IC Results

The IC is now closed, thanks you everyone for your support and for completing the form ! Here are the results :

We collected 140 answers from the form. On the question « Do you plan to enter into the Typemaster 180 group buy ? », we got a 77% « Yes » (107 answers), and 18% of « Maybe ». 

About the color schemes, the winners are (Top color / Bottom color)

• Silver / Black « Gris argenté et Noir basalte » (23,5%)
• Black / Gold « Noir basalte et Or » (21,3%)
• Silver / Green « Gris argenté et Vert d’Eau » (11,8%)
• Black / Green « Noir basalte et Vert d’Eau » (6,6%)
• Black / Red « Noir basalte et Rouge Intense » (6,6%)
• Silver / Red « Gris argenté et et Rouge Intense » (6,6%)
• Black / Blue « Noir basalte et Bleu Électrique » (6,6%)
• Silver / Blue « Gris argenté et Bleu Électrique » (4,4%)

All these colors will be made for the GB !

The results also showed the majority does not want to pay more to get a numbered keyboard. We’ll probably do limited series in the future, but for now, we’ll stick with un-numbered keyboards.

Now, on to the questions :

1) The most asked question is about the absence of a logo in the top right corner. It’s a tricky question, and while we understand why some people would like to get a logo / brand on the face of their keyboard, we also understand why some other people prefers to get a clean look. 

To be honest with you, our first take on the very first prototype was : « it definitely needs a logo on the top right ». So we did that, but it made the top right not « right », even if the result technically speaking was very good.

While a logo looks great when there’s no switches and keycaps on the board, the result is a bit messy once the keycaps are in. The looks feels too busy, and overall wrong.

Since this time, we are more and more convinced that a clean look is the way to go. This keyboard design is made to last in time, and we strongly thinks the overall design and look of the board makes it recognizable without the presence of a logo.

So, in our mind, the absence of logo is a mark of distinction by itself, as a part of the design choices.

2) The second most asked question was the lack of non-metallic plates. We have good news for you ! After talking with our factory, there will be extra plates for sale in the GB : you’ll be able to choose between aluminum, brass, stainless steel, POM, and PC. No carbon at this moment (it requires testing on our side), and no FR4 also (it requires a bit of time for design).

However, if the demand is here, we’ll do an IC for both of these materials later.

Side note is we never tested plastic-based plates on this build, so the result is not guaranteed :-) However, once the switches are in and the PCB is soldered, the amount of force required to open the keyboard should not damage the plate. 

Another thing important to know is the gel fixed on the bottom part of the keyboard (3mm thickness) is giving a nice flex, even if you’re using stiff plates like brass or stainless steel. The flex is even better with aluminum plate. This is something to keep is mind, the gel acts like shock absorbers, nothing like classic rubber / silicone pads.

This is also why we will not propose half plates, as they are absolutely not necessary, and possibly not working well this the gel pads. 

3) There was also a few comments about the feet of the keyboards. Some people feels the feet are too big. Indeed, there are bigger than that we’re used to see, but there’s a lot of reasons about that :

• It protects the keyboard from scratches on the back if you slide your board on your deskmat
• It adds an additional layer of flex on the typing experience if you’re using a deskmat
• It also adds a lot in terms of overall sound insulation, especially if you’re not using a deskmat
• It permits to give a little bit more of angle on the board without getting a « too big » look. The feet on the back are slightly bigger than the feet on the front

So in summary, you don’t see them, but there are definitely part of the overall experience :-)

4) The least common questions, with quick answers :

« Badge instead of logo ? » We don’t want a « bam in your face » look

« What about a white / rose / rose gold / crimson / purple / lilac / navy blue / brass weight version ? » If there’s enough interest in the future, we’ll certainly make another GB with new colors and materials. For now, 6 colors is already a lot to manage on our side for a first GB

« Hotswap PCB ? » Not at this moment, too restrictive in terms of layout. But maybe in the future :-) 

« PC version ? » Probably not a good idea with the magnets (hello cracks), but we’ll probably test one day for fun !

« Plate 3D files release ? » I don’t see why we shouldn’t do that, so we’ll release the plate 3D file if you want to test some things :-) Personal use only. 

« Is there any risk of the magnets damaging the internals of the keyboard ? » Absolutely no risks, we tried it the rough way and there never was a problem. No guarantee with plastic plates, however. 

« Discord when ? » Not right now, we're already super busy with this project to make it right, and we want to keep the communication with you easy. You’ll find all the informations on updates here on GeekHack, on our Instagram, and also on our website. 

 

Price, versions, ETA for shipping

We’ve got a lot of discussions with our factory the last days. The last quote we received from them was very pricey, and there was a lot of negotiations to keep the price sustainable.

We want as a side note to inform you there will be no compromises on the quality of the products we will make in this GB (and in the future) : best aluminum for keyboards, use of the smallest tools in the CNC to get the best result without machining marks (outside and inside the board), finest bead blasting we can get, carefully selected anodization factory, very small fitting tolerances, strict QC in factory + additional QC on our side, and so on.

All this premium features comes at a price, and we’ll going to make 2 versions of the board to accommodate most of the budgets : 

The base version of the board with aluminum top, bottom, plate and weight will be 429€. If you want to go with a mirror polished stainless steel weight, the price will be 479€.

The MoQ will be 100 units, with a maximum of 250 units.

For the extra plates, the MoQ will be 25 units per material.

The ETA for shipping after the group buy is around 4-5 months for 100 units, and 5-6 months for 250 units. (2 months for the different factories to make the products, 1 month for sea shipping to France, 1 month per 100 units to prepare in France). Please keep in mind this is an estimation :-) But we’ll do our best to make this the quickest we can. 

We will probably ship by batches on a FCFS basis. We will update you at every important step (probably every 2 weeks).

The date of GB will be announced soon.

Thanks again for participating in the IC :-)