类型: IC
作者:
ClickClack.io
发布时间: 2022-04-01 00:44:22
更新时间:
2022-06-17 23:43:22
原链接:
https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=116758.0
Metakey TENET Groupbuy Post Live
TENET(70%)
Designed by oy2r of
Metakey
Index
- Prologue
- External Design
- Internal Design
- Transformable Layout
- PCB Software and OLED Interface
- Colorways
- Specification
- Product Photos
- Credits
- Q&A
-
IC Forms & Discord Groups
Prologue
Looking back at the project, it has been over a year since we started it. How do we give the design a sharp and defined personality? What would make a keyboard “unique”? To what extent can we consider a design as complete? Time and again, we’ve hit a wall and climbed over it, and with that inertia, we have pushed hard past the narrow doors to seek our answers.
External Design
▲ 0.5u Bezel Size: 0.5u (9.525mm, 3/8”)
bezel is half of the keycap width. Provides a very good
balance between the bezel and key area. The front look of
the bezels is not too thin, which allows the color of the
case to complement the keycaps and reduces how thick the
keyboard appears, eliminating a sense of “heaviness”. In
practice, the bezel isn’t so wide as to affect the typing
experience, and there is no change of the edge touching the
palm of your hand while you are typing on it.
▲ 18mm front height: The thinner
chin makes the keyboard not only aesthetically cleaner, but
also makes extended typing experiences more comfortable.
▲ Full Symmetrical Weight Design:
The mounting of the bottom weight to the lower case has been
designed to be horizontally symmetrical. This allows the
keyboard to be built in both regular and southpaw
layouts.
▲ Large brass weights: Optimizes the
typing feel and sound as well as enhancing the overall
atmosphere of the board. The brass surface on the main
bottom weight is sandblasted and coated to maximize the
brass’s sandblasted texture as well as prevent oxidation.
The other bottom weight with the USB port outlet is
sandblasted and plated with 24K gold, two processes that
together create a unique and beautiful texture.
▲ Centered USB-C port Design: The
centered USB-C port design allows the ability to let users
swap to their desired layout, and the centered USB port
offers a lot of convenience. The separate USB-C
daughterboard design allows for easy replacement in the
event of damage, enhancing the maintainability of the board.
The USB port outlet weight is sandblasted and plated with
24K gold, two processes that together create a unique and
beautiful texture.
▲ 256 x 32 pixel Customizable OLED Monochrome
Screen: The screen is sized to fit perfectly above the
directional key area, and after many tests and redesigns,
this is the largest size for a screen that can fit this
keyboard without widening the bezel of the board. Second
highest resolution used on a custom keyboard (the board with
the current highest resolution is Mountain by Equalz, which
utilizes a 256 x 64 pixel screen). The screen interface and
keyboard drivers were designed collaboratively with HEXCORE,
the team that designed the Anne Pro keyboards, which are
well known globally. There are 6 different screen modes
available (c.f. below), and additional modes can be added
via drivers later.
▲ Separate CapsLock indicator and screen status
indicators: More intuitive feedback on the keyboard status and
ability to customize the RGB will be available via HEXCORE
Software.
Internal Design
▲ Fully-isolated Gasket Mount: The
keyboard’s interior is held by gaskets vertically on the
inside of the upper and lower case, with additional foam on
the inner wall of the upper case to hold the interior in
place in all horizontal directions as well, further
isolating the contact between interior and case.
The
interior comes into contact with the soft impact-absorbing
foam gaskets. The foam used to fix the plate vertically is
made of Japanese Inoue 20A durometer poron, and the
horizontal-fixing foam is made of 50A durometer poron.
▲ Split PCB Design: As everyone
knows, the asymmetry between the left and right zones of the
80% layout can make it difficult to achieve a balanced feel
with the keyboard, and many designs use a single PCB with
spacing in the PCB between the main and directional key
areas to divide the plate between the two areas where
possible. Other keyboards adopt a similar idea, but fully
dividing the inner structure to provide a better feel. The
separate PCBs and plates for the different sections is key
to the TENET70, optimizing feel and sound uniformity while
also giving the keyboard the ability to switch between
regular and southpaw layouts.
└ 1.2mm PCB: The thinner PCB gives a better feel and flexibility. The
PCB was designed and developed by the Anne Pro team, which
not only provides exclusive drivers to handle keymapping,
macros, software updates and support, but also develops
original OLED screen drivers for the TENET70 keyboard, and
allows for automatic recognition of both [Regular and Southpaw] layouts (c.f. below).
▲ The plate: The initial plan was to
use a brass plate and design a leaf spring mount, but after
multiple prototypes and comparisons between them, the best
plate material to use was decided to be PC (other material
TBD), a material whose flexibility is unmatched by using a
metal material. With a matte finish, the PC plate has an
improved resistance to scratches and more texture.
▲ Custom silicone pad for plate foam: The custom 30A durometer silicone pad gives a fuller feel
to the keys than the poron foam, although the cost is
higher. The pad is easier to assemble for the user, with a
more coherent and nicer-looking color. In contrast to the 2D
knife-cut poron, the 3D injection molded silicone pad fits
better around the switches, especially the longer keys,
wrapping snugly around the sides of the stabilizers. Poron
stabilizer shims will also be provided.
└ 1mm Case Foam: The 1mm thick 20A durometer Japanese Inoue poron is used
again here as case foam, which fills the gap between the
case and PCB, reducing the hollowness of the case as well as
the resonance, as well as providing some protection from the
PCB bending too much and coming into contact with the bottom
case and shorting out. In order to achieve a front height of
18mm, we contacted the PCB suppliers if it was possible to
reduce the distance between the PCB and the lower case as
much as possible without affecting ordinary use, thus
creating a slimmer aesthetic look to the case, as well as
reducing excessive PCB flex, which should allow the user to
enjoy hotswappability with less worry about snapping the
PCB. Due to the special weighting and design concept of the
cable outlet, the kit comes with a foam pad above the USB-C
daughterboard to further fill out any empty space and
eliminate hollow case sounds.
Transformable Layout
▲ One keyboard with two layout configurations: You can quickly switch to match your desire. The
completely horizontally symmetrical design of the mounting
mechanism for the bottom weight to the lower case mentioned
earlier, as well as the split-PCB design for the different
areas, allow for a more harmonious appearance and a better
typing experience.
It also serves another unique
purpose: to allow transformable layout configurations. The
ability to switch between a
Regular (directional key section to the
right of the main keys) to a
Southpaw (arrow keys to the left) layout.
The trouble with 80% layouts with the isolated arrow and
macro key section, while clean and more straightforward to
use, inadvertently steals from the mouse’s effective area of
movement. In order to give the mouse more space, the
southpaw layout was designed with this in mind. Rather than
being torn between the tradeoffs between each layout, the
TENET70 allows you to use both. To switch between the two
layout configurations after assembly, all the user has to do
is to undo the screws holding the upper and lower cases
together, disconnect the cables between the PCBs, and switch
the different area PCBs around, disconnect the bottom weight
from the lower case, then rotate the upper and lower case by
180° and reassembling the keyboard as such. Although
slightly tedious, the whole switching process doesn’t damage
the keyboard and can theoretically be switched as many times
as desired without affecting lifespan.
▲ Hotswappable: Supports both
regular and stepped caps lock key
▲ Solderable: Supports ISO, Split
Backspace and Split Shift.
PCB Software and OLED
Interface
TENET PCB Firmware, Driver and Management
Software are designed collaboratively with HEXCORE, the team
that designed the Anne Pro keyboards.
▲ HEXCORE ObinsKit Software, you can
achieve more than what QMK+VIA can do:
└ All OS Support: Windows, MacOS, Linux
└ Modify Keys and layers
└ OLED Screen Customization
└ RGB Customization
└ Marco
▲ Dashboard: The UI in overview mode
was originally designed to give the user a summary of a mix
of elements. This provides you with time, date, day of the
week, upper/lowercase status, typing speed, keymap layer,
and a real-time keymap!
▲ Type mode: In my opinion, the most
interactive and fun of all the interface modes. The purpose
of this mode is to enhance the most basic function of the
keyboard, namely typing. This provides the user’s kpm, a
realtime line graph of the user’s kpm over the last 60
seconds, a kpm speedometer inspired by motorbike
tachometers, and an input counter. Keep your keyboard screen
a visual representation of your typing speeds at all times,
so you can relax, calm your mind and regain confidence after
your next creative inspiration block.
▲ Monitor mode: How can you make the
keyboard enhance the experience of using your computer? In
monitor mode, the OLED screen provides real-time visual
feedback about the temperatures of various components of
your computer.
▲ Metakey Metakey is the name of our
custom keyboard studio, founded in September of 2020. The
word meta has the meaning of primary, first and most
fundamental. The name was adopted because we considered the
design of the keyboard itself the most important thing to
our studio.
▲ Clock mode: The clock mode is one
of my personal favorites and the one I have used the
longest, on my own keyboard. A simple four digits to
calibrate my own inaccurate perception of time.
▲ Custom Logo mode: With the PC-side
software, any image set will be converted to a monochrome
256 x 32 pixel black and white image, then synced to the
keyboard’s screen. (PC-side driver created by the HEXCORE
team.)
▲ Custom Text mode: Customize any
text and display it on the screen with the PC-side software.
(Supports multiple alignment methods, as well as dynamic
scrolling.)
Colorways
Please note colorways below are not final and may change
during GB. Weight and Case color combination are for
illustration purpose.
▼ Anodized Black with Sandblasted Brass Weight
▼ Anodized Navy with Sandblasted Brass Weight
▼ Electrophoresis Warm White with Sandblasted Brass
Weight
▼ Coating Pink with Black Alu Weight
▼ Coating Red with Black Alu Weight
▼ Anodized Light Green with White Alu Weight
▼ Anodized Black with Black Alu Weight
▼ Anodized Navy with White Alu Weight
▼ Electrophoresis Gold with Black Alu Weight
▼ Electrophoresis Warm White with White Alu Weight
Specification
► Dimensions: 374 x 115 x 30mm
► Materials:
- Full Aluminum: Aluminum Case and Weight components
- Aluminum Case + Brass Weight: Aluminum case with Sandblasted Brass (main weight component), Sandblasted Gold-plated Brass (weight component with USB outlet)
- FE: To be determined
► Colorways:
- Anodized: Black, Navy, Light Green
- Coating: Red, Pink
-
Electrophoresis: Warm white, Yellow
Colors are TBD and not yet confirmed, renders may use colors that may not appear in the actual GB.
► Layout: Regular or Southpaw - 70% (FRL,
no keypad, extra function keys on both sides of the arrow
keys)
► Plate material: PC
► Mount: Isolated Gasket Mount
► Multifunctional OLED Screen: 7 screen mode (see above PCB Software and OLED Interface
for detail)
► PCB:
- Integrated Dual PCB - main and func&direction region
- Hotswap with per-key RGB underglow
- Soldered with ISO, Split Backspace, WKL row and Split Shift Support
- USB-C daughterboard
► PCB and OLED Screen Software: HEXCORE
ObinsKit. Fully customizable. All OS Supports: Windows,
MacOS, Linux
► Typing angle: 8°
► Front height: 18mm
► Transformable Layouts:
layout can be quickly interchangeable between Regular and
Southpaw Layout
▲ Exploded View
▲ Components
Product Photos
Please note colorways below are not final and may change
during GB. Weight and Case color combination are for
illustration purpose.
By shipkie:
By nearfar:
Credits
I would like to thank all the people who
have helped me along the way, Mr. Luo, Dog Handsome, SIX,
Che Sis, Bro Li, etc. too many people to mention. As a first
keyboard, from creating the initial design ideas more than a
year ago, to running to the factory again and again, to
getting my first prototypes that I was happy with, I’ve
experienced and learned so much in my time in this
project.
Unboxing and Build
Stay tuned for
more!
Q&A
Why is it called TENET?
“Tenet” is one of the few palindromes in English, and
it means “creed”, “purpose”, “principle”. Other similar
palindromes are kayak, racecar, level, etc. Having decided
on the design feature of a changeable layout, I felt I had
to find a palindrome to fulfill the role of this keyboard’s
name. A palindrome that could be read from left to right and
right to left, just as the keyboard can be built both
right-handed and left-handed.
Why is there no F row?
I personally prefer the 60/65 column and size
specification, but couldn’t bear the thought of having 80%
separate arrow keys, as well as pgup, pgdn, insert, delete
etc., so I opted for the rarer column size of 70%.
What is the purpose of the extra buttons to the left and
right of the arrow keys?
The default is to switch between screen modes, but
you can also customize them to any key, layer cut, shortcut,
macro, etc.
Will there be other materials for plates?
Other materials have been considered, such as
aluminum, brass, POM, forged carbon, etc. During GB, there
may be an option for additional plates that can be purchased
separately.
Will there be more on-screen interface modes for the
OLED?
Other modes may be available at a later stage, but
that’s all I can think of and implement at the moment, from
taking the functional requirements and design concepts to
the team at Anne Pro2, also known as HEXCORE, to
implementing the details step by step and fixing the
problems, to having a satisfactory finished product now,
it’s really been a non-stop process. The firmware of the
keyboard will be upgraded, so there are plans to fix issues
and introduce new features.
Is this an in-stock or groupbuy? What colors will be
available?
This will be a groupbuy, and so has a wider range of
customization available. Colors available may change.
Will this be unlimited groupbuy?
Yes.
When will the groupbuy start?
We dont know yet. But we plan to do it in 2-3
months.
What will be the price?
We havent finalized groupbuy pricing yet. In the
upcoming groupbuy, there will be a full alu version
available for at lower price. For China in-stock sale, the
Anodized Sandblasted Weight version price was set at $518
(3299CNY).
Interested?
This group buy will be
handled by ClickClack.io and please contact the platform for
more information.
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