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【IC?】 Empyrean 68, a dual split cluster 68% with a rotary encoder

类型: IC
作者: eveningdownpour
发布时间: 2020-08-04 01:02:34
更新时间: 2020-08-04 01:12:28
原链接: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=107896.0


Hello everyone, this is my first post not as myself but as Efflorescent Design, a studio comprised of myself and my brother.
I have always had something of a unique taste, and I have found it very unfortunate that there just aren’t many keyboards on the market suited to my taste. My brother comes from an engineering background, and I have been something of a mechanical keyboard enthusiast for years, so we decided to try our hand at designing a keyboard. We’re currently exploring running a SMALL (Think 25-30 units, tops. We are not comfortable with QC on anything larger.) GB for this board, if reception is positive, people are interested, and we manage a WORKING PROTOTYPE before moving to the group buy creation stage.
This post is less of an IC, and more of a community questionnaire. While I did give the option to leave an email to be notified of the actual IC, if you’re not terribly interested, we would still welcome your feedback. Before I link the form, however, allow me to show some (admittedly primitive) renders and cover a few basics.
Our current build idea is an Anodized Aluminum case with a carbon fiber plate gasket mounted with 3mm rubber or silicone cord, and a Stainless Steel weight.
The Empyrean 68 features a 6.5 degree typing angle, with a USB type C PCB with QMK support, a Stainless Steel knob, and no externally visible screws. We will be commissioning the PCB from a reputable PCB designer from GH, because neither of us has an advanced understanding of circuitry.
Our first major inquiry is that of the color. We have two very distinct coloration ideas, and cannot decide between the two, which is the primary reason for this Pre-IC questionnaire. Without further ado, allow me to present to you, the Empyrean 68 SKY, a Sky Blue face and an E-White base, with a single Stainless Steel Weight:




and the Empyrean 68 CLOUD, with an E-White face and base, with two Stainless Steel Silver accent weights, plus a Stainless Steel weight:




Please note that the Empyrean 68 CLOUD features two extra smaller stainless steel side-weights, whereas the Empyrean 68 SKY features a cutout that shows the E-White base layer.
Another question we would like to pose to the community is about the layout, which I will save for the form.
This is getting long, so allow to me to wrap up. Our Pre-IC/Community Questionnaire is available here: https://forms.gle/YvVtMoDWZkbACtcQ6
Even though this is only a very preliminary stage, I already owe many people thanks. I want to thank ai03 for the very necessary feedback that our first design was nonsensical and terrible, and the wider keyboard atelier community for being such a valuable resource for newbies. I also want to thank allfallsdown/NoLullaby for all the links and useful information and references that allowed us to get started.
Thank you so much for reading! Sorry for any formatting shenanigans, I am not very familiar with the formatting on here.

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