Hi all, It’s Dark/ designedbydark here! I’ve been progressing with a design for a HHKB-Layout case and plate for topre (realforce housings and aftermarket housing/sliders) which I aspire to be a grail-level keyboard made completely from titanium. I have ordered a prototype, I have pink-oem keycaps ready that I think I bought years ago on the pfu website, i’ve bought a realforce to harvest from along with some Deskey domes, and the PCB bundle for the typing test. I’m excited! In the meantime, here is the interest check with more information:
Design process and philosophy
- I often find myself wanting for portability and a compact layout in a keyboard. I love the idea of being able to take a keyboard with me anywhere, in an ideal world; having one convenient keyboard for life so I can retire the rest of my collection.
- A keyboard that will follow me for life should have the ruggedness to shrug off drops and bashes, without worrying about ano damage or chips/dents (I actually regularly do this to my keyboards). Ideally it would survive potential fires, corrosion and time’s onslaught (since I feel like I am an unlucky person - anything could happen!).
- Furthermore, I found the idea of creating an ‘eternal’ keyboard case that would last (electronics not with-standing) hundreds of years appealing to my romantic sensibilities. Who doesn’t want to make things that are meaningful and stand the test of time?
- I also wanted to tackle the challenge of designing my first topre keyboard after many mx projects.
- I therefore selected the popular HHKB (happy hacking keyboard) layout, wanting to use the open source standard of Cipulot’s EC-Pro-X pcb and Slim Pro-3 daughterboard to enable easily replacing electronics in the future. I also liked the simplicity and aesthetics of a singular usb-c port.
- It should be possible to use harvested realforce housings/sliders/domes/springs or aftermarket options like deskeys/densus etc with the plate.
- I opted to use titanium (Ti-6AL-4V) as a material since it would bestow the longevity and durability to the case and plate that I desired.
- These objectives informed the concept for the keyboard, which I endeavoured to imbue with a ‘timeless’ quintessence that harks back to a design principle of purity. I wanted the keyboard to look just as good in a future era as it does now, marks withstanding, rather than be dated by the passage of time.
- I used previous fujitsu, pfu and apple keyboards as light inspiration/basis for some elements, to create a certain concept of an ode to the HHKB heritage, whilst maintaining space to be transformative and unique.
- I wanted to hide screws during usage, without using tiny screws that strip or scratch the case like in xondat’s method. I decided to try to implement Baion’s bolt idea of angled screws which allows me to use larger M3 screws for case fastening.
Main features
- Titanium topcase and bottomcase
- Titanium plate with one of my most popular top-mount designs (like what is found in Ecliptica), screw positions (between plate/pcb) should support both ec-pro-x and ec60x
- Titanium M3 screws for case fastening (angled screws ala Baion-bolt)
- Titanium M3 screws for plate top-mounting to the case
- Titanium M2.5 screws for fastening the pcb/plate assembly
- Titanium M2.5 screw for fastening the slim pro 3 daughterboard
- Bumpons placed internally to absorb vibrations (testing this)
- 4 degree typing angle
- Low front height (as with all my keyboards)
Pricing
Aiming for approx 1500USD per unit, maybe at 10-15 moq, without pcb/shipping included
There isn’t any margin really so this is kind of subject to the balance between the quality that the manufacturer can provide versus what people would prefer to pay for (in terms of a willingness to pay more so that parts can be remade if there are cosmetic QC issues). In other words, maybe this is a bit idealistic in terms of pricing dependent on expectations of participants, but I would prefer that as many people can afford to join as possible and I trust the manufacturer’s quality. That being said, this is kind of a ‘you get what you get as long as it’s functional’ price.
Manufacturer
DDS/Dadesin
Typing Test
I will upload a typing test once the prototype arrives.
Photos/Renders
For now here’s some rough and quick pre-renders:
Please let me know if you have any questions or comments 