, 12 August 2016, 06:04:27
I'm not really looking into CFRP plates, I don't think it brings anything to the table really, at least not for this particular application (also the shop I've been talking with only does stainless steel and various grades of aly)

I'm looking at either stainless or 6082 alu.
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: morffius on Tue, 27 September 2016, 17:47:08
I am interested in a AEKII plate! I have one and just procured some Blues and want to make another. I am thinking of doing a Apple ADB Keyboard though.
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: Jumie on Sun, 02 October 2016, 01:02:11
In for aekII plate
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: fublamchu on Sun, 02 October 2016, 20:42:06
I'd be up for an AEKII plate, looking to start some ALPS projects
Title: Re: [IC] 60% AEKII & AT101W Plates
Post by: GentlemanShark on Sat, 08 October 2016, 01:13:28
I'm interested

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