[IC] PlaketXL by Flatbrains! | GB Live from November 5th to December 10th

[louckousse]

Picture credit: Bagri


Hi everyone, we're Flatbrains! from France!

Our duo consists of Plaketdebeur, who mainly handles case design, and me, on the electronic side of things.

Up until now, we've kept a low profile by running mostly fnf runs and a bunch of prototypes. That said, you may have seen some of our boards around, such as the PlaketVNR, the Plaket60, or even the Samara.

We're glad to announce that the PlaketXL GB is now live until December 5th!




The idea

An old-school-looking 60% with a double F-row and a pen-holder


Picture credit: Tomish

More

More pictures of the first prototype (color not available in the GB)

History

The design process started almost 2 years ago when Plaketdebeur, who's passionate about OG boards, wanted something reminiscing of the 80s era and some of its iconic boards such as the Cherry G80-2100.

After several iterations on the design, a first prototype was ordered. It got displayed at some meetups as well as on streams, and received solid comments and feedback.

Eventually, Delta Key Co. reached out to us about running this as a GB. We took the opportunity to run another round of prototypes with another manufacturer, and implemented some changes based on the previously collected feedback about the first prototype.

PlaketXL's top secret R&D




Specifications

● Alpha angle:		6°
● F-Row angle:		17°
● Alpha mount:		O-ring
● F-row mount:		Top-mount
● EKH:		23.8mm
● Front height:		19.5mm
● PCBs:		Solder or hotswap PCBs (same compatibility) (1.6mm) with C3 spec DB
● Weights:		Clear-coated dual internal brass weights
● Weight:		3kg built (6.6lb)

Options

Colorways	● Beige and red with red plate (Vintage Red)
	● Silver and blue with blue plate (Modern Blue)
	● Black/silver/black with red plate (Classic black)
Layouts	● WK
	● WKL
	● HHKB
Plates	● Alu with flex cuts
	● PC without flex cuts
Extras	● Top piece in beige, silver or black in every layout
	● Bottom accent piece in red, blue or black
	● Silver aluminium plate with flex cuts
	● Clear frosted PC plate without flex cuts
	● Solder or hotswap PCBs

Renders by kustom3 with druz's assistance

More

Vendors

Starting at US$415
The GB run from November 5th to December 5th.

🇪🇺 Europe 🇪🇺	🇫🇷 Delta Key Co. (lead vendor)
	🇬🇧 proto[Typist]
🌎 Rest of the World 🌏	🇺🇸 Click Clack
	🇦🇺 Keebz N Cables
	🇸🇬 ktechs
	🇰🇷 Swagkeys

Prototypes builds and sound tests

Prototype build by Taeha Types

More

Second prototype - Popus and dark vBlues on alu

First prototype - vBlacks on alu - credit: Zyrophr

Links

● Flatbrains!'s discord

● Notion

● Instagram

[louckousse]

Embrace tradition, reserve the first post

# 2024-09-24: adding vendors and GB date (start november 5th)
# 2024-11-06: Update first post with GB infos, including new extras, plate modification and hotswap PCBs

[Manukbs_]

Let's ****ing go

[SilfurSol]

VIVE LA FRANCE

[Lhiebig]

Very nice to see this amazing design and keyboard going for a global sell.
GLHF even if I know that with such a design, their is no luck involved, just talent.
Love you guys!

[mamahuhu]

A l'attaque!

[HubertThemad]

Damn! This has my interest. GLWIC

[azhdar]

oui

[WiBla]

This is my first post here, GLWIC ! 🇫🇷

[xLeHoy]

Really giving off a retro vibe while also giving off some more recent board vibes.

GLWIC!

[bizzlesticks]

Cool design, I've been wanting a 60% with F-row! I find the typing test to honestly sounds pretty awful, especially at this price point, and the typing angle is too shallow - which means unfortunately this board is not for me. Best of luck though!

[Islander]

Very interesting design. GLWIC

[thibaud]

Great board congrat for the design, the pictures and all of the hard work behind the scene.
Best EU vendor too

[LightningXI]

Quite the fun looking board! A nice ode to the classics; would be so keen to see it in person. I love the 2100.

What purpose does the inner weight with the individual holes under the switch serve? Well, moreso a rhetorical question, but what kinds of findings have you had with how it affects the typing experience?

Will keep an eye on the IC/GB. GL!

[BlivionIaG]

Very nice, good luck with your ic 👍

[Kokaloo]

square keyboards are so in right now

[mongoose27]

This is very cool, something different from your run-of-the-mill 60's.     Definitely keeping an eye on this one. 

[Gtour]

Simple but neat. Interesting inner weight design, GL

[Bagri]

Let's go booooys
super cool <3

[druz]

Great work as always guys, GLWIC!

[Bert]

Cool stuff! I wish I knew how to solder.

[vhaarr]

glwic man I really want this hhkb :-D

Please show us a full render of hhkb top with keycaps, maybe in beige?
Kind of wish for more colors, but I could use another silver/black board anyway so hmm

[VXQN]

Not really a 60% guy but this looks awesome. Are the side bezels wider than the bottom ones?

[SilfurSol]

Please consider allowing to mix and match top/accent pieces. And maybe add an asterisk on the proto photos that currently Silver + Red is not a planned possible combination, could mislead some people I guess

Again vive la france and GLWIC

[Plaketdebeur]

Quite the fun looking board! A nice ode to the classics; would be so keen to see it in person. I love the 2100.

What purpose does the inner weight with the individual holes under the switch serve? Well, moreso a rhetorical question, but what kinds of findings have you had with how it affects the typing experience?

Will keep an eye on the IC/GB. GL!

This remains theoretical, but in my tests (another project, where I was able to test with and without the studs), I have the impression that it slightly accentuates the sound of the switch above the small hole. Also, having small studs avoids resonance. In any case, I thought it was a funny idea.

Not really a 60% guy but this looks awesome. Are the side bezels wider than the bottom ones?

Yes, same wider

[RozenKristal]

oh wow this is beautiful, any chance for a hotswap pcb

[Raie_de_Boule]

Another vote for the hotswap PCB (please)

[Meepergon]

yeah this is sick. i'm in.

[mul7i]

such a cool concept, excited for the sales date reveal

[El Kinoflop]

Looks great. 3-1-3 Split space would be amazing. GLWIC

[louckousse]

oh wow this is beautiful, any chance for a hotswap pcb

Another vote for the hotswap PCB (please)

I promise nothing but I'll see what I can do with the rest of the team. The hotswap bring some constraints and we need to make sure that everything fit and how to propose this option. (ansi only? both compat?). Time to reopen KiCad!

[thibaud]

Hotswap would be a great option for some people - good news if you manage to make it happen.

[crowcrowcrow]

this is sick wow

[inviz]

oui, baguette, fromage

[ZavaZ86]

Other than the lead vendor being one of the more expensive EU vendors (which is disappointing) while being fairly new'ish/small isn't great. But I do look forward to it being released and hope for the best and at least Jae is an option

[Bagri]

Other than the lead vendor being one of the more expensive EU vendors (which is disappointing) while being fairly new'ish/small isn't great. But I do look forward to it being released and hope for the best and at least Jae is an option

For the price part, you need to bear in mind that we have 20% VAT in France, so while it is more advantageous for french people because of shipping costs, it might costs you less with other vendors once announced. But I don't think it is fair to call it expensive if you don't compare prices excluding taxes.

[inviz]

Other than the lead vendor being one of the more expensive EU vendors (which is disappointing) while being fairly new'ish/small isn't great. But I do look forward to it being released and hope for the best and at least Jae is an option

French project, made by french people, with a french lead vendor.
It all makes sense.

Let's give newcomers a chance, especially when they're trustworthy and local.

[Kuruje]

The best team releasing the best board idea ever !
The design is awesome ! I definitely need it !
And involving DKC is a great move !
Thank you ! GLWIC !

[pseudonym]

Please reconsider adding a hotswap PCB with decent layout support. Otherwise it looks great.

[crowTFT]

Looks absolutely sick, I will definitely be getting beige + red

[Nuap]

i buy

[deductivemonkee]

If it's solder, can alps support be added? No real reason not to

Sent from my SM-S911W using Tapatalk

[Zyrophr]

18:33 VIP louckousse: i love you flatbrains you're the best

[mr_foggy]

deltakeyco for my experience is oblotzky level of trustworthiness + it's cheaper than most EU vendors for me + this board is genius = buy

[Piperaceae]

Nothing but nice things to say about Delta Key Co!

[pseudonym]

May I ask if you considered a cherry lip by any chance?

[nathanchere]

Looks great. 3-1-3 Split space would be amazing. GLWIC

2.25-1.25-2.75 split space would be even better

[Bennettb]

This is very cool! Love the retro vibe, feels like a NASA control panel.

[louckousse]

May I ask if you considered a cherry lip by any chance?

The external design is final, so no cherry lip even tho' that's a design part I REALLY love. We tried to put one early on, but it didn't worked well with the rest of the design.

[pseudonym]

Thanks for the explanation. Really looking forward to this project, cherry lip or no