类型: IC
作者:
AxolStudio
发布时间:
2020-12-02 11:58:59
更新时间: 2021-07-13 16:59:53
原链接:
https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=109953.0
Update: Jul 13 2021
More details about the board:
Sound test:
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1082942721
Update: May 12 2021
Hi! The final details for
the group buy of the board are now out.
Starting Price:
399 USD
GB Dates: July 15 - August 15
Vendor:
KBDFans
You can find the IC on their page here:
https://kbdfans.com/collections/interest-checks/products/axol-studio-yeti-mechanical-keyboard-kit
Please consider joining the Discord server for the
most up to date information, which you can do here:
https://discord.gg/5vmwxu5uUR
Update: Mar 16 2021
Hi! Its been a while since
this project was last updated. We are now in the final
stretch before the GB! This is just a first look at one of
the options for the board, the full details of the GB for
this board will be announced soon.
Discord:
We have created a small discord server to allow those
to keep up with the status of this project, which can be
found here:
https://discord.gg/5vmwxu5uUR
Colours & Vendors:
The
final colours and vendor have been decided. The final
decision was to partner with KBDFans. They are constantly
committed to delivering a quality product at an affordable
price. We are greatly looking forwards to working with them
for this group buy.
With that being said, the final
colours available have been decided. While the Ewhite and
Eblack versions do not require colour matching, we are
currently in the process of finalizing the production units
and the colourmatching. I will be posting updates on the
colour matching process whenever I receive samples and a
final production sample unit. For those that are asking, the
yeti has been added to the bottom.
Available colours
E-White, E-Black
Amethyst (dyed purple
polycarbonate)
Sapphire (dyed blue polycarbonate)
Morganite
(dyed pink polycarbonate)
Updated Renders
More
Hello everyone! This is AxolStudio, a small design studio
based in Toronto, Canada. This project initially started as
a personal project as I wanted this board to be my personal
endgame. As this project came together, I started receiving
interest from other peers in this board. I personally love
clean round objects and wanted to bring that style to
keyboards. This keyboard is currently the embodiment of
everything that I want out of a keyboard, my current
personal endgame.
TLDR: Long IC, has a decent amount of personal thoughts
and design choice explanations. Just check gallery for
renders and proto images and read the following specs if
you want a shortened form of the IC.
Feedback Form
https://forms.gle/3qiGi9kMw9mzD4PP9
Render Gallery
https://imgur.com/a/xTIuDqv
Proto Gallery
https://imgur.com/a/ccaizQR
Prototype Sound Test
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LwmtFWOIVatPpQc2oDDBuHDZPOef5aDh/view?usp=sharing
/disclaimer/ this was recorded on a really
bad mic, keep that in mind as you listen to it. This file
has not been edited in any way shape or form. Treat this
more like a preview rather than a definitive sound test of
the board.
Built with Lubed and Filmed OA switches,
Brass Plate, Durock Stabs, Pbt Islander
Specs:
- 6 degree typing angle
- Gasket mount at 16 points
- QMK and VIA support
- 3.2 kg weight unbuilt
- JST daughterboard (unified daughterboard spec)
- 19mm front profile from the bottom of the case to start of R4 keys
- Soldered PCB with USB-C connection
- Full plates, half plates in the works for materials FR4, PC, Aluminum, and Brass
- Colours: E-white, E-Black, PC version and other anodization colours in the works
- Pricing TBD, depends on how big this IC gets. Estimated at around 400 USD. I will do my best to push the price down where possible. Keep in mind that this board is larger than a standard TKL in size and the curves arent easy to machine. This price estimate is for low MOQ
Supported layouts:
- Split backspace
- Split right shift
- 2u, 1.25 u/2.25u 1u left side R4
-
Stepped Caps
Eventual To Do list & priorities
- Gather feedback from community & interact/keep post & design updated (main priority is to finish plate optimization (currently running situations))
- Add more renders & pictures (higher quality) of prototypes
- Figure out what configurations and what to be offered for GB if there is enough interest
- Figure out pricing
- Find vendors
**If you don’t want to read a breakdown of my thoughts and
choices, then stop here! The short version of the IC ends
here. Thanks for reading!
**
Disclaimer
A couple things, this IC will be relatively long,
full of text and hopefully an informative read. I will be
going over some design choices, personal explanations and
some other tidbits on this project. Again, as a disclaimer,
these are my personal design choices, they may not be the
correct one but this is personally what I want and like and
my personal thoughts. If you have any other ideas or think
something that Ive chosen is not the best, please let me
know in the feedback form!
To read more about the
project, click on show more.
More
Namesake and logo engraving and overall weight
The board is named Yeti as a suggestion through a
friend, and thus the logo of this board evolved to a chonky
axolotl wearing a yeti suit.
This chonky boi was included on the keyboard, however
due to personally thinking that branding the keyboard with
this logo on the back would be rather tacky and ruin the
clean aesthetic, it was moved to be engraved only onto the
weight. This, however, is something that I am willing to
change, to add the logo onto the back of the board or some
other way, as it is currently quite plain. Please let me
know how you feel about this in the feedback form.
The board focuses on a clean and smooth exterior with
thick bezels and fillets, allowing for a very rounded and
smoothed out design. Having the prototypes in hand, it is
extremely smooth and pleasing to touch while not having the
usual harsh look and feel that we are so accustomed to with
keyboards. The unbuilt board weighs around 3.3 kg, or 7.25
pounds. The prototypes that I have are a bit on the heavier
side, weighing in at 3.5kg. Honestly not sure why there is
this weight difference however expect the board to weigh
around 3.3kg
Case Colours
In
terms of colours and materials, e-white and e-black are
going to be available for sure as I am happy with how they
look and how well the light reflects off of them in person.
E coatings are relatively faster than anodization, which
means faster turnaround time. Initially these two colours
were chosen as they are always available and personally
believing that they fit the design the best. That being
said, I am still exploring different colours and am thinking
of a pastel blue and pink to go along with the black and
white. Additionally, a frosted polycarbonate version is also
on the table for discussion. Let me know what other colour
suggestions and material suggestions you have in the
feedback form.
Plate designs and materials
One other subject that I want to touch on is the
plate design and the plate material. For the prototypes, a
brass plate was manufactured however due to the lack of flex
cuts and how stiff the gaskets that were chosen are, the
typing experience is extremely stiff. From what Ive read and
what Ive experimented with over the years, I believe that
linear switches should have a stiff plate and typing
experience to prevent mushiness, and tactile switches should
be used with a more flexible plate to allow for a almost
softer bump and a less harsh bottom out after the tactile
bump.
This current version of the board is designed to have
linear switches as those are my current preference. I am a
big fan of having a stiff typing experience with linears,
however, I do understand that the current trend is to have a
slightly softer and flexier typing experience regardless of
switch type. The final plate material for the product is
still undetermined and I will be collecting information on
what plate material to use in the feedback form.
The
other thing that I want to discuss is the lack of flex cuts
in the design. I only see the point in adding flex cuts in a
plate material that is already very stiff or inflexible to
begin with. However, I prefer a stiff typing experience so
it was not added to the design. In the case that the final
material of the plate is a more flexible material, (FR4 or
PC or something along those lines), I believe that flex cuts
are not necessary, but I will test how they feel if I do end
up testing those materials. I most likely will be releasing
the step file and other files for the plate (with non-profit
clause licensing) in the future so that people can make
their own. I highly suggest people to experiment with flex
cuts and different materials for the plate and try to figure
out what works best for them.
Current typing feel & build experience
The current prototype that I have is built with OA
switches (JWK recolour), PBT keycaps (islander) on a brass
plate with Poron gaskets of a compression rate of 25%. The
current gaskets that are being used isnt exactly a perfect
solution, however it works. The gaskets arent custom cut and
it comes in a long strip and its just cut to size. Not going
to lie, it looks kind of janky right now due to not
everything being cut perfectly but it does its job fine. The
typing experience on the board is stiff, there is some give
to it however not too much. The gaskets are something Id
like to explore and experiment more with, and Im happy to
provide the files for this in the future so that you can all
experiment with it yourself. So far, the building experience
is fine, with nothing special. The parts all come together
really easily, and all the screws are the same diameter thus
no need to change bits throughout the build. There are
alignment tabs on the interior for the top and bottom case,
however there isnt for the plate. Apart from the plate
drifting if youre not careful turning the case around, there
really isnt anything tricky about the build process.
I have included the following as a typing/sound test,
please check it out. Keep in mind that this was recorded on
a really cheap mic and is without any editing whatsoever.
The board is definitely on the clacky side, which is
expected from a gasket mounted board. This board may
potentially be sent to a trusted content creator down the
line so please treat this sound test as a preview/sneak peak
rather than as what the board should sound like.
Sound
Test:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LwmtFWOIVatPpQc2oDDBuHDZPOef5aDh/view?usp=sharing
Case design, price and packaging
Having a round design aesthetic is just a personal
like. I wanted this board to clean and try to get it so that
it could fit into any desk and not look out of place. The
other thing that I disliked with a conventional keyboard is
how stiff it looked on my desk. I wanted something that
appeared to be softer, almost more organic. One very good
observation from a discord server where I posted the images
of the prototype describing the board as the softness felt
from the appearance that does not seem to be from a blunt
instrument originally:
鈍器とは思えない外見から感じる柔らかさ). That one gave me
quite the chuckle and Im glad that the intent of the design
was conveyed.
One other aspect that I was really
focused on is how it would feel when you have it in person.
Does touching the case by itself want you to hold it more?
Does it fit will into my hand when Im holding the board? Do
the curves of the board match and not feel awkward to feel
when youre typing on it? Luckily the board turned out to
hold and handle way better than I expected and its quite
satisfying to hold the board from the north facing side and
the bottom facing side. The matte E-white finish does add a
lot to the feel, it has a smooth feeling that is quite
pleasant to the touch. It feels like holding a smooth metal
ball and its quite satisfying.
One particular aspect
that I was quite fixated was how could I integrate the seam
into the board without it standing out. One of the easiest
ways to make the side profile seem seamless is move the seam
to the bottom of the board. This however increases the
machining costs and overall cost of the board. That was
considered however required a massive redesign of the side
profile that I was quite content with so that option wasnt
really explored further. The solution that I came up with
was to make the seam right where the fillet of the top case
meets the side. This allows for the seam to blend into the
board and just seem like the transition of the fillet to the
side of the case. This image shown below should give you a
good idea of whats going on with the seam.
Having nice packaging is a newer trend thats starting
to become more popular as keyboard GB runners are providing.
I would like to talk a bit briefly about this. Nice
packaging is always nice and adds a lot to the initial
experience and the impression of the board, however it comes
at a cost. Currently I am considering one of two things. 1)
to have extremely simple and barebones packaging to try and
push the price down or 2) have a nicer packaging at the
expense of pushing the costs up. One other thought to keep
in mind is that when producing small volume batches, it
doesnt make sense to order custom packaging economically. I
would like to hear your thoughts on this topic as this would
have a direct impact on the price for the final product.
That being said, I would like to have nice packaging however
it might not be justifiable considering how I dont have too
much experience in this field but is something that I am
willing to learn and work on.
In terms of pricing, I
honestly have no idea how I would price this reasonably for
smaller batches. This board is naturally already on the
expensive side due to its size (its longer and wider than a
standard TKL) and the design that requires a long machining
time. Unfortunately, due to the curves of the board, this
adds to the machining costs. Its not particularly absurd,
however it is very high compared to more traditional
rectangular board without curves. In small batches (think
sub 50 units), the board will be priced absurdly high at
more than 400 USD, however that is simply due to economies
of scale and having a factory with high quality. Keep in
mind that this is just a rough estimate, and this number
will be updated as I gather more information and finalize
the design and figure out other necessary information for
the project. I will do my best to push this number down to
the best of my ability.
Hotswap? Hotswap? Hotswap? Hotswap? Hotswap?
One of the questions that I can already anticipate is
will this board be available in hotswap? The short answer is
maybe if youre willing to learn how to solder. This board
has quite a bit of space on the inside and after checking
the spec sheets will have no problems with hot swap
compatibility with 7305 millmax sockets. With 0305, it may
be close, I have not tested it yet. I personally am not a
fan of hotswap, as I believe that it takes away from the
sound and the aesthetic. I cant stand to see crooked caps on
a board and using hotswap sockets/millmax/holtie may result
in crooked keys. There are additional problems with hotswap
boards such as more points of failure for a pcb, and other
additional problems that I wont go into. As of right now I
cant see myself designing a hotswap PCB for the foreseeable
future, as this hobby is in the DIY category and in this
category its important to learn different skills. For those
that dont know how to solder, I highly suggest you learn how
to solder. Its honestly not too difficult and its a very
useful skill to learn. This entire hobby is about the
experience so why not learn to solder to enhance your
experience?
Potential deskmats & other stuff branded with the
yeti logo
Ive had a few people ask me about the potential of
doing a deskmat with the yeti logo on it. It is something Im
considering however am not quite sure on what to do about it
since I havent put too much thought into it. This is one of
those if there is enough interest, Ill seriously consider it
and put in the work for it. Let me know what you think about
this in the feedback form.
Wrist rest
One of the things that people may consider is a wrist
rest for the board. After using this board for a bit now, I
noticed that without a wrist rest my wrists are slightly
pointed out if they are resting on the desk while typing
which is bad for ergonomics. A simple wrist rest will sort
this problem out. Due to the shape of the board, I believe a
conventional wrist rest might not work for it, nor will a
standard wrist rest for an Alice layout. This is due to the
modified placement of the triangular protrusion of the
board. I dont believe that I will be designing a wrist rest
for this board however if there is enough interest, I can
release the dimensions of the board from the source file so
that people can make their own.
Founders edition (Ooooo shiny! Ver.)
I have been getting this question a lot and different
people asking me about this. A founders edition may exist
and is currently in the works. The plan is to have the
entire body of the board to be made out of polished
stainless steel for that shiny shiny mirror finish. Honestly
this is more of a premium product thing that might not even
come to fruition as the cost to machine SS for this board
design seems quite absurd in terms of pricing. That being
said, the idea of a founders edition is not off the
table.
Closing remarks
If you
actually read the entire post to this point, congrats! Thank
you for taking time out of your day to read all of this.
Overall, I am quite pleased with the prototype of this board
and the design. There are a few minor things to fix, however
it all isnt major and just quality of life stuff such as
adding divots to where the gaskets will go, finalizing the
shape and design for the gaskets, and widening screw holes
so that standard screw-drivers can fit. Again, if you have
any thoughts or would like to provide feedback on this
project, please feel free to do so!
Special thanks
Thanks to all those that helped me out on this super
long journey from start to finish! Along the way there were
many roadblocks and to those that helped me out, you know
who you are, and thank you so much!