[IC] RF—8X by keyhub - A minimalist elegant housing for the Realforce R1 & R2

[keekeen]

Hi everyone! My name is keekeen. I’m a fellow “Topre” / rubber dome enjoyer. For me, the journey began with the HHKB, which I consider my first "end game" keyboard. Today, I am thrilled to introduce a passion project that’s been in the works:

RF—8X by keyhub.design

This is a custom 80% electro-capacitive keyboard housing that merges the classic design of Topre's Realforce R1 with the aesthetic legacy of the XRF by the now-defunct Noxary. The motivation of the project is deeply personal: it started as a way to support friends who were unfortunately victims of the Noxary scam, combined with my own long-standing admiration for that minimalist elegant design.

Specification:

Typing angle: 7.45°
Front height: 17mm
Mounting style: Top mount
WK or WKL
Unified daughterboard with USB C port and custom JST cables
Compatible with Realforce R1 86/87/89u internals
Compatible with Realforce R2 internals if swapped with an additional custom plate (more details below)
Compatible with Cipulot’s RF_R1_8-9Xu PCB


Contents:

1 x Top & bottom housing
1 x USB-C Unified daughterboard PCB
3 x Custom JST cable
4 x M3 Hex screws
12 x M2 Hex screws
4 x Bumpons
Protective carrying case

Pricing:

Housing kit: $350 (50 MOQ for aluminium & polycarbonate respectively)
Plate: $40

Vendor:

SG: ktechs (lead)
UK: prototypist
AUS: toro studios
Others: to be updated

Feedback form

Estimate GB Time: Jan 2026
Estimate Delivery Time: Q2 2026

Finishing Options:

Silver anodized aluminum
Frosted polycarbonate
Black anodized aluminum
Orange anodized aluminum (aka the colour of Max Verstappen or Mclaren?)

Renders:

Plate Options:

Stainless steel R1 86u
Stainless steel R1 87u
Stainless steel modified R2 US-ANSI

Photos:

V1: Overall I am happy with the quality outcome from the manufacturer. Everything from the housing to the aftermarket R1 plate were made correctly to specifications. The fitments to OEM R1 internal and DB connection are spot on.



V2: For the next stage, more prototypes are ordered to verify the custom plate for R2 PCB and the outcome of the colour anodization and WK layout. The second batch of prototype is expected to complete manufacturing by the end of Nov'25 and ship to me.

Thank you for your time, connect & chat with us at:

Instagram: @keyhub.design
Discord: ktechs

Lastly, please fill out feedback form if haven't already

[MarieKB22]

This is very exciting! Interested in a polycarb unit. Can you directly transplant R1 OEM plate into the housing or is one of the custom R1 plates required? And can we buy extra daughterboards and JST cables to have as backups? Glwic, I am really looking forward to the GB in the future.

[keekeen]

This is very exciting! Interested in a polycarb unit. Can you directly transplant R1 OEM plate into the housing or is one of the custom R1 plates required? And can we buy extra daughterboards and JST cables to have as backups? Glwic, I am really looking forward to the GB in the future.

Yes, you can directly transplant R1 OEM plate along with its internal into the housing. Noted on the DB and JST portions, we will definitely offer extras to be purchased. Thank you!

On a side note, very happy to introduce prototypist as our vendor in the UK!

[Kokaloo]

good enough welcome back noxary

[caap]

hell yeah!!!

[dom]

good enough welcome back noxary

 

[AmazingWaterbottle]

It looks sick.
Please give a MX pcb option for us MX normies 

[alxz]

Welcome back xondat, but if I already paid for the XRF should I pay again for this one?

JK looks sick, I want the silver one (just like the XRF I paid for!)

[lampmk]

NE update on this … 

[khai]

hopefully this will run soon?

[MarieKB22]

Just saw the sound tests on the ketchsofficial Twitch stream. Please don't eliminate Graphite from the GB! That's the colorway I was planning to get  ) I think it looks great with both OEM beige and also black caps 

[keekeen]

good enough welcome back noxary

Welcome back xondat, but if I already paid for the XRF should I pay again for this one?

JK looks sick, I want the silver one (just like the XRF I paid for!)

Just to be clear, I am a victim of xondat as well 

It looks sick.
Please give a MX pcb option for us MX normies 

Very sorry, MX support is not pursued, but plate file will be released in the future for user to edit. I have seen aftermarket MX pcb for Realforce r1, but never tried them myself.

[keekeen]

NE update on this … 

hopefully this will run soon?

Happy to say! Yes, very soon! Expect end March to mid April!

Just saw the sound tests on the ketchsofficial Twitch stream. Please don't eliminate Graphite from the GB! That's the colorway I was planning to get  ) I think it looks great with both OEM beige and also black caps 

Unfortunately, Graphite will drop as there are consistent anodisation defects when we went with darker colorway due to very large piece of alu according to the manufacturer and they do not recommend doing darker colorway. On the bright side, we will announce more colorways including dyed pc soon! 

[baucts]

might be enough to convince me to get a realforce board