Interest CheckKeyboards

Antares: Notare | TKL | Seamless | Screwless | Japanese Inspired

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Description

Notare

antares.ci – Official website (*revision* looking into vendors now)
(Custom Site - Still Updating and Optimizing for All Platforms)
*Revision* Not sure if I'm going to get rid of the site entirely or what. But the people have spoken. I'm going to work something out with a few vendors to move the process forward

https://forms.gle/dGykhfT8ZZiNhSSN8 - IC Form

Outline

Greetings
TLDR
Design
Assembly
Unit Badge
Colorways
Technical Gallery
Pricing & Kit Details
Vendors
Roadmap
Special Thanks

Color Codes

Orange: important details for Part II and revision info
Green: Prices/Costs
Red: Disclaimers/Significant Announcements
Purple: Communication/Notification Details
Yellow: Shipping Details

1. Greetings

After 2 years of revisions, head scratching, praying, and feelings of defeat, I am proud to finally reveal: Notare. This project is [hopefully] the first of many custom keyboard and tech product ventures that I aim to release. I posted a cringeworthy IC a little over 2 years ago (only on reddit) and received constructive criticism from the community. The design concept has changed immensely since then, and thankfully, so has my knowledge and experience (still far from an expert though). This is Part I of a two-part interest check. Part II will essentially be an update of Part I, with more info on logistics, accessories/packaging, typing tests, and any revisions. Now after reading some comments recently on other ICs, I feel this must be said: although many aspects of this board appear to be set in stone, they are not. This is still in fact an Interest Check. Feel free to offer any suggestions on design or functional changes, and depending on practicality (and my vision for the project of course), I will genuinely consider implementing them. After my first attempt at an IC, I just wanted to ensure that this attempt provides enough details and hopefully conveys the amount of thought I have put into the project. Now that we got that out of the way, above you will find the link to the official website which is designed from scratch by myself and is still a work in progress. Below, you will find detailed information regarding the project, nicknamed – The Genesis Project.

2. TLDR

Materials – 6063 aluminum, 5052 aluminum, mirror polished stainless steel
Mounting System – isolated gasket mount (poron strips)
Typing Angle – 8°
EFH – 21mm
Weight ~ 4.1kg (9 lbs) fully built
Form Factor – TKL with options for WKL or Winkey
PCB – QMK/VIA compatible, USB-C daughterboard, Solderable and Hot-Swap (fixed Stepped Caps, Backspace, RShift + WKL)
Colorways – Crimson Red, Mother of Pearl, Meridian, Vino, Blood Moon
LED Indicators – RGB; Caps Lock, Scroll Lock, M(1) Layer
Magnetic Badge – Crimson Red, Sakura Rose, Mother of Pearl
Price ~ $575-599 for base kit (manu is flexible, so still negotiating)
Vendors TBA
Units ~ no clue, MOQ still being negotiated
Discord: don't really have experience with running one but of course I can have this setup in the near future
IC Part II Date - hopefully in the next month or so

3. Design

a. Wave Pattern

The name Notare is derived from the hamon patterns often seen on Japanese swords and knives. The side profile is seamless, and the slight angle change caused by the wave pattern allows it to stand out in the right lighting. The overall
shape of the board was designed to slightly resemble a Japanese sword – from the back angle, to the hamon pattern, to the curved front face.

b. Keyboard Inspirations

The aesthetics of Japanese swords and knives were the main inspiration regarding the theme of the board. Aside from that however, the Notare design language was inspired by modern classics such as the Duck Orion v3, the HHKB Professional HG, and the
Keycult No. 2.

Duck Orion v3(https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=98581.0)

Keycult No. 2 (https://keycult.com/)

HHKB Professional HG https://hhkb.io/models/HHKB_Professional_HG/

c. Underside

The bottom of the board features a screwless, mirror polished stainless steel bottom plate. The plate surrounds the centerpiece of the mid plate, sporting a laser etched logo in white. *Feet coming for Part II of IC*

d. Curves and Angles

The front face of the board features a curve that causes it to gleam when light strikes. The back edge of the board is also curved to a certain degree for not only aesthetic purposes, but also to make lifting the board easier. All edges of the exterior
portions of the board are filleted aside from the chamfers on the key cutouts. This includes the fillet on the back edge that meets the stainless steel bottom plate. This will also cause a slight gleam when light hits the filleted edge of the stainless steel.

e. Switch Plate & PCB

The switch plate will come in 3 variants: 5052 aluminum, sandblasted brass, and polycarbonate. There are 3 main flex-cuts that significantly contribute to the typing experience. Two between the number row and function row, and one above the home row.
This allows for a much softer and ‘bouncier’ typing experience. (I may actually need to tighten the home row flex cut as there is quite a bit of flex right now. We'll see.)

The PCB is custom but was derived from the Hiney h87a to keep things simple and reliable. It will be available in Solderable and Hotswap variants, with a fixed
layout on the Hotswap variant (ISO support should be doable for in-stock after GB). The PCB also features LED indicators mapped to Caps Lock, Scroll Lock, and Layer 1 (M(1)). All switches mounted are south-facing and stabilizers are
PCB-mounted. There is built-in ESD protection, but this is also provided via the included daughterboard (based on Unified C3). Now the current PCB prototype is not up to date
in terms of color and layout, and the switch plate has had small revisions as well including the layout and screw hole placements. But stay tuned for the updated IC with the revised protos. The available layouts of the PCB can
be found below along with photos of the previous plate and pcb iterations:

f. Badge

A magnetic badge - depicting the house’s logo - sits perfectly in the function row to add another level of personalization. While the badge utilizes the negative space found in between the ESC and F1 keys, the option is available to 'debadge' the board due to
the absence of cutouts for the badge. The badge is CNC machined out of 6063 aluminum with a small magnet embedded within the bottom. It comes in three anodized colorways including Crimson Red, Rose, and Mother of Pearl.
*Disclaimer: due to the small size and shape of the badge, very small hook marks may be seen on the inside edges of the badge from anodizing. Still working this out with manufacturer.

4. Assembly

The Notare is a three-piece case which allows for the screwless and seamless design. The assembly process is essentially identical to the Keycult No.2 and the Monokei Kei. The top and mid plates are screwed together first, followed by the bottom plate which is screwed to the mid plate via screw holes carefully placed in between certain switches. For the mounting system, it utilizes a classic isolated gasket mount. The gaskets are made of poron and are 1.5mm in thickness. As the board is screwed together, the gaskets are compressed as the switch plate is sandwiched in between. This dampens vibrations and alleviates the board of any pinging noises from metal-on-metal contact. Standard stuff. The switch plate has 4 mounting points at the top and 2 at the bottom, excluding a third mounting point underneath the spacebar of course.

5. Unit Badge

After brainstorming ideas for what should go on the inside of the mid plate, and then hearing about cloning issues on the aftermarket, I decided to add a unit badge on the inside of the board. The unit badge is mirror polished stainless steel to keep things consistent with the bottom plate, and will have the Unit Number, Model, and unique Serial Number laser etched on top. It will stay fixed to the mid plate via two small magnets on the bottom. Each unit and serial number will be kept in a database to keep track of each unit. I've already discussed this with my manufacturer who has confirmed that this will be possible for the GB. I have more ideas for authorizing each board on our website but I have to do more research before I can divulge. Below is an example of the unit badge with the serial number blurred out:

6. Colorways

For the next proto, I'm trying to get the manu to color match the Mother of Pearl colorway. But they were hesitant to do this last time for just one prototype. Nevertheless, I'm going to order chips for all colorways prior to Part II and re-inquire about the full color matched prototype. You can also see the grey silicone feet in these renders. This color isn't final, but we will see after the samples come in.

7. Technical Gallery

For the hamon pattern, you can see that the light hits differently at certain points on the wave. This is not due to a manufacturing error, but an error on my part in CAD. It has since been fixed on my end and we'll see how it turns out for the next proto.

There is a slight gap where the top plate meets the bottom plate. This will be revised for Part II. Also, you can see the angle change here. It is more drastic than usual in order to keep the side bezels of the board as thin as possible without warping the side wall.

The screws pictured are M3 Philips only because that's what my manufacturer decided to send. The screws included for the GB will be M3 Hex. You can also see the cutouts for the LED indicators above the arrow cluster. I decided to go with a triangle layout because the house logo is somewhat in that shape, so I wanted to remain somewhat consistent.

The JST raceway runs directly to the connector via the mid plate. In terms of the JST, not sure where exactly I'm going to source them from yet and whether the heat shrink could be sourced from the same supplier. I know of a couple that would suffice, but let me know of any quality JST suppliers (preferably with the tabs on the side so it is easier to push into the connector).

Here is a seated position shot to get an idea of what would be staring back at you on a daily. There is a bit of extra space between the blockers and shift keys which will be addressed. Also, the LEDs being used are bright, but the light gets absorbed quite a bit by the black board. Not sure if they were on in this picture but when I was testing that was something I wanted to address.

Here is a top-down shot to get an idea of key-spacing. (The switch plate used here was an experimental confetti/camouflaged ano from a previous manu so ignore that if you notice it.)

The USB-C cutout is quite precise but looks a bit rough around the inside edge. I'll discuss this with the manufacturer.

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8. Pricing & Kit Details

Keyboard Kit ~ $575-599 (still sourcing and negotiating)
- 3 Piece Keyboard Kit (Top, Middle, and Bottom Plate)
- PCB - QMK + VIA compatible
- Daughterboard w/ JST Cable
- 25mm M3 Screws (4), 14mm M3 Screws (5), 4mm M3 Screws (2)
- 1.5mm Pre-Installed Poron Gaskets (12)
- Injection Molded Silicone Feet (4)
- M3 Allen Key
- Gloves

Accessories

Switch Plates ~ $35, 40, 45 for extra PC, Alu, or Brass respectively (will be in stock after GB)
PCBs ~ $50-55 for extras depending on hotswap or solderable (daughterboard included; will be in stock after GB)
Badges ~ $15-20 for extras (will be in stock after GB)

9. Vendors

US: TBA
Canada: TBA
Europe: TBA
Asia: TBA
Oceania: TBA

10. Roadmap

Finish Sourcing Materials: feet, gaskets, Revised PCBs, daughterboards, JST cables, etc.
Review Feedback from IC Part I
Make Final Revisions to Full Kit
Film Typing Test
Look Into Build Stream if Possible
Post IC Part II
Finalize Website (constantly working on it but should be done before GB of course)
Launch GB

11. Special Thanks