+Stephen Posted March 17, 2023 Share Posted March 17, 2023 Ooh - looking forward to building mine. Sounds like it's almost time to clear a spot on the workbench. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScreamingAtTheRadio Posted March 18, 2023 Author Share Posted March 18, 2023 Bit of bad news... I received cap adapters and function keys yesterday and only just had time to test them. And well, they are a little too good. Where my little resin printer needed some fine tuning of the models to account for its own imprecision, the parts I had printed professionally are extremely precise, and the fit with switches and caps is way too loose. Bottom line, I have to trash the whole batch, >$100 worth of parts going to the bin. That also means an additional delay on the pre-orders as I'll have to modify the models and order a new batch. I might also have to be conservative about quantities to not waste more money and do things in at least two orders. I apologize to the folks who made pre-orders for the additional delay. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Stephen Posted March 18, 2023 Share Posted March 18, 2023 Man - sorry to hear that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+scorpio_ny Posted March 18, 2023 Share Posted March 18, 2023 1 hour ago, ScreamingAtTheRadio said: Bit of bad news... I received cap adapters and function keys yesterday and only just had time to test them. And well, they are a little too good. Where my little resin printer needed some fine tuning of the models to account for its own imprecision, the parts I had printed professionally are extremely precise, and the fit with switches and caps is way too loose. Bottom line, I have to trash the whole batch, >$100 worth of parts going to the bin. What type of connector are the function keys using (MX or Atari keyboard)? Maybe they can be salvaged with a different adapter that takes into account for the different tolerances? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macsonny Posted March 18, 2023 Share Posted March 18, 2023 On 3/17/2023 at 8:38 AM, ScreamingAtTheRadio said: ... aaaaaand... the key caps just showed up Check this out: Sensational! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenames99 Posted March 18, 2023 Share Posted March 18, 2023 3 hours ago, ScreamingAtTheRadio said: Bit of bad news... I received cap adapters and function keys yesterday and only just had time to test them. And well, they are a little too good. Where my little resin printer needed some fine tuning of the models to account for its own imprecision, the parts I had printed professionally are extremely precise, and the fit with switches and caps is way too loose. Bottom line, I have to trash the whole batch, >$100 worth of parts going to the bin. That also means an additional delay on the pre-orders as I'll have to modify the models and order a new batch. I might also have to be conservative about quantities to not waste more money and do things in at least two orders. I apologize to the folks who made pre-orders for the additional delay. well crap! sorry to hear. nothing can be done to fix them? a small 3d printed shim or wedge? Ken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScreamingAtTheRadio Posted March 18, 2023 Author Share Posted March 18, 2023 13 minutes ago, kenames99 said: nothing can be done to fix them? a small 3d printed shim or wedge? Unfortunately nothing that would be reversible. I thought about glue, and that might be sort of acceptable on the side of the switches, but there's no way to fix on the cap side without damaging the caps, which are irreplaceable and in finite number. It's ok, things take multiple attempts, I should have produced fewer since this is a whole new manufacturing process I haven't experienced with. I'm sorry about the delay that will cause. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScreamingAtTheRadio Posted March 18, 2023 Author Share Posted March 18, 2023 1 hour ago, scorpio_ny said: What type of connector are the function keys using (MX or Atari keyboard)? Maybe they can be salvaged with a different adapter that takes into account for the different tolerances? The function keys leave no space for another adapter. I'll have to have them redone. I might also ship them separately so folks can get their new keyboards fast and the function keys will come when they're ready. So the parts that need to be redone are: adapters for vintage keys, and function keys for modern sets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScreamingAtTheRadio Posted March 18, 2023 Author Share Posted March 18, 2023 Well it's not all doom and gloom tonight. I give you the first production model of the JoyKey XL (this one is going in one of the pre-orders): And here's a first look at the JoyKey Mini, but this one has a number of issues still that I'll have to fix before I can ship a production version: I also think I'm going to go for black for future batches of this, losing the paintability for out of the box aesthetics. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted March 18, 2023 Share Posted March 18, 2023 break out the calipers/micrometers maybe the production is out of spec? Maybe they can be repurposed or used on an economy model of something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Eyvind Bernhardsen Posted March 18, 2023 Share Posted March 18, 2023 On 3/14/2023 at 11:59 PM, Eyvind Bernhardsen said: I can try to measure the clearance between the board and the PCB. Finally found time to open my keyboard. There is indeed not a lot of clearance between the ribbon connector and the bottom of the keyboard, but note that the connector is horizontal: Now I have some more questions: is the FFC cable connector on the top or bottom of the adapter? how thick is the FFC connector? how far does the adapter stick out of the ribbon connector? where does the FFC cable need to be routed to on the new keyboard? There's easily enough room for an adapter if the cable connector is on the bottom, but I'm not sure about FFC cable routing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScreamingAtTheRadio Posted March 18, 2023 Author Share Posted March 18, 2023 3 hours ago, Eyvind Bernhardsen said: Finally found time to open my keyboard. There is indeed not a lot of clearance between the ribbon connector and the bottom of the keyboard, but note that the connector is horizontal: Now I have some more questions: is the FFC cable connector on the top or bottom of the adapter? how thick is the FFC connector? how far does the adapter stick out of the ribbon connector? where does the FFC cable need to be routed to on the new keyboard? There's easily enough room for an adapter if the cable connector is on the bottom, but I'm not sure about FFC cable routing. Oh wow, that is actually very lucky that it is horizontal. This should just work, the adapter will have the FFC connector under the board. It is very small, only about a cm. The cables are also flexible and foldable, so this will be no problem at all. On the keyboard side, it connects on the top-right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Eyvind Bernhardsen Posted March 18, 2023 Share Posted March 18, 2023 17 minutes ago, ScreamingAtTheRadio said: On the keyboard side, it connects on the top-right. I’m assuming top right as viewed from above the keyboard? There’s a big indentation on the top right of the bottom case where there’s only 1-2mm between the case and the keyboard, you can see it in my photo. It might be a tight fit if the connector is there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScreamingAtTheRadio Posted March 18, 2023 Author Share Posted March 18, 2023 2 minutes ago, Eyvind Bernhardsen said: I’m assuming top right as viewed from above the keyboard? There’s a big indentation on the top right of the bottom case where there’s only 1-2mm between the case and the keyboard, you can see it in my photo. It might be a tight fit if the connector is there. Yes, as viewed from above when assembled. The keyboard will sit on top of the bottom part of the case. The footprint is about the same as the vintage keyboard. Should be a perfect fit. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScreamingAtTheRadio Posted March 18, 2023 Author Share Posted March 18, 2023 I assembled the first of the new adapters with built-in LED dimming pot. Works perfectly: FFC pin 1 is now on the right, which makes for a direct connection to the PCB without weird rotations. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScreamingAtTheRadio Posted March 18, 2023 Author Share Posted March 18, 2023 And here's the first assembled graphite keyboard, fully tested and working on my 130XE: 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+MrFish Posted March 19, 2023 Share Posted March 19, 2023 35 minutes ago, ScreamingAtTheRadio said: And here's the first assembled graphite keyboard, fully tested and working on my 130XE: Nice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenames99 Posted March 19, 2023 Share Posted March 19, 2023 Nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Eyvind Bernhardsen Posted March 19, 2023 Share Posted March 19, 2023 13 hours ago, ScreamingAtTheRadio said: Yes, as viewed from above when assembled. The keyboard will sit on top of the bottom part of the case. The footprint is about the same as the vintage keyboard. Should be a perfect fit. Yep. I've been worried about the high ledge that runs all around the bottom case, but the connector will be clear of it if it's still where it was in this picture: I think this will work! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScreamingAtTheRadio Posted March 29, 2023 Author Share Posted March 29, 2023 Good news everyone! The adjusted printed parts just arrived, and the fit is perfect this time! Here are the function keys (keep in mind, those will need to be painted by the end user although I have to say they look fine next to graphite caps): And here is a test fit of the adapters on Kailh Choc switches for both circle and square caps: I had ordered enough function key sets I think to cover all function keys from modern keyboard pre-orders, but I had only ordered a test batch for the vintage adapters, meaning I can now do a full order with enough to cover pre-orders but that will take an additional 2 weeks to arrive here. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nolium Posted March 29, 2023 Share Posted March 29, 2023 This really do looks great, just awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenames99 Posted March 29, 2023 Share Posted March 29, 2023 they look pretty good man! Ken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XL Freak Posted March 30, 2023 Share Posted March 30, 2023 I'm wondering if a bit of light gray or creme colored ladies nail polish dabbed into the new function key legend reliefs, then wiped flush would be the best bet for making them pop. if you could find the exact color (which is 10% gray in Inkscape) could be found to make them match the regular keycaps, that'd be great. you'd have to test it first to make sure it didn't smear and change the color of the rest of the cap after wiping it off, of course. I'll have my f-keys in a couple of weeks and i'll try it then and post the results... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XL Freak Posted March 30, 2023 Share Posted March 30, 2023 i messaged david back that i had figured out the pdf file into inkscape issue, had modified it to fit our exact layout, and asked a couple of questions. Here's what i came up with the hopsital that's going to do my shoulder surgery called this afternoon to remind me of my pre-op appointment tomorrow at 8am (2 hours away) that they never told me about to start with lol. so i gotta get to bed. nite... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XL Freak Posted March 31, 2023 Share Posted March 31, 2023 pls disregard the above message. it was mistakenly posted here. sorry folks... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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