【IC】Greatwall 65-Dragon lies high on hills, travels thousands miles long

[made in China]

Greetings guys, this is Creatkeebs,
   After completing the romantic Thera75 in the Mediterranean and the biting Glacier80 in the North Atlantic, this time we set our eyes on the Chinese land: among countless images that represent the profound and long-standing Chinese culture, we finally chose the Great Wall as the theme this time. Here is the IC of our next creation, the Greatwall 65.

Introduction

The Great Wall is the masterpiece of the Qin Dynasty, which was used as the base to develop the Silk Road during the Han Dynasty, and now the Great Wall is known worldwide as one of the wonders of Chinese civilization.
For more than a thousand years, the Great Wall has been perched on mountains and lands. This time we have incorporated the elements of the Great Wall into the work：The outermost layer of the kit is carved out in the shape of a battlement, which spreads along with the alignment of the bottom weight and rises at the two corners, creating the imagery of two beacon towers.

At the bottom of the board, the weight extends to occupy the upper space and still retaining the curvature of the mountains in the division with the bottom case. In the middle of the bottom case, the words "長城" in Chinese Qin dynasty character reside on the weight and the bottom shell respectively, indicating the era when the Great Wall was formally built.

Internal Structure

On Greatwall 65, we continue to use the same pcb-leaf-spring structure that we have been using to support plate-less structures and have made some improvements over the previous ones.
We changed the PCB cutting method, through the horizontal and vertical flex-cuts to divide each switch into a unit. At the same time, we use black core material for the PCB, which is tougher to improve the typing consistency and sound performance, and can ensure sufficient service life when the PCB is substantially deformed, even in plate-less build 1.2mm thickness will be able to meet the strength requirements.
We also changed the material of the poron gaskets to rubber socket, which can greatly facilitate the installation process and also avoid the problems caused by the stretching poron gaskets during installation. We still retain the design of compatible with the installation without steel and steel, you can decide to build this plate-less or plated by replacing the 1.5mm poron foam and 1.5mm plate.

Solder PCB layout

Hot-swap PCB layout

Color options

We provide 8 different colors with a variety of weights this time, from the classic black, white, gray to the ancient Chinese flavor of vine green and ochre brown and so on. Except e-white case, all the others are anodized color. The weight includes e-lucency brass, PVD frosted gray stainless steel, laser engraving and chroma PVD.

Wrist rest and Keycaps

The wrist rest has two versions: PC + Alu and Walnut wood + Alu, the appearance continues the design style of the board, retaining the winding Great Wall arc and "昌盛" (Prosperity) engraved on the top of the hand rest, and insert Alu strip with Chinese traditional pattern.

The keycaps, of course, can not be left behind. Inspired by the Great Wall, we integrated a variety of elements of the Great Wall, such as beacon, gatehouse, etc. into the keycaps design, and the classic black and red color scheme. We also communicate with the OEM and strive to a more affordable price for the whole set keycaps.

Specification

Board size：322.4mm x 112.85mm
Front side height: 20.47mm
Typing angle: 7°
PCB fixing method ：PCB-leaf-spring gasket & rubber socket
Type-c daughter board
PCB info: qmk-via supported, 1.2mm, plate-less available

Keyboard Kit Includes

Alu top case
Alu bottom case
Weight (Brass or Stainless steel)
Plate
1.5mm+3.5mm poron PCB foam
PE sheet
1.2mm PCB
Type-c daughter board
1+2mm poron case foam
Gasket rubber socket
Battery room poron foam
Rubber feet
Screws and screwdriver

[Botty212]

The bottom part of the case is gorgeous, but not a big fan of the side view. I know that it is supposed to look like the great wall, but it will look like a zipper from far away, which is a turn off for me personally.
I like the green the most of these renders so far and GLWIC

[Backspace2]

It's really cool, but I also second the zipper comment; besides that it's cool!

[granola bar enthusiast]

this is really nice, also, will it need the same washers for the plate that the glacier80 had?

[reticent]

This is really cool and I especially love the curves on the back. Ditto on the zipper comment however. Also, I feel like it'd easily trap dirt/dust/gamer gunk on the ridges.

[NubbJustGaming]

love the bottom and the back but the side is just not it for me.

[Puddsy]

unique

[Necrolegion]

This is the first Create Keebs / Vast Labs keyboard that I don't feel that strong for. I would have loved to see a corner blocker, akin to the Iron165 / Kyuu / etc. Something to break the symmetry a bit.

[DirtyGingy]

I feel like I may have missed it. When is this board running?

[Theman2k]

I feel the theme overtook the board a bit with the side profile.
It does look like a zipper, and even if it looked like a wall I still would have prefer that my keyboard will be without the ridges.
Those ridges look like they will catch dust real fast.

Everything else beside the design looks good.

[Nonnegaard]

unique

your self restraint is admirable

[Nonnegaard]

Like others have said, those sides are a bit much. Perhaps bring up the notches so that the wave is simply flat, and maybe try leaving the notches on the back if you feel it detracts too much from the theme. just my 2c.

[treeleaf64]

Great idea, weird design


Yes yes

[sup3r170va]

Is the standard 7u bottom row supported for the solder PCB?
1.5u/1u/1.5u/7u/1.5u
Like the last row here:

[bizzlesticks]

I don't really understand the point of an IC when the design is clearly finished and it doesn't seem like the creator is interested in listening or responding to feedback. There have been many comments here about the side profile looking like a zipper and being too much and that really is killing interest in the board - but no response addressing these comments

[zuipanda]

You should probably join their Discord server if you would like to give feedback. They have made multiple design iterations already.

[Luna]

subbed

[infinitum]

good idea, execution is a bit off. looks like a zipper. GLWIC

[ManiacMarc]

Yea, beautiful board, but I'm definitely not a fan of the zippered edge. The wrist rest is super nice though, I'd even be down to buy extras of those.

[7empest]

I don't really understand the point of an IC when the design is clearly finished and it doesn't seem like the creator is interested in listening or responding to feedback. There have been many comments here about the side profile looking like a zipper and being too much and that really is killing interest in the board - but no response addressing these comments

I think the phrase "Interest Check" speaks for itself. Its not named "Feedback Check" or something like that. Not trying to be mean here, but someone can make an interest check to do exactly that, gauge interest in a project they have been working on. While feedback is a wonderful thing, and can sometimes lead to product improvements, if everything was based on feedback alone you would have a never ending project. At some point, you have to say "okay, thats it, no more changes". You cant please everyone, and if you tried you would be in a never ending feedback loop [no pun intended]. Some people have a vision and want to do it there way, its up to the information gained by the IC to see if other people like that vision and want to support it. If a person doesn't want to make any changes to their project and it is not well received by the community, it is up to them to figure out if its a good idea to run with it, or make changes.

I am not saying one is bad [taking no feedback, making no changes] and the other is good [taking all the feedback and changing everything], I am just saying that "Interest Check" does not mean "Feedback Check".

[PuNkShoO]

Curves are in, baby! Love the design!

[WK]

I don't really understand the point of an IC when the design is clearly finished and it doesn't seem like the creator is interested in listening or responding to feedback. There have been many comments here about the side profile looking like a zipper and being too much and that really is killing interest in the board - but no response addressing these comments

I think the phrase "Interest Check" speaks for itself. Its not named "Feedback Check" or something like that. Not trying to be mean here, but someone can make an interest check to do exactly that, gauge interest in a project they have been working on. While feedback is a wonderful thing, and can sometimes lead to product improvements, if everything was based on feedback alone you would have a never ending project. At some point, you have to say "okay, thats it, no more changes". You cant please everyone, and if you tried you would be in a never ending feedback loop [no pun intended]. Some people have a vision and want to do it there way, its up to the information gained by the IC to see if other people like that vision and want to support it. If a person doesn't want to make any changes to their project and it is not well received by the community, it is up to them to figure out if its a good idea to run with it, or make changes.

I am not saying one is bad [taking no feedback, making no changes] and the other is good [taking all the feedback and changing everything], I am just saying that "Interest Check" does not mean "Feedback Check".

They do take feedback though. This is the third iteration of the board currently and it looks like due to interest, they are making a second iteration of Thera75 instead, while placing this on indefinite hold.

[Gerevala]

This looks like a zip except greatwall. I think Glacier 80 is so much better than this.

[Rotuh]

Personally I'm quite fond of the zippered side profile. It gives the keyoard this grungy, more modern approach alongside the traditional vibe, which I think could work really well in a Synthwave type of build.