F104+SSK+122+62+77+50+Ergo orders now open! New Kishsaver+Industrial Model F Keyboards

0100010 · 21 Jun 2018, 22:42

lakofsth wrote: ↑ Blank or black with black legends? PBT?

Blank, PBT. They have every key except right shift, as a result can only special order. Not an issue if you need HHKB layout though, just add an additional caps lock key.

Ellipse · 22 Jun 2018, 22:46

June Update 2: Final Model F assembly starts next month! Pricing changes to reflect free US shipping

Next month marks the start of Brand New Model F Keyboard assembly! Assembly will start with attaching over 100,000 springs to their flippers using a custom built machine (link below).

After the approval of the springs earlier this month, they have entered production. Outside of the keys this is the final part we were waiting on. The keys are not yet in production as a few keys in the mold need to be adjusted.

The factory will make about a thousand springs next week to start with, and then official Brand New Model F Keyboard assembly will start with the spring-flipper attacher (https://www.modelfkeyboards.com/january ... nner-foam/)!

I will then inspect the quality of the first production springs on the flippers to make sure they are in line with the approved samples they provided.

Pricing changes: free US shipping now built into item prices; same overall cost though. I have been getting many questions on shipping, so to make things easier I have changed shipping to be free in the US and increased pricing by the amount of the original shipping charge ($21). I’ve also disclosed shipping costs for each region on the store page and each Brand New Model F keyboard page. International shipping has also been discounted to reflect the $21 pricing increase so that the out of pocket is the same with this change. The accessory key sets have gone up $4 to help cover prototyping overages. Please note that existing orders will not have to change to reflect the new pricing. Shipping Rates — US: Free. Canada: $39.92. Europe/Asia/South America: $49.30. Australia/New Zealand: $69.59.

darkcruix · 22 Jun 2018, 23:07

Ellipse wrote: ↑June Update 2: Final Model F assembly starts next month!

YES !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

0100010 · 23 Jun 2018, 03:49

So those of us not waiting on keys ship sooner, or all will ship with keys coming later?

Ellipse · 23 Jun 2018, 04:08

The latter

Powerslice · 23 Jun 2018, 08:46

Ellipse wrote: ↑The latter

So does that mean the boards ship with no keys attached if you want to get ahold of them earlier?

Ellipse · 23 Jun 2018, 15:19

The keyboards without keys will ship at the same time as those with keys.

Elrick · 24 Jun 2018, 04:26

Ellipse wrote: ↑June Update 2: Final Model F assembly starts next month! Pricing changes to reflect free US shipping

Shipping Rates — Australia/New Zealand: $69.59.

Very decent shipping costs compared to anything bought off Flebay. You've done good with this Ellipse.

Now I have to take my heart meds to regulate the extreme anticipation of my Brand New F77 Keyboard. This alone is the Greatest Expectation for this Year.

Thank you for staying the course and making this happen when most here, would of bailed out long ago and disappeared.
You are a Man of Integrity which is extremely rare in these days of false promises and fake info.

duncancmt · 24 Jun 2018, 16:59

I realize I'm a bit late to the party on this one, but the 60% grey caps are too light for my liking. My reason behind wanting them is to have the legends be so low contrast that you can't see them unless you're specifically looking for them. It's less distracting to me while I'm coding. Like lakofsth said, I was imagining something more like the HHKB black with black legends. TBQH, I'd probably be happy with the 80% caps. Anyways, that's my $0.02. Thanks, Ellipse, as always for running this with integrity, transparency, and an absolute commitment to quality.

darkcruix · 24 Jun 2018, 19:25

I can understand that people want the ninja keycaps in super dark gray, but my personal preference would be a 60% mixture, as I like to be able to read my keycaps even in lower light conditions.
I have tested a 80% PBT mixture and black dye-sub - it is not readable at all (for me) unless you shine bright light on it. If you think you can read it by looking directly on it - this is likely not the case. When you do a dye-sub, the black becomes around 90% gray during the sinking process and the difference at this dark shades of 10% is barely recognizable. Would be pretty much the same as black ones without lettering, imho.
Just my opinion - doesn't mean I am right or my opinion matters.

duncancmt · 24 Jun 2018, 21:18

Well, perhaps 80% is too dark, but the 60% is considerably lighter than existing black-on-black dyesub sets e.g. Originative Classic Black.

depletedvespene · 24 Jun 2018, 21:45

Is 70% a reasonable compromise, then?

Ellipse · 24 Jun 2018, 22:08

duncanmt in person the 60% gray keys are a close match to photos I've seen of the reference Carbon Black key set, and the Model F gray keys look great in person. https://www.keychatter.com/2015/11/28/r ... bon-black/

I agree that the photo on the Originative web site seems to be much less bright than many of the reviewers' photos and also the photos on Massdrop. https://www.massdrop.com/buy/originativ ... keycap-set

I have approved the 60% keys as they achieved our objective to match the original reference Carbon Black set. Please ask me after the first round finishes and I will consider other colors if there is a MOQ (about 20-30 sets).

duncancmt · 24 Jun 2018, 22:20

Okay, great! I should probably get my workstation color calibrated, but then again, I'm not in a line of work that really requires that

consolation · 27 Jun 2018, 07:25

Scarpia wrote: ↑This imgur page? https://m.imgur.com/a/WR7h4

Because that does not include the keys from constexpr’s mockup - the numpad ones with command cluster sublegends on the 789 and 456 keys

Does anyone have the answer to this question? I have been trying to figure out how to order those too, Ellipses answer to my email was not very specific as far as those keys go.

To clarify, how do we order the CM style layout (that's NOT on the imgur page,) but is apparently available. I know order keys x 4 x 1$ UNITS, but, what do we specify. OR, are only the number less navs available?

TIA

Ellipse · 27 Jun 2018, 13:56

ok I can do CM style number keys less navs - please note this in the order

consolation · 27 Jun 2018, 14:00

Ellipse wrote: ↑ok I can do CM style number keys less navs - please note this in the order

These ones?

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How can we add/select these?

I'm starting to feel bit like a character in a Kafka story...

Xovaan · 28 Jun 2018, 20:21

Hi Ellipse,

Will there be a process in place for people who need shipping addresses changed?

I'm moving into a new place on 7/1 and need shipping changed for the several orders I've made. Also, my building only has a key for USPS so I'd prefer USPS as my shipper. I would be happy to cover any costs associated with having to use USPS instead of your usual carrier.

Ellipse · 28 Jun 2018, 23:43

Sure feel free to message me any address changes

consolation yep - you can order units of the store item $1 increments and you can link to the image. Each key is 4 units.

consolation · 02 Jul 2018, 13:47

Awesome - thank you.

darkcruix · 03 Jul 2018, 11:25

Pulse check

Any updates on the spring+flipper assembly? Any news on the fixed key molds?

Ellipse · 10 Jul 2018, 05:32

Thanks for attending the Bay Area Model F meetup everyone! It was nice meeting all of you! In case anyone was curious on feedback from the meeting there was also some discussion on the below thread:

keyboards-f2/bay-area-ca-brand-new-mode ... 19299.html

No updates yet darkcruix

constexpr · 10 Jul 2018, 15:26

Brand New Model F Keyboards are now officially Nathan Kim spec

darkcruix · 10 Jul 2018, 15:54

constexpr wrote: ↑Brand New Model F Keyboards are now officially Nathan Kim spec

I JUST CAN't WAIT ANYMORE

THANK YOU !!!!

Mattr567 · 11 Jul 2018, 01:44

Please do SoCal meetup

Ellipse · 12 Jul 2018, 04:48

A mini-update - progress on keys, springs, and P clips:

Keys are approved for production! Industrial SSK blue color is a match and has been approved!

After 6 months of retooling the molds, the factory has succeeded! All keys and stabilizer inserts function and operate well with the barrels. The factory will either start production on all colors except pearl/off-white, or they will wait until that color is approved (they are still working on the PBT color mixing as the previous samples were very close but not an exact match).

First tests of the custom built pneumatic spring attacher!

P clips are almost finished! The P clip secures the cable inside the classic die cast zinc cases to minimize risk of damage to the USB port on the xwhatsit controller. Just another example of molds and tooling needing to be built from scratch because none of the original Model F tooling survived. Attached are photos of the P clip stamping tool and inspection process.

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consolation · 12 Jul 2018, 05:20

That's awesome, good work Ellipse!

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

darkcruix · 12 Jul 2018, 11:57

Wonderful news!
Any news on the dye sub process?

reavy · 16 Jul 2018, 05:43

Is the foam used in these new Model Fs a type that won’t rot over time? Especially for the First Aid kits you’re selling with parts and foam for the future, it would be sad to find that your replacement foam was rotten by the time you needed to use it.

Ellipse · 16 Jul 2018, 06:29

Yes reavy the estimated life is 20-40 years for this type of foam material (in much harsher environments than a keyboard) according to what I've read. Even IBM used different types of foam; some XT foam from the early 80s is still in great shape. Also the spare foam would not be compressed inside the keyboard for those decades so it should retain more resiliency.