60XT - Dual column symmetrical 60xt keyboard
IC FORMHello all, many of you may have seen me around the keyboard community in the past 3 years and today I am excited to introduce the first public project of my own. I have worked on many projects including OC-62, Capy60, Evalice and others and am excited to make one of my projects available publicly. The XT layouts commonly have 2 macro columns directly next to each other and although I also like the look of that I greatly enjoy symmetry. When I saw the ReiXT from dean I knew that I wanted to make a keyboard in that layout. With inspiration in layout from the ReiXT, side profiles from LZ (with some added curves and drafts) and mounting I have been experimenting with from previous projects, all accumulated into the 60XT.
== Specifications and Details ==
Layout - WKL, WK , HHKB 60XT
Materials - 6063 aluminum top and bottom housing, Brass weight
Typing angle - 9 degrees
Front Height - 17.5mm (without lip) EKH - 23.0mm
Weight - 1.78Kg Unbuilt
Mounting - Leaf Spring Silicone Gasket Mount (more information below)
Other features:
-Large brass through weight with grills outside
-Curvy stepped side profile
-Hidden DB and Molex cable
-Fly DB with ez-mate connector
-PCB with ez-mate connector
== Mounting and Layout Details ==The first prototype used rubber grommets from McmasterCarr and I enjoyed this, but I wanted to open up the chance for more tuning with custom gaskets that can be made in several durometers (and colors
) The second prototype will be using the new silicone gaskets and I have 2 durometers on hand ready to test (30a and 60a). Shown below are more details on how the mounting works and is assembled.
The gaskets are held in place by “claws” on the plate that are separated from the rest of the plate by leaf springs cuts. These cuts give the plate a nice soft bottom-out feeling and great sound as the gaskets also fully isolate the plate from the case.
PCB will support ANSI and ISO with a dedicated ISO plate. PCB will be made by Toasty
Mounting Details:
Layout:
== Sales Info ==Format: FCFS GB
Date: TBD - Q4 2023
Vendors:
Europe: EloquentClicks
NA: Loobedswitches
SG: Mecha
Thailand: Aiglatson Studio
Latin America: LatamKeys
Oceania: Allcaps
Others: TBD
Layout: WKL, WK, HHKB 60xt
Colors: TBD (ordering several samples)
Target Price: $450 USD - TBD
Units: Softcapped at 100 Units across all vendors
== Renders and Prototype Images ==Renders by Zetina, Photos by Me
Renders:
Photos:
== Current Status and Changelog ==V2 prototypes being ordered - May 2023
- V1 Proto Thoughts:
-Leaf spring grommet mounting had the desired effect of softer bottom while maintaining full sound
-Side profile drafts and curves turned out as imagined perfectly
-Weight slightly too small and didn’t match proportions
-JST cable a bit annoying
- V2 Changes:
-Changed mounting to use gaskets instead of grommets to allow tuning of feel and sound
-Reduced bezels by 1mm on all sides to even out proportions
-Weight size increased internally and externally
-Switched to Ez-mate to make assembly easier
== Contact and other links == You can join my discord here:
https://discord.gg/n9FRZewwNR You can join Eloquent Clicks Discord here:
https://discord.gg/mbcpaUQ9yh Follow the project on my website as well:
https://www.bowlkeyboards.com/== Special Thanks ==Manu and Chris - for helping make this project a reality
Lance, medieval, user, synthetics, Laminar - for giving good feedback and starting this in the first place
Toasty - for pcb work
Zetina - for renders
Dean - for layout inspiration
