Project Updates - June 12th

Hey gang, I've got a fair amount of information for you guys this week. I also wanted to mention that starting next week I'll be able to work on keyboards 9 to 5 three days a week so expect a lot of new stuff in the coming weeks.

KBD2600

Quotes/Prototype

We're still waiting on quotes from the manufacturer before ordering the prototype.

Parcel

PCB

Parcel now tentatively has a PCB designer/manufacturer! Nicell of Nice! Keyboards has agreed to offer the Nice!60 as the PCB for Parcel, meaning Parcel will now be wireless. For more info on the Nice!60 you can check out the Nice! Keyboards website here.

Case Design

I've now started putting the finishing touches on the case design for Parcel and should be wrapping those up in the next week. At that point I'll be preparing an IC for Parcel and I'll be getting ready for the Parcel GB to start after the KBD2600 is complete.

Acrylic Case Project (ACP)

What is the ACP?

I briefly mentioned the ACP in an update a few weeks ago but didn't explain it in depth, so here's that explanation:

In the keyboard community there's a noticeable disparity between the number of PCBs and number of cases regularly in stock, simply because PCB fabs can churn PCBs out way faster than machine shops can machine boards. As a result, there are often people looking to build boards who can find a PCB they like but can't find a compatible case.

So I set out to solve this problem with case availability, and eventually, I settled on laser cutting as the solution for a few of reasons. First of all, laser cutting is cheaper than machining. A one-off laser cut case can be had for under $100 versus thousands of dollars for a similar machined case. Second, laser cut cases are easy to design. The vector graphics software required to design a good laser cut case is cheaper and more readily available than the CAD software needed for a machined case. And finally, laser cutters are way more common than CNC Mills, meaning it's totally possible that you may have one at your school, local library, or even in your home.

Thus the ACP was born with a simple goal in mind - to have an open source library of cases available for commonly in stock PCBs, as well as offer frequent acrylic case groupbuys allowing acrylic cases to be had for even lower prices.

What PCBs will it be available for?

The ACP will launch with case designs for the following PCBs:

• Wilba Tech WT60-C
• Wilba Tech WT60-D Weirdflex
• NK65 PCB
• DZ60
• DZ65
• Hineybush H88
• Hineybush H87
• Hineybush H60
• Nice! Keyboards Nice!60
• Drop ALT PCB
• Drop CTRL PCB

With many more to come!

When will the ACP be available?

I'm hoping to have the website for the ACP up and running within the next few weeks. After that I'll start designing the cases one by one before a full launch (hopefully) by the end of summer.

How can I contribute to the ACP?

Because the ACP will be open source, I'll gladly welcome designs for any PCB not already in the library. Once the website for the ACP launches there will be a section dedicated to contributions.

Design Streams

In other random news I'm going to be streaming keyboard design every Wednesday at 12:00 PM Pacific Time so feel free to stop in if you guys are interested in seeing some behind the scenes of my design process.

And that should be about it for this week, thank you guys for taking the time to read this weeks Update :)

Carson