[IC] had60 - An accessible, minimal, and universal-ish 60% PCB

[Hadi]

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Updates
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[October 16, 2021]
- GB for rev1.1 is up now senselessclay.com
https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=115012.0
[April 14, 2021]
- The boards are now available along with daughterboards on senselessclay.com!
All sold!
[February 12, 2021]
- Equipment and boards have been ordered, just waiting at this point.

[January 15, 2021]
- Added support for the Kei based on the larger indentations on hiney's h60.

[January 14, 2021]
- Design is finalized! Buy will continue with fulfillment happening in later February or early March given the upcoming Chinese New Year.

[October 9, 2020]
- Stream checking out the fit and feel of the PCB in a Unikorn will be on October 10 at 12:00 PM PT at twitch.tv/hadipotter. The switches have been pre-lubed, so I don't suspect it will be a terribly long stream. Hoping to see you all there!

[September 30, 2020]
- I'll be building a prototype case I designed for this PCB and testing it within the Unikorn on stream in October.

[September 27, 2020]
- 25 units of the PCB will be available for EU folks.  GB will run after initial US run.
- I'll be prototyping a plastic (POM) plate with matching flex cuts in October. 
- I designed an acrylic case for this board that leverages the same mounting style as the Unikorn if anyone's interested. I'll post more details once the prototype arrives in October. I expect to produce 5-10 for GB members in the United States since some assembly is required on my part. Target price for the case will be between $60 and $80 with a display stand and lube station included potentially. Daughterboard will be required.   
- Still trying to source nitrile O-Rings less than 70A, preferably 50A. If anyone has any recommendations that don't start with McMaster and end with Carr, let me know!

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Original Post
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Hello, Geekhack!

The had60 is a board I prototyped back in the summer and would now like to make available to the mechanical keyboard community as a token of my appreciation. The goal was to consolidate some current trends in PCB and keyboard design that I thought looked neat, and I’m very much not trying to take credit for the layout of the board or the visual language employed. To be clear, Wilba, TGR, Singa, and Gondolindrim have all heavily influenced this board along with the art additions to it. Functionally, the PCB is intended for use with the Unikorn but it should fit other 60% boards depending on whether or not they have tight connector slots.

Since this is a first for me, these PCBs will be offered at cost with an optional donation for those who would like to see other projects like this one come to fruition. Ran into several unanticipated costs between packaging, shipping, and hosting services, so I'll need to take a bit to cover the additional losses. Sorry.


USB fit and Unified Daughterboard sample

More

Features
- USB Type-C Connector
- QMK compatible (and VIA, maybe?)
- 4-pin JST Header pre-soldered (pinout conforms to the Unified Daughterboard standard)
- Basic ANSI, ISO, WKL, and HHKB support (preflashed, if desired)
- Green soldermask (or clear—we’ll see)
- ESD protection on power and data lines
- Overcurrent protection via a PTC
- EMI filtering on power via a ferrite bead
- Too much flex
- Absolutely no LEDs
- Some nifty board art

Price
About $30 depending on order quantity and locale (not including PayPal fee or shipping). I’m guessing we can get to the lower half of this range (or even less) easily enough, especially with plain, ol’ green.

Quantity/Availability
Two batches of 5-25 units, one for CONUS and one for EU, FCFS. We will run more extensive rounds if this is successful. Multiples will be allowed if we don't hit the cap in either region.

Potential additions
- Community submissions and designs for front solder-mask art.
- Coupled daughterboard with various connector extensions (typically 0 mm from the front edge per the Unified Daughterboard specification, but 1 and 2 mm are useful for non-metal cases with thicker walls) and a 200mm cable. The pair would be about $5-10, again depending on order quantity.
- QMK layout configuration and flashing for an additional fee (if I don’t get VIA support up in time). $1-10 depending on extent of customization, no macros or custom functions pls. Working to get VIA support up by fulfillment.
- A separate connector-less version, depending on feedback.   Just one version for the time being, with option to desolder for an additional fee ($2).
- Plates?
- O-Rings? Not a ton of great sources right now

Changes to production run
- Component package sizes - Switch from 0402 to 0603 since the former are dwarfed by the controller in my opinion.
- Pads for switch pins - The exposed teardrop pads are a little meme-y, but I’m down to leave the soldermask stopped if people find them interesting. I’ll build a board soon-ish to confirm how they affect soldering/desoldering.
- Front soldermask art - I’m still working on finalizing the front of the board given that the owl featured is a reproduction of a silkscreen print, ‘Bird Dream of the Olympus Mons’, by Kevin Tong (@tragicsunshine, https://tragic-sunshine.myshopify.com/) that I threw together for prototyping. I did get permission from the artist to share these photos but would rather stick to something that is either entirely mine or sourced from the community. If you have any recommendations or owl art you own, let me know!
- Connector extension - If anyone has a 60% PCB that uses USB Type-C lying around, I’d love to know how far the connector extends past the main edge of the case along with its position relative to the ‘Escape’ and ‘1’ keys. It would be great to make the PCB as compatible as possible with other cases. 
- Connector position - Seems like the connector may need to be moved a bit more to the right. I'll build my Unikorn with the PCB to confirm it's indeed centered.
- Column traces between Rows 2 and 3 will be moved to the bottom.

Timeline
Interest Check : September - November 2020
Accepting orders : December 1 - 14 2020 WILL BE SOLD AS IN STOCK DUE TO CONCERNS WITH PROTOTYPE, DATE TBD
Order/Production : December 15 - January 15, 2021
Shipping/Fulfillment : January 15 - February 30, 2021 ~March, 2021

Form
https://forms.gle/qpXt2PttKQV1ANkk9
I’ll send an email to responders closer to the end of the IC as a notification for the buy.

Terms
- Group buy members may not resell the pieces for profit. Anyone found to be violating this request will be banned from participating in all future rounds.
- I’ll order a few extra to have as backups if anything happens to the PCBs under typical usage, but refunds might be more convenient for this initial run. Just let me know and I’m sure we’ll be able to work something out.

TODO
- Order final prototype with updated art, pads, and connector position (if changed) Who needs to prototype when you have unfounded confidence and excess capital
- Get a shipping label printer so that the local postal service proxy doesn't slap me with printing charges DONE
- Source packaging for the boards along with an adequate flat-rate shipping option
- Make sure PayPal doesn’t lock my account No PayPal, sorry

Shameless self-promotion
I run a small YouTube channel and Discord server for makers looking to implement their own keyboards from scratch. If you’d like, we’re always looking for new members to join and collaborate on projects. I stream a bit of some of my design work on the side, too, and will probably give a prototype or two of this PCB away at some point.   

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpWGAJr2AU7LPUwVYbBQZRg
https://discord.gg/E6ujkUG
https://www.twitch.tv/hadipotter
https://www.patreon.com/hadiiskandarani

Let me know what you think!

[ilikerustoo]

I'm in.

Can we get clear solder mask?

[Hadi]

I'm in.

Can we get clear solder mask?

Clear is significantly more expensive than green soldermask, but I'd be willing to get a quote for those interested. 

[kidpid]

 +1 for clear/black solder mask. Would be cool if the final art was towards the middle of the PCB so it's visible with half plates. Do you have any typing & flex demos?

[matthewdias]

Feel like Wilba deserves a shoutout at the very least here for the very obvious WT60-D "inspiration".

[Hadi]

+1 for clear/black solder mask. Would be cool if the final art was towards the middle of the PCB so it's visible with half plates. Do you have any typing & flex demos?

Not yet, but I'll work on getting a plate for the Unikorn and posting a video within the IC period.

[Hadi]

Feel like Wilba deserves a shoutout at the very least here for the very obvious WT60-D "inspiration".

Sure! Wilba, TGR, Singa, and Gondolindrim have all heavily influenced the design of this board and the art additions. I've been open on other social media sites regarding this inspiration, and I am not looking to make a profit on this run. See https://www.instagram.com/p/CEPqSs7H2M4/ and https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/ifabfn/green_soldermask_can_be_beautiful_too/g2mc9nw/.

[n.rdy]

ummmmm yes. ummm. holy ****. yes. plz gib. also, finish your youtube series! <3

[Visionaire]

Interested..

[CustomerSupport]

Can someone give a high-level outline of what the flex cuts mean/how they affect type feeling, what mounting styles this would work best with, etc?

This looks cool and I'd love to support the project, but at the moment (and for the foreseeable future) the only 60% cases I have are top/tray mount, with which I am not positive flex will really matter.

But I may be wrong, and people with less experience may also want to know.

[Hadi]

Can someone give a high-level outline of what the flex cuts mean/how they affect type feeling, what mounting styles this would work best with, etc?

This looks cool and I'd love to support the project, but at the moment (and for the foreseeable future) the only 60% cases I have are top/tray mount, with which I am not positive flex will really matter.

But I may be wrong, and people with less experience may also want to know.

Honestly, if you have a metal or otherwise decently rigid plate and type normally, the effect might not be terribly noticeable. I just saw the slots as a challenge to routing and thought it would be fun to get feedback from other people in the community as to their impact on feel. I'll be comparing the stock PCB with a brass plate to at least one plastic plate with this board in the near future. Standard tray mount without a plate might see reduced rigidity, but I think Gondo's Lasgweloth may still offer more flexibility overall if you intend on using mounting points. I imagine this would work best in boards that already are implemented with flex in mind (i.e., those with a plastic plate, relief cuts, and/or some kind of gasket solution for mounting).

[beigeandbrown]

Can someone give a high-level outline of what the flex cuts mean/how they affect type feeling, what mounting styles this would work best with, etc?

This looks cool and I'd love to support the project, but at the moment (and for the foreseeable future) the only 60% cases I have are top/tray mount, with which I am not positive flex will really matter.

But I may be wrong, and people with less experience may also want to know.

Your won't "benefit" from a flex pcb, It will just provide a different typing feeling, in this case, this pcb would only work in a case with o ring mounting or top mount. The difference the pcb would have as to a normal one is that when it's paired with a half plate, the flex cuts will allow the alpha section of the pcb to flex more when typing, providing a bouncier/softer typing feel as opposed to a uncut pcb with half plate or full plate.

[catamscott]

such a gorgeous pcb, looks like it was a fun project. no unikorn but i'd still buy one as part of an aspirational step towards owning one eventually 

[icemountainguy]

Looks Fantastic.
And it will probably pair really well with Bakeneko 60.

[Hadi]

Looks Fantastic.
And it will probably pair really well with Bakeneko 60.

Hmm, I'm not too positive about that. Taking a look at the GitHub repo, the case may need to be modified to not interfere with the USB connector.

[pixelpusher]

Get this sucker in a Unikorn and let us know what you think.  My unikorn is willing and ready

[audax989]

Nice. Now all I need is a Unikorn.

[wencan008]

I like the idea. Would be interested in potentially picking up one or two. I will second asking for a different solder mask, but it's not a deciding factor for me, just would be nice to have a different color.

[Hadi]

I like the idea. Would be interested in potentially picking up one or two. I will second asking for a different solder mask, but it's not a deciding factor for me, just would be nice to have a different color.

I absolutely adore the green but will try to get a quote for clear soldermask. Is there a particular color you'd like?

[Hadi]

Get this sucker in a Unikorn and let us know what you think.  My unikorn is willing and ready

Sure! I'll build it on stream eventually and give my initial impressions. Just need to throw together a plate or two at some point.

[Hadi]

Accidental quote, deleted.

[wencan008]

I like the idea. Would be interested in potentially picking up one or two. I will second asking for a different solder mask, but it's not a deciding factor for me, just would be nice to have a different color.

I absolutely adore the green but will try to get a quote for clear soldermask. Is there a particular color you'd like?

Not particularly looking for clear, seems like some people above were though. Maybe yellow? I think it would be cool to see some colors that aren't common on PCBs. I'd also be happy with black, white, or red which might be "safer" colors. In the end, if it increases the price significantly, it's not worth it in my opinion, and I'm perfectly content with green.

[kbye]

Very cool - I'd be interested in clear soldermask!
Big fan of your YT videos, keep up the great work

[Hadi]

Very cool - I'd be interested in clear soldermask!
Big fan of your YT videos, keep up the great work

I'll definitely get a quote for clear within the next month or so, but I suspect the option will be at least 30%-50% more expensive. And thanks for watching! I appreciate the support tremendously.

[Hadi]

Not particularly looking for clear, seems like some people above were though. Maybe yellow? I think it would be cool to see some colors that aren't common on PCBs. I'd also be happy with black, white, or red which might be "safer" colors. In the end, if it increases the price significantly, it's not worth it in my opinion, and I'm perfectly content with green.

Sounds good. I will compare green, clear, yellow, and red soon, but probably will not go with black or white since they tend to make the board look pretty plain in my opinion. Regardless, I'll rotate through options in the future if this venture ends up being popular.

[Hadi]

Matching plate and foam have arrived! I'll be building up the board with Gateron yellows and giving my impressions at 12:00 PM PT tommorow, Saturday, October 10, at twitch.tv/hadipotter. The switches have been pre-lubed, so I don't expect it will be a terribly long stream. Hoping to see you all there!

[Hadi]

So, building the Unikorn with a flexible plate (POM) causes the band to warp the PCB slightly. Since there isn't a ton of room in the board, this results in bottoming out for rows 4 and 5 given the closest mounting positions are near the stabilizers. I'll be testing out a few more plate options with different copper fill combinations, but I think this present configuration may be problematic for those not using something like brass or FR4. Do people just intend to use these with a stock plate?

[pixelpusher]

I was planning to use a brass plate that I have sitting around.

[wencan008]

I didn't have a plate in mind, I could keep it in mind and use with an alu half plate or something. Is the issue caused just because the pcb and plate are too flexy?

[kidpid]

I intended to use it with a half plate. Maybe brass or alu.

[treeleaf64]

Meme cut meme cut

Tree leaf says memecut

[Hadi]

I didn't have a plate in mind, I could keep it in mind and use with an alu half plate or something. Is the issue caused just because the pcb and plate are too flexy?

Generally speaking, yes, but the one-sided copper fill also contributes to the warping slightly. I'm going to order a few different FR4 plates next week to see if I can compensate for the tension using another of the prototypes. Alternatively, I'm also considering replacing the ground plane with a much smaller one around the controller given the original PCB seems to work fine without one. Either way, we can rule out soft plates for this run.

[Hadi]

Meme cut meme cut

Tree leaf says memecut

Meme indeed, but it was fun to implement and cuts are en vogue in the hobby.

[zoo]

how many flex cuts do you want?
> yes

[treeleaf64]

Meme cut meme cut

Tree leaf says memecut

Meme indeed, but it was fun to implement and cuts are en vogue in the hobby.

YEs, I agree. Good job and I will be excited to see how good of a job it does

[Nonnegaard]

Amazing work and great tutorial.

[Hadi]

Hey all,

I've been working on a few things to go along with this PCB and will be shifting to an in-stock model for fulfillment. Date TBD, but those that have filled out the form will receive notification when available. Thanks for the patience.

[Hadi]

Hey all,

I've finalized the design and, if there's still interest, I'll place an order within the next two weeks with U.S. fulfillment around late February/early March given the upcoming holiday in China. It's looking like we should be able to meet the lower end of the price range if we manage to order 50, and I'd be comfortable grabbing extra for other projects since only 25 people filled out the form thus far. If you guys still want these and are fine with the final implementation/artwork, let me know! Note that this is just an SVG render and, as such, may differ from the actual product in terms of silkscreen quality and color.

Otherwise, I can order another round of prototypes if actual product photos are preferred. I'm just wary of getting a ton in light of the fact that there are more feature-rich boards out there for like $10 more. I have a friend willing to coordinate a smaller buy in Europe, but I imagine it'll be more expensive given the increased import fees. Regardless, the EU fulfillment will have to be separate and thus follow later on in the year.

[pixelpusher]

Still interested here

[kidpid]

I'm still interested. Do you know if the cutouts support the Kei?

[Hadi]

I'm still interested. Do you know if the cutouts support the Kei?

Well, the cutouts seem to be in the same positions relative to the switch footprints, but I'm unsure about the exact clearances. Do you have an outline file, measurements, or a straightish top-down photo? If so, editing the profile to fit should be fairly easy, but I imagine the USB connector would still have to be removed based on what I can glean from build videos. Happy to do it for you using hot air if it ends up working out.

[kidpid]

I'm still interested. Do you know if the cutouts support the Kei?

Well, the cutouts seem to be in the same positions relative to the switch footprints, but I'm unsure about the exact clearances. Do you have an outline file, measurements, or a straightish top-down photo? If so, editing the profile to fit should be fairly easy, but I imagine the USB connector would still have to be removed based on what I can glean from build videos. Happy to do it for you using hot air if it ends up working out.

Here's the product page for the PCB the Kei uses:
https://hineybush.com/collections/pcbs/products/h60-hotswap-daughterboard?variant=32196671635558

Here's a timestamp to Taeha's stream where he shows off the PCB:

Picture from a Discord user that has a decent shot of the PCB:


Another picture from a Discord user:

I don't think outline files are available, but we might be able to ask hiney.

[Xdoc6]

Still interested here as well; just filled out the form!

[Hadi]

I'm still interested. Do you know if the cutouts support the Kei?

Well, the cutouts seem to be in the same positions relative to the switch footprints, but I'm unsure about the exact clearances. Do you have an outline file, measurements, or a straightish top-down photo? If so, editing the profile to fit should be fairly easy, but I imagine the USB connector would still have to be removed based on what I can glean from build videos. Happy to do it for you using hot air if it ends up working out.

Here's the product page for the PCB the Kei uses:
https://hineybush.com/collections/pcbs/products/h60-hotswap-daughterboard?variant=32196671635558

Here's a timestamp to Taeha's stream where he shows off the PCB:

Picture from a Discord user that has a decent shot of the PCB:

Show Image

Another picture from a Discord user:

Show Image

I don't think outline files are available, but we might be able to ask hiney.

So the answer is no, not at the moment, but making it compatible would just require adding two circular cuts at the top and expanding two at the bottom to match (in red, see photo). The other, smaller indentations are unnecessary, right? The USB platform is ever so slightly extended on my board, but I don't think the ~0.5mm will hit the case since the overall dimensions still seem to be smaller than those of the H60.

[wencan008]

Would still be interested

[Hadi]

So the answer is no, not at the moment, but making it compatible would just require adding two circular cuts at the top and expanding two at the bottom to match (in red, see photo). The other, smaller indentations are unnecessary, right? The USB platform is ever so slightly extended on my board, but I don't think the ~0.5mm will hit the case since the overall dimensions still seem to be smaller than those of the H60.

I went ahead and expanded the cuts since they were extras to begin with. I'm guessing it should be compatible now based on hiney's store listing. Here's a (very low-quality) png export for reference.

[kidpid]

So the answer is no, not at the moment, but making it compatible would just require adding two circular cuts at the top and expanding two at the bottom to match (in red, see photo). The other, smaller indentations are unnecessary, right? The USB platform is ever so slightly extended on my board, but I don't think the ~0.5mm will hit the case since the overall dimensions still seem to be smaller than those of the H60.

Show Image

I went ahead and expanded the cuts since they were extras to begin with. I'm guessing it should be compatible now based on hiney's store listing. Here's a (very low-quality) png export for reference.

Show Image

That looks like it would work! To answer your prior question about the small indentations -- no, those are not necessary for the Kei. Only the large indentations are necessary due to board being screwed together from the top. Those large indentations are so you can screw the board together.

[Hadi]

So the answer is no, not at the moment, but making it compatible would just require adding two circular cuts at the top and expanding two at the bottom to match (in red, see photo). The other, smaller indentations are unnecessary, right? The USB platform is ever so slightly extended on my board, but I don't think the ~0.5mm will hit the case since the overall dimensions still seem to be smaller than those of the H60.

Show Image

I went ahead and expanded the cuts since they were extras to begin with. I'm guessing it should be compatible now based on hiney's store listing. Here's a (very low-quality) png export for reference.

Show Image

That looks like it would work! To answer your prior question about the small indentations -- no, those are not necessary for the Kei. Only the large indentations are necessary due to board being screwed together from the top. Those large indentations are so you can screw the board together.

Great! I'll just order this version if there aren't any objections.

[Hadi]

Hey all, one quick sanity check before ordering. Does anyone have strong feelings about the stabilizer orientation for ANSI Enter? The original Unikorn PCB has north-facing wires with plate cutouts to boot, but I much prefer south-facing since it allows for all of the stabilizers to match across the modifier keys. For the record, I tried the PCB using the stock brass plate and didn't notice any interference immediately.

[pixelpusher]

The plate I plan to use supports either direction so I don’t have a preference.