Argyle - 60% Through-hole Keyboard (GB Starts 2/19)

Do you love through-hole keyboards? Wish there was a more premium option? If you’ve answered yes, I may have a keyboard for you! I present to you, Argyle.

IC Form

Please take a minute to fill it out. If this goes to GB, most likely only the most popular 2 or 3 options will be offered.

Features:

• 8 degree typing angle
• Aluminum housing
• Visible through-hole components
• RGB LEDs for the side partitions
• Top mounted plate
• QMK/VIA
• USB-C

Renders:

Rendered by Abec















Additional Renders:


PCB and Silkscreen:



The argyle patterns of the bottom corners needs no explanation. Love it or hate it? Let me know in the IC form. As for the logo on the top-right, I have been thinking about becoming a vendor serving Asia for some time now. It is still under consideration but I have put in some legwork including a name, MechSeoul, and a logo. Even if I decide to not go the vendor route, the logo is something I decided to place on my current and any future designs. It features N-Tower, an iconic communications tower located in the center of Seoul.

Supported Layouts:



Vendors:

• EU: ProtoTypist
• Others: to be determined

Pricing and MOQ:

To be determined

Colors and Options:

• Housing Colors: black, white (other options to be determined)
• PCB Colors: to be determined
• Tops: standard (possibly WKL and HHKB)
• Plates: aluminum (other options to be determined)
• Window: acrylic or glass

Design:

I love the through-hole keyboards out there but I wanted one with a metal housing. So, I employed the wonderful team at ProtoTypist (Jae: logistics and fulfillment, James: housing design, Yiancar: PCB design) to make my idea into a reality. To give it’s own flavor and to give a better view of the components, the components were split to the sides of the keyboard. The relatively high typing angle was also chosen to increase the visibility of the components. Even though 65% is my favorite layout by far, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to match the symmetry of the housing with the symmetry of the 60% layout. Because the focus of the keyboard is the side partitions, the rest of the design was kept relatively simple.

To-do:

• Get prototype PCBs (Built and tested)
• Get prototype housing (Currently with Jae for fitment testing)
• Finalize vendors
• Finalize details (MOQ, colors, options, pricing)

Possible Concerns:

• Sound: The hollow space in the side partitions may negatively affect the sound (but can probably be easily remedied with foam if that's the case)
• Illumination: The LEDs may not illuminate the entirety of the partition in a satisfactory way.

FAQ:

Q: How are the see-through panels held in place?

A: There are grooves for rubber/foam which will hold up the panels. The grooves can be seen in some of the renders if you look closely.

Q: How are the side partitions illuminated?

A: The image of the PCB shows the location of 10 RGB LEDs. These LEDs will shoot light up into a diffuser which will direct light off to the sides. One side of the diffuser is blocked off to prevent light bleed through the switch plate. A simple render of the implementation can be seen here:

Q: Could you add an bluetooth, OLED, rotary encoder, T-bar fader, fingerprint reader, and/or flux capacitor?

A: If the response of the IC/GB is positive, the GB runs smoothly, and the desire for a R2 is high, ideally I would add more features in future rounds. The design team and I already had to put our minds together to tackle a few obstacles such as elegant way to hold the panels in place and to light up the interior of the side partitions. More features means a higher chance something will fail or not be adequate. So, I'm starting simple now but I'm open to add more features in any future rounds.

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