[IC] Borne V2 - A slim, wireless and split keyboard

[gibbz]

Hi,

After finishing the V1 for some leftover prototype boards, I'm now interested in checking the demand for a refined V2 product. This time, a 3x6 version will be added to the line-up, and all cases will be made out of aluminum. (CNC:ed, bead blasted, then anodized with coloring.)

3x5 renders album: https://imgur.com/a/F6YmzLj
3x6 renders album: https://imgur.com/a/GH1A9Tw

Quick recap of its distinguishing features:

* Assembled wireless, split, 36/40-key orthogonal keyboard with a comparatively large battery capacity.
* Low profile and tiny footprint at a max height of about 17 mm (0.67 in).
* Front-facing I/O: External power and reset switches. Two LEDs, a red one for charging indication, and a blue one for bluetooth/bootloader status.
* Designed with repairability and upgradability in mind: The battery is for example connected via a molex connector, not hard-soldered. Design files are openly available. Silkscreen is expected to be descriptive. And serial programming through-holes are available.
* Powerful firmware wizardry achieved with ZMK and Adafruit's nrf52 bootloader.
* Keyboard comes with a micro-USB port, as it's about 30% thinner than the USB type C port. A necessary trade-off for keeping the case thinner than most modern smartphones.
* Toggling between USB or multiple bluetooth profiles/controls possible with single key press combinations.
* Dedicated IC allows the keyboards to charge while in use.
* ESD protection IC on USB data and power lines.
* Battery capacity of at least 240mAh with plenty of room for improvements. Improvement options include doubling that to 440mAh by connecting two in parallel. Source 320mAh directly from a battery manufacturer. Or possibly in the future; custom manufacture double-cell batteries at 480mah.
* Utilization of Kailh Choc v1 spacing and height dimensions. (The standard—and far from low-profile—MX switches are therefor not compatible with this keyboard.)

Pricing

The goal is to provide an entry point for showing what low-profile ergonomic keyboards have to offer. As such, here's the pricing estimate:

240 USD for an assembled and thoroughly tested board, this includes:
* PCB pair with Kailh hot-swap sockets.
* Aluminium case pair. Preliminary color offerings include black, gray, red, green, blue, gold, and orange.
* Pre-flashed with keyboard layout of choice. E.g Qwerty, Dvorak, Colemak-dh etc.
* Travel-case.

+30 USD for a set of Kailh Choc v1 (PG1350) switches of choice. (Pre-assembled)

+20-60 USD for a set of keycaps of choice. (Pre-assembled). Variation availability and pricing is entirely dependent on shown demand. IC form will survey interest for the following variations:
* MBK blanks/colored/legend 40s...
* Lowprokb's LSDA blanks
* Generic square flats.

The availability of both switches and keycaps will be verified with each creator/retailer prior to group buy announcement. Credit where credit is due and no knock-offs. Also, group buy won't go live before I'm satisfied with the sample quality of each supplier.

Interest check form

All in all, I'm posting this in order to check the demand for:

1. Developing a V2 in regards to case, pcb, firmware and open source repo improvements.
2. Exploring the possibility of sourcing larger, albeit rarer, battery capacities.
3. Deciding on which case color, switches, and keycap variations can viably be provided and preassembled.
4. Helping out with the ZMK project as a whole.

So without further ado, here's the link to the form

https://forms.gle/qZ2BBrsVGtwgQKSk6

Additional links:

Borne V1 github repo: https://github.com/gibbz00/borne-keyboard-v1

Borne V1 group buy announcement post: https://www.reddit.com/r/mechmarket/comments/yoo0uy/gb_introducing_the_borne_keyboard_v1/

Discord: https://discord.gg/9wMpDHjfZu

[dededecline]

Embedding images saves lives ICs

* Keyboard comes with a micro-USB port, as it's about 30% thinner than the USB type C port. A necessary trade-off for keeping the case thinner than most modern smartphones.

Terrible tradeoff honestly. Micro-USB ports are terrible when it comes to reliability and will tear off at a whim, not to mention how much less common the cables are these days and how little I want to fiddle around with making sure I have the proper orientation.

[Macmutant]

Micro USB is a deal-breaker for me, though I like concept/design otherwise.

[Lysol_]

Very interesting concept. Would like to see a type c variant to show physical thickness comparisons to the micro usb port variant you're showing in this IC.

[gibbz]

Thanks for the feedback, greatly appreciated 

Here's a render of the current front-facing I/O as requested:



I've recently been looking into changing to a Type C connector because of that, and maybe I was a bit quick in dismissing its feasibility. The reason I did it in the first place, was because it could simply not be pressed against the inside bottom case plate without protruding through the PCB. This would cause problems when inserting the choc switch directly over it:

Drawing with micro connector:

More

Drawing with type-c connector:

More

3D model illustration:

More

But if one is willing to locally reduce the bottom plate thickness, and use a connector that offsets the PCB pins (such as this one: https://www.lcsc.com/product-detail/USB-Connectors_G-Switch-GT-USB-9014A_C3019721.html); then it should absolutely be possible to make room for a type-C connector. It would cut slightly into the chamfered edge, but one could design around that for it not to look too weird.

Anyhow, given how strongly you voiced the Type-C connector preference. I would for sure try to make this a V2 feature. But sadly, I don't think that day will come anytime soon, as the IC survey hasn't received as much traction as I was hoping for :/ It also feels a bit spammy posting a new one for this change only.