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I spent a year designing a low profile, minimal mechanical keyboard

electronicmaterialsoffice.com

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Re: I spent a year designing a low profile, minimal mechanical keyboard

#221

Post by rgoulter »

neoberg wrote: post #147
layer8 wrote: post #35

Everyone is different, but personally I won’t buy a keyboard without separate Delete and Backspace keys, without Home/End/PgUp/PgDn/Insert keys, and without a dedicated Menu key [0], for any kind of serious work. I’d also imagine that one is prone to bump into the rotary knob if one is not fully conditioned to that keyboard. I applaud the T-shaped cursor block and the full-sized function keys, although it would be us…

Yep, everyone is different indeed. I've been using 30% keyboards (30, 33 or 36 keys) for 3+ years now. I used 40's for around 2 years before that. Now I can't stand any keyboard that requires my hands to move from the home position. Also being able to carry my keyboard to anywhere is a big plus for me.

I can tolerate having extra keys that I can't use.

But I do strongly prefer having 2-3 keys for each thumb to use, rather than just having 1 big spacebar.

Re: I spent a year designing a low profile, minimal mechanical keyboard

#222

Post by nxdmum »

thegeomaster wrote: post #187
nxdmum wrote: post #175

I'll state my requirements - for anyone interested in meeting them: I have an OLKB preonic. And I used QMK to significantly modify my layout. I started out with the modified Colemak - but the re-arranged the keys to move keys which require the index finger to move to the side - on the QWERTY that would for example be G and H . I moved B and K forexample where Z and X are on the Qwerty - and moved Z and X to the numbe…

What typing speed do you get with this approach?

I was consistently hitting 40-50 on MonkeyType - but while transporting the keyboard - i damaged it a bit. so now out of touch. I was practising about 20 mins every day for about 50 days - with misses on days when i had a lot of work. But i know that my speed would increase. Now when i see words - i can see the trigrams and I can visually break them down.

I am confident i would be able to reach 70 if i practice more. The main issue is that my speed (40-50) feels so slow that in my day to day - I used Qwerty and had not fully switched over.

Re: I spent a year designing a low profile, minimal mechanical keyboard

#223

Post by ebastler »

lpasselin wrote: post #214
ebastler wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not a member of the team, but was contracted for the PCB design as an external freelancer - I have one of the PCB prototypes sitting in a shelf, and the designer has a fully functional prototype with aluminum case and keycaps already. Bit dusty, but here's my proto with a ridiculously oversized battery (that would probably run for a year or so without charging): https://mpwr.xyz/blog/2022/pcb_1.jpg This will most…

How much does a pcb like this cost for a small prototyping batch of 1 or 5 for example?

Depends a lot. If you want it fully assembled, you have to go to larger fab houses like PCBway, and spend a few hundred bucks on a 5pc batch. If you can hand-solder some parts (in this case, the Bluetooth module and the USB connector) and design the rest around jlcpcbs libraries, you can get away with 20-30USD per unit (MOQ of 5) plus shipping/customs. Then add another 10USD for the bluetooth module and USB connector.

A simpler wired design like my E80-1800 (https://github.com/ebastler/E80-1800) can be completely assembled by jlc for ~30ish USD per unit.

Oddly enough, small-batch prototyping at jlc can be cheaper than medium sized (50-150 pc) runs at other fabs.

Hope this doesn't sound like an ad, I've compared a lot of prices and nobody came close to jlcpcb, but With their limitations (limited stock, limited finish/color choices, frequently chnaging stocks and component prices) and sometimes far-from-ideal QC (some scratches can happen, in rare cases even missing components that were present in the BOM) they are not really my first choice for production runs. For prototypes or small unofficial-ish batches with a few friends though - god tier.

Re: I spent a year designing a low profile, minimal mechanical keyboard

#224

Post by Forricide »

DoingIsLearning wrote: post #48

This comment section is full of people complaining about a 70% keyboard not being a full-size keyboard, but that is what makes it a 70% keyboard. If it doens't fit your preferences or use-case then you are not the customer but it seems bizarre to focus so much on the sizing.

It's super funny reading this comment section having just recently started looking into custom mechs. My reaction on looking at the website was - whoa, a nice 70% keyboard, so nice to see a custom build that actually has function keys. Then getting to the comments being pretty shocked at how few people seem to actually be familiar with the concept of 70% keyboards.

I always kind of figured the mech scene was popular with tech enthusiasts but I guess it's still a niche regardless.

Anyways, this is a really nice looking keyboard. It's also really nice to see a custom mech made for macs, but I do agree with other comments that outlined how hard it is to actually take in the keyboard. There isn't just a normal full on picture of it.

Re: I spent a year designing a low profile, minimal mechanical keyboard

#226

Post by skizm »

Am I crazy, or missing something? I can't find any static images of the actual keyboard's front, rear, and side angles. They're all spinning or moving. Hard to get a good look. There's one image labeled "Layout" but the image itself is pretty small and I can't get a good look at the individual keys.

Re: I spent a year designing a low profile, minimal mechanical keyboard

#227

Post by packetlost »

layer8 wrote: post #35

Everyone is different, but personally I won’t buy a keyboard without separate Delete and Backspace keys, without Home/End/PgUp/PgDn/Insert keys, and without a dedicated Menu key [0], for any kind of serious work. I’d also imagine that one is prone to bump into the rotary knob if one is not fully conditioned to that keyboard. I applaud the T-shaped cursor block and the full-sized function keys, although it would be us…

> I’d also rather do without an Fn key, as it messes up muscle memory from regular desktop keyboards.

As someone who recently switched to an Ortholinear layout, it's not nearly as bad as you think. I got messed up when switching back to a standard layout for the first maybe week or so. After that I can switch between either layout with absolutely no problem. While you may be different, you're probably underselling your own muscle memory.

> I won’t buy a keyboard without separate Delete and Backspace keys, without Home/End/PgUp/PgDn/Insert keys, and without a dedicated Menu key [0], for any kind of serious work.

This probably depends on the work you do. I've found myself using those keys all more often and faster when I bind them to alpha keys with a modifier. As someone who types all day in VIM, I can bind Home/End/Pgup/PgDn/etc. to keys that have analogous functions (i/a/u/d respectively), which has been great for me.

Re: I spent a year designing a low profile, minimal mechanical keyboard

#228

Post by scratcheee »

elliotpage wrote: post #117
mromanuk wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

More Website advice: - the text is too big - Add padding to text and images - Add space between elements (look crowded) - too much moving stuff: Loose the marquee text Pictures and videos looks awesome, the product looks superb, love the concept of having different height for keys. Congratulations on your launch!

I am sorry, but I strongly disagree. The Marquee text is what catapulted the site from "This is nice" to "This is Art" for me. But then again I am more viewing the page as a piece of performance art than an actual attempt to sell me a keyboard!

The shall scroll again.

Needs some to be True Art though.

Re: I spent a year designing a low profile, minimal mechanical keyboard

#229

Post by seanbarry »

There's a lot of criticism in the comments here, some of it feels very negative. I can imagine reading it as the OP is quite demoralising.

Personally I think what the OP has achieved is very impressive. The design looks beautiful, and there's a very "Apple-esque" feel to the website. I love that sustainability has been made a requirement as part of the design.

I think some of the other comments give good feedback about the website, the most important of which is that some more photos with the entire keyboard in the context it's used (maybe sitting in front of an iMac) would be really to understand its actual size.

Well done though OP - I like this a lot.

Re: I spent a year designing a low profile, minimal mechanical keyboard

#230

Post by xd1936 »

DoingIsLearning wrote: post #48

This comment section is full of people complaining about a 70% keyboard not being a full-size keyboard, but that is what makes it a 70% keyboard. If it doens't fit your preferences or use-case then you are not the customer but it seems bizarre to focus so much on the sizing.

100% agreed. I'd buy this if the price is right. The size and aesthetics are right up my alley. I currently use a 60% keyboard and really like it.
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