类型: IC
作者: BepisRat
发布时间: 2020-09-04
15:11:39
更新时间: 2020-10-16 09:17:05
原链接:
https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=108472.0
OPERATOR
The OPERATOR is a mechanical keyboard aimed at photo
retouchers, video editors, keyboard enthusiasts, and much
more!
Using Cerakoted aluminium and PBT keycaps, this
keyboard aims to last as much as YOU need it to. The knobs
and slider are also aluminium.
This keyboard is all about space efficency, as you
can see one half could be put out of way to make space for a
pen tablet for digital artists. Additionally the small
trackball can be used as a precise pointer, while the larger
one on the left can be used to control Hue during digital
painting or colour grading.
With the smooth Bourns slider, the rubberized
magnetic profile ball, the glossy trackballs and silky
smooth anodized finish, this keyboard is meant to be a
pleasure to touch and use.
Fully programmable through QMK, it’s more than just a
keyboard, it’s a shortcut machine.
It uses usb-c and TRRS jacks to connect to your
computer.
COLOURWAYS
Thank you for your attention! I’ve been working on
this concept for three/four months folowwing an assignment
where I was tasked to better the working conditions of photo
retouchers working from home. I am of course aware of
products like the Loupedeck which serve this exact purpose,
but coming from photo retouchers themselves, it’s tough yo
have to balance the loupedeck, apple keyboard (blegh), pen
tablet, mouse, and two monitors on a table which you usually
use to have dinner on. This started out as an all-in-one
alternative but my passion for keyboards took over, and I
grew quite fond of Blender, so here are some renders for
now!
TO DO
- Find Vendors in regions: Australia and Europe
- Complete first prototype and test firmware
- Find Cable manufacturer for collab
- Get Vendor’s support
- Design PCB (with help)
- Add at least one other colour option (render)
-
Add renders: Bottom feet / screws
I also made an IC on reddit as well: https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/immf9l/ic_operator_a_split_ortho_mechanical_keyboard_for/
Thanks again! Oh and please tell me what you want to see more of! - UPDATE*
-
IC FORM NOW ONLINE*
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/11ead9vD-rz2CooFwPA-YXwx4LK-_r3eodo3bydmevhE/edit?usp=sharing -
Breaking News*
Since announcing the project and launching the Interest Check, I was approached by the wonderful and skilled people at American Haptics, and we’ve been working together on getting this keyboard up and working. Their website will be a great source of news for this project, https://www.american-haptics.com. You can always come chat on their Discord server as well! I’m often online so you can reach out to me through there; https://discord.gg/2vxtjzs. Reminder that there’s also an instagram account for the project: @bepis.rat, and AH have their own as well, @americanhaptics! - Here’s a little FAQ update!*
-
Why is it so expensive/can you make it cheaper with
cheaper materials/will you offer a cheaper version
eventually?*
Due to the cost of manufacturing, the quality of the materials, and usage of some unconventional parts, unfortunately we wont be able to make it cheaper. We could theoretically use cheaper materials, but we will not at least for this version - were hoping for this to be of premium quality, durable and usable for years to come. As for eventually, maybe if this does well enough we can look into more accessible variations. Additionally, the board is going to be manufactured and assembled in the USA. -
Can you do a color way in _?*
The coating were using is cerakote which is extremely durable and has a very premium feel. Were mainly trying to do the green colourway, the black also seems to exist already, but the white definitely needs to be created. This implies additional costs in terms of R&D and time. -
Tenting/staggered/non-split/thumb clusters/hotswap?*
Were thinking about ways to tent, but as the design is right now it has rubber feet at the back to at least have a somewhat comfortable typing angle. Staggered is a no-go with this design, so are 2U keys of any kind. This is because itll use Kailh hotswap sockets, and it wont have a plate so mounting stabs is pretty much impossible right now (in terms of space). -
What firmware will it support?*
It will use QMK; paired with something like AutoHotKey you could really romp around with this thing. The only downside is that it uses ARM microcontrollers, which cuts off a few of QMKs features; this is a necessary sacrifice to have enough processing power to manage all the components on the board. Were also happy to help you get your keyboard set up with your software of choice! -
Can I just buy half?*
Right now, were planning to sell both halves together. -
Open source? (I wanna make my own case/source my own
parts/buy everything but the case)*
Were hoping to eventually open source everything. -
Trackballs are cool and all but I dont see a scroll
wheel or mouse buttons.*
The OPERATOR is fully programmable, this means that the mouse buttons could be any key on the keyboard (6 and 7 are pretty well placed). For the scroll wheel the best options right now would either mouse3 and then drag or using the rotary encoders as vertical and horizontal scroll wheels, glide through those spreadsheets!
See you soon on the next update!
Interestingly enough, this board will almost entirely be MADE IN USA
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