This board has been in the works for quite a long time, as I've always wanted to design a 75% keyboard. I'm excited to finally be able to post the interest check and get feedback from the community that can hopefully lead to a successful group buy.
If you're interested in the design, read through the interest check, take the survey, and leave some feedback with your opinion and what you want to see in the group buy!
The prototype is complete and built, there will be a full prototype picture album soon, but for now here is a teaser!
There will be a second prototype made before we go to GB just to fix the tightness of the back accent on the first prototype. I haven't had a chance to build the first prototype yet, but the revisions will be based on feedback from Salvun and MyKeyboard. Hopefully I can build the first prototype soon and post a typing test and a build log. I will update again with more prototype pictures and a timeline once the revised prototype is going to begin production.
The prototype is just about finished, the accents just need clear cerakote to protect the sandblasted brass and hopefully I will be able to build it and post some pictures in a couple of weeks. After that we will hopefully have a price and raffle date to announce as soon as the functionality of the prototype is confirmed! If you're not already in the discord server, go ahead and join as that is the best way to stay up to date! Here are some of the pictures Salvun took of the unbuilt prototype:
Update 1/8Salvun has finished machining the aluminum sections of the prototype and it has been sent to be anodized. As soon as that's back the accent and weight can be machined and checked for proper fit. Then the prototype can be shipped out and I can build it and post some finished pictures. After that, there will be information regarding the Founder's Edition raffle!
A complete album of raw machined prototype pictures can be found at
https://m.imgur.com/a/FpPK1Pb. Here are some of my favorite pictures:
Update 12/10Still waiting on the materials to arrive for prototype production, but in the meantime I've created a quick survey to figure out the features/price range combination that would be best for the matching numpad design. Feel free to fill out the survey and share your opinion!
Numpad Survey:
https://forms.gle/8j5s9N5RYYF3MvyMAUpdate 12/4The materials for the prototypes have been ordered, and Salvun will start the manufacturing some time in the next 1 to 2 weeks. We will post pictures of the prototype progress, likely on the official discord as well as
Salvun's Instagram.
Update 9/21The current plan is for Salvun to handle the manufacturing; we are waiting for some new capabilities before manufacturing the prototype, which should be produced late October/early November. Once the prototype is finished, we will proceed to the GB. We will try to make the process as quick as possible, but the priority is ensure the best possible production quality for the boards. If you want to check out some of Salvun's work, head over to his Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/salvun/?hl=en. We also have a US proxy lined up pending the prototype turns out well.
I wanted the board design to have a very clean exterior with a relatively simple aesthetic. Inevitably, there are only so many ways to design a rectangle, and the simple aesthetic I've chosen may be considered boring or uninspired by some of you guys, but that's okay since everyone is entitled to an opinion. As such, some of the design choices I made were:
- No visible case side seam
- Rear angle screws hidden by brass accent
- Staggered, symmetrical F-row
- Symmetrical 0.75u blockers for WKL case (inspired by Dixie Mech Bauer)
After original plans to design a board with an adaptable mounting system, I decided to go for a more straightforward approach on my first design. My goal was for the design to implement an isolation (or gasket) mount system, and riotonthebay was kind enough to allow me to use the same exact gasket strips that Keycult used on the No 1/60 and 1/65 as well as the No 2. I figured this was the best option for me as a designer, to use a tried and true material, as well as for the consumer, as they would know more or less what to expect from the mounting system. Again, huge thanks to riotonthebay and his partner!
These are the final layouts for the Winkeyless (WKL) and Winkey (WK) plates. The PCB officially supports ISO, and an ISO plate file will be offered along with the other open sourced plate files once the GB concludes.
