KB-40-A - Stainless steel 40% kit

Hello

Hey there, I'd like to share a board I'm developing. The KB-40-A is a 40% kit with a unique stainless steel sheet metal construction. It has some fun light-up switches, a rotary encoder, and a custom hotswap PCB. It's heavy, easily assembled, and repairable.

I would love to hear your thoughts and welcome any questions. Thanks for taking a look!

Interest check form

Project info page


Next steps

• Design
• First prototype
• Interest check
• Design development
• Second prototype
• Interest check update maybe

Details

Kit includes

• Two-piece case Three-piece case
• Two versions of front case piece for full bottom row and HHKB bottom row
• Plate
• Hotswap PCB with pre-soldered buttons and rotary encoder
• Fasteners
• Feet
• Typing angle riser to convert from flat to 6-degree
• PCB gaskets
• Rotary encoder knob
• Sound dampening
• Screwdriver

PCB

• Thickness: 1.6 mm
• Connectivity: USB-C, no wireless option
• Switch connection: Kailh hot swap sockets, supports MX switches only
• Mounting: Tray mount with rubber gaskets
• Flex: No flex cuts
• Firmware: Built with QMK, Via pre-installed; written by Robert Kleemann (sizezero on Discord and Github)
• Designed by: A-Okay!

Materials

• Case and plate: Stainless steel finished with a smooth, matte black powder coat
• Fasteners: Stainless steel
• Feet and PCB gaskets: SBR synthetic rubber
• Sound dampening: Wool felt case padding, IXPE PCB foam
• Packaging: 100% cardboard and paper, except foil PCB bag

Potential sale details

I'll revisit these details following the interest check, but here are the preliminary thoughts:

• Sale structure: In-stock (no group buy)
• Quantity: 10–20 units
• Pricing target: $200–300 USD
• Build options: Limited, if any; for instance: no color options, no wireless option, no solder PCB option

Background

Outside the hobby, I work as a residential architect. Growing up, my family was into vintage autos and midcentury industrial design. I've always loved sheet metal and continue working with it professionally.

Here, I wanted to use sheet metal to create a board as solid and enclosed as a CNC aluminum unit but with less material. Sprinkle in some control panel and toolbox flair, and voila.

Appreciate you taking a look and any feedback you have to offer!


Photos

First prototype pictured below. Shown with GMK MTNU Graphite keycaps and Gateron Baby Kangaroo v2 switches, which are not included in the kit.





Updates


2024-09-03

Good news: the response has given me enough encouragement that I'm just going to get working on the second prototype. I'm grateful for all the excellent feedback. Thanks to everyone who responded! Here are the plans for the second prototype:

• Second prototype coming in early October, will include sound test
• Sticking with flat typing angle likely, but still exploring
• Sticking with raised edges: going with this design for this project but exploring other shapings for down the road
• Revising bottom row layout
• Fixing 90-degree rotated hotswap sockets
• Improving PCB mounting to make build process easier, reduce part number, and improve PCB isolation
• Adding another color, potentially a white / cream, depending on affordability
• Adding a lid (doubles as a wrist rest) with a handle and a cover: recently found a viable solution for a feature I've been trying to implement since day one
• Likely removing light-up buttons: unable to make them look as integrated as I want; less useful than expected; realized I mainly just wanted a glowy thing; replacing with a "lamp" feature
• Adding more knobs

Next steps

• Design development
• Second prototype
• Interest check update

Edit: Trimmed down. I'm too wordy.


2024-09-10

Worked up a few additional things for the second prototype:

• Improvement to case design that allows for an included, convertible HHKB option: front "cowling" is now a separate piece; kit will include two versions of it, one for full bottom row and one with blockers for HHKB bottom row
• Adding a convertible 6-degree typing angle: found a way to add something that still allows for the flat angle and also feels integrated in the board