[IC] NP-R _ Numpad Retro - by Bagri x Flatbrains!

[Bagri]

NP-R Numpad Retro - Bagri x Flatbrains! Special thanks to ILWrites, LucasAlt, kustom3 and Druz. The NP-R is inspired by retro technologies such as vintage analog music consoles, guitar pedals [...], and from the work of German designer Dieter Rams. Hello everyone ! We are very happy to present the NP-R. We are working on this project for over a year, and after a lot of work, we are now confident to show our work to the public. If you are interested in purchasing the NP-R, please let us know by completing the IC form! It helps a lot with MOQ/price negociations <3 >   IC Form   < >   IC Form   < Everything you see on this page is subject to change until the group buy starts. Vendors list: 🇪🇺 Europe - Delta Key Co (Lead vendor) 🇬🇧 US - Bowl Keyboards 🇰🇷 Asia - TBC 🇬🇧 UK - Prototypist 🇨🇳 China - TBC 🇦🇺 Australia - KeebzNCables 🇨🇦 Canada - Minokeys 🇦🇷 South America - TBC STATUS / PRICING / HOW TO BUY Status → Case and PCB designs - Completed. → Case 3D Print prototyping - Completed. → PCB prototyping - 2nd PCB received, firmware is being made. → IC - On going - May 2025. → CNC Prototyping phase - Quote requested. → GB - To be announced. → Production phase - To be announced. → Shipping - Far far away from now… Pricing € $ We don’t know yet. We are currently discussing with manufacturers and in the process of getting a quote for the prototype. The IC will help understand how many people are interested and negociate better MOQ and price. How to buy This will be sold on a GB format. We expect the GB to happen at the earliest around Q3/Q4 2025 and to last one or two months. SPECIFICATIONS More Aluminium top and bottom cases Stainless steel (premium edition) or Aluminium (standard edition, brushed or raw) weight Typing angle: 7° Front height: Top mount Screws: M3 torx only (except for the solenoid as the electrical component comes with pre-tooled holes) PCB designed by louckousse at Flatbrains! with help from ILWrites - 1.6mm - Compat ZMK Aluminium plate (Color dependant on CW) 3 layers accessible with fixed position knob 3 LED showing active layer (configurable) Numlock LED Solenoid switch on/off Wired or Wireless mode (bluetooth only - no dongle) Weight: ~1,3kg (with STS weight) / ~1kg (with alu weight) - unbuilt (theorethical weight with top, bottom, weight, plate, knob and button only) Colorways (and theoretical RAL for custom colors): #1 - Beige (e-coated, RAL-1013) / #2 - Green (anodized, RAL-6011) / #3 - Orange (e-coated) RAL-2005) / #4 - Cyan (anodized) / #5 - Rose (anodized) / #6 - Purple (anodized, RAL-300 20 25) / #7 - Silver (anodized) Layout support (southpaw/full 1u): Plate compatibility is achieve by being flipped upside down. INSPIRATIONS, CONCEPT AND STORY More The NP-R is born from the fact that most custom keyboard layouts that include a numpad are not much popular among keyboard hobbyists. As such, a lot of keyboard enthusiasts prefer the advantages and visual aesthetic of smaller layouts, and don’t mind to compromise on the practicallity of having a numpad. Some might even say they don’t need one at all. Never. Under no circumstance (if that’s your case, what are you still doing here? Get out. But, for those like me, who did make a compromise here, there was not a lot of high quality numpad designs in the hobby. In fact, I found none that I liked. So I designed one. During my initial search for a design input, I also realised that veterans in the hobby did like larger layouts sometimes when it was on OG keyboards. Therefore, a lot of examples I saw were on OG or retro boards. That gave me the idea of a retro look for an original, high quality numpad. Among all inspirations, Dieter Rams was one of the most important one, being a fan of his work. With no ambition to produce something approching his design mastery, this is, in a way, a tribute to his work. NP-R is standing for Numpad-Retro, but the R being detached from the rest as to symbolized his name as well. Below are a few images I collected that influenced the design in a way or another. You might see a few shapes I borrowed/reused/transformed from iconic objects. Other you might not, but contribute to help you grasp the formal grammar and spirit around the design:         RENDERS AND COLOR WAYS More The colorways shown here are intentions only at this stage and will be confirmed with prototype/samples pictures later on. #1 - Beige #2 - Green #3 - Orange #4 - Cyan #5 - Rose #6 - Purple #7 - Silver PROTOTYPE PICTURES More Soon. FAQ More 1. What is included in the box?         - NP-R top case, bottom case, weight and Plate     - All needed screws and standoffs     - Layer Knob     - Solenoid Switch     - PCBs, daughterboard, JSTs and other electrical components     - Battery     - Rubber feets     - LED diffusers and isolation foam         *NOT included:     - Keycaps (no, not the relegendable either)     - Stabs     - Switches*         2. How many units will there be?         This will be proposed as a group buy. No further GB round is planned yet.       3. Is there a sound test?         Not yet.         4. Build guide? Firmware? Plate file?         https://bit.ly/NP-R     5. Do you have a discord? How to contact you?         You can discuss about the NP-R on Flatbrains! discord. You can also contact me directly (.bagri) on discord, or on my instagram.         6. Have you designed other things?         My first project was the GMK Alt grrrrr kit.     Flatbrains! have designed many other projects including the Plaket XL. Contact: .bagri on discord https://www.instagram.com/bagri_shoot Bagri - 2025

[Bagri]

Updates:

29.05.25 - Added US vendor (Bowl keyboards)
03.06.25 - Added South America vendor (LatamKeys)
04.06.25 - Added China vendor (ZFrontier)
05.06.25 - Added Korea vendor (Swagkeys) and Singapore & Malaysia vendor (Ktechs.store)


Note: Geekhack being a bit broken these days, editing big posts doesn't work all the time, so updates might be added here and not reflected on the IC post... As soon as Geekhack allow me I'll updates the missing bits
In the meantime, edited bits will be added below:

🇪🇺 Europe - Delta Key Co (Lead vendor)
🇬🇧 US - Bowl Keyboards
🇰🇷 Korea - Swagkeys
🇲🇾 Singapore and Malaysia - Ktechs.store
🇬🇧 UK - Prototypist
🇨🇳 China - ZFrontier
🇦🇺 Australia - KeebzNCables
🇨🇦 Canada - Minokeys
🇦🇷 South America - LatamKeys



                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

[vheissu]

you've got my attention.

[Zyrophr]

feur

[BlivionIaG]

Rush rush rush

[ramnes]

Let's go!

[Islander]

Very nice

[erretter]

Pease make this wired only. Will extremly drop the price and this thing won't blow up due to faulty battery.

Also: It's supposed to be retro, doesn't it?!

[Bagri]

Pease make this wired only. Will extremly drop the price and this thing won't blow up due to faulty battery.

Also: It's supposed to be retro, doesn't it?!

Hi ! Thank you for your message !
I understand your comment, but I would say the added cost of the bluetooth is not relevant. We've done a proto of the PCB without it, and the cost difference, considering the associated electrical components (battery etc) is less than 10 USD per unit.

But don't worry, you can unplug and remove the battery and still use it wired only. It still works even if the battery is not connected.

[tomish]

Good luck wiht your project Alarming-Growth9333

[tactilesbad]

Pease make this wired only.

please don't

100% in for one as I was for the plaketXL

[Ruby437]

Cannot unsee this as a card terminal from supermarkets, only missing the NFC reader. GLWIC

[EdgeOfInfinity]

very cool design. i do think in the very long term however, you might run into cable/port issues due to the strain from the weight of the cable.
glwic!

[Bagri]

very cool design. i do think in the very long term however, you might run into cable/port issues due to the strain from the weight of the cable.
glwic!

I'm not too concerned about that. If you're concerned on the DB side, it is fixed either sides of the USB port so well supported.
On the cable side, I'm not having any issues with the 3d printed prototype which is heavily used for the past 4 months, unbuilt, re-built etc. I do not see the cable being very much more solicited than on regular keyboards ports where the usb is never completely flush with the table. It always hang a bit of weight before the cable touches the table top and it's not a problem.

[druz]

I didn't know I wanted a numpad before this. Great job and good luck with the project!

[mul7i]

very cool, love the chunky retro style this is going for

[Raie_de_Boule]

Want.
Will.
Need.

[FoxandFoundry]

Cool. Into the silver.

[Bagri]

Responding to questions seen in the IC form:

- About adding PC option: This won't be implemented at this stage for cost reasons.

- About the button and knob: To clarify: the button is a toggle on/off for the solenoid. The knob has 3 fixed positions to change between 3 layers. That doesn't prevent you from mapping additionnal layers on the keys like a regular keyboard.

- Regarding color ways: We are gauging interest for the different colors shown and might decide to replace the least popular ones for colors matching the 21XX keyboard as this was requested a lot. For now the colors that might be replaced are purple (for warm grey), cyan (for baby blue) and pink (for black). See below new renders. 

More

Warm Grey







Baby Blue







Black

- Regarding Mac/Windows compat: Yes, it is, like any other ZMK board.

- Regarding Southpaw and bluetooth: Yes, it is included. Refer to the specs

- Regarding bluetooth vs wired only: It is intended to still be usable if you physically disconnect the battery and decide to use it only wired.

- Regarding hotswap PCB: Not sure at this time. There are other electrical components to be soldered to the build besides the switches, so in my view there is little point in providing a hotswap PCB. However I have feedbacks from people saying a numpad is actually a good switch tester, so we will see if we can provide that and update later.


Thanks to all those who took the time to fill the IC <3

[ShrimpedKeys]

Love the on and off switch GLWIC!

[ISSHOMONO]

Wow. Very interesting design. Hopefully in my price range