Typemaster 180After 10 months of work and 3 prototypes made, we are excited to present you our very first mechanical keyboard, the 180 (Series 1 ; 80 keys). This board features a 75% layout with a 7.7° typing angle.
With an 6063 aluminum body and a 904L stainless steel weight and plate, the keyboard weight around 2,6 kg / 5,7 lbs once it’s fully construct.
The 180 is simple and elegant in design, it is composed of only 4 parts :
A top part, through which your keycaps will pass, a bottom part that meets the top part when you close the case, a weight passing through the bottom part of the keyboard, and a plate for the installation of your mechanical switches.
GB Thread is here: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=111439.0
DesignWe only use premium materials in Typemaster keyboards. For our first group buy, you will find 6063 Aluminum and 904L Stainless Steel.
Each of our keyboards adopts a clean, seamless and screwless design, a cross between retro and modern. For more convenience, each of our keyboards closes magnetically, through the use of 16 magnets.
Thanks to the neodymium magnets, the strongest magnets on the market, we guarantee that your case will not open by itself when you lift or carry it.
The design of our Series 1 adopts the use of two distinct colors between the upper and lower parts of the keyboard. The lower part joins the upper part thanks to a rounded shape, allowing you to enjoy its unique color without having to turn your keyboard over.
IsolationAll Typemaster keyboards are equipped with insulation using new generation materials. Thanks to the use of 16 gel pads, you benefit from unparalleled writing comfort and acoustic insulation.
Notches are machined in our plates so that the gel present on the lower part of the case fits perfectly into it. Thanks to these notches, placing the plate before closing the keyboard becomes a simple operation.
The first property of this gel is the absorption of vibrations. Most of the vibrations that are emitted when you type on the keyboard are not transmitted to the case, which does not become a resonance chamber. The sound that comes out of the keyboard when you use it is therefore pure, and without any resonance or noise.
The second property of the gel is the ability to absorb pressure as it contracts, giving you a flex and typing comfort never before achieved, even if you are using a stainless steel or brass plate. Once the keystroke is made, the gel returns to its initial shape, without wearing out over time, due to its fantastic properties.
In addition to the use of gel pads, each keyboard rests on 4 large 3M branded feet, improving acoustic insulation, overall flex, and damping of your keystrokes.
We have also chosen to use larger than usual feet to protect the back of your keyboard, which is no longer in contact with your desk or deskmat. This way, you avoid accidental scratches by moving your keyboard during use.
ElectronicsElectronics is an important part when it comes to creating a keyboard that will last over time. For this reason, all Typemaster PCBs are created using the best materials available on the market.
The FR4 material used withstands TG 170-180 heating temperatures. The copper layer is doubled compared to a standard PCB to 2 oz. The gold immersion plating is also doubled to 2U/inch, providing long-lasting corrosion protection.
Finally, we only use quality electronic components from world-renowned brands such as Samsung or Panasonic.
Each Typemaster keyboard offers a USB-C connection, thanks to the use of a Unified daughterboard (by ai03). This offers you ESD (electrostatic discharge) protection, an overcurrent protection, an overvoltage protection, and a noise shielding.
Why no hot-swap PCB? We are convinced that the keyboard you use should not limit you in your choice of layouts or switches you want to use. In creating a plate and PCB that gives you choice, we don't want to limit you by offering a PCB that only works with certain types of switches, and for a particular layout.
However, we are sure you will appreciate being able to switch plates quickly, giving you the possibility to use several different types of switches, keycaps, or layouts over the time.
Specs- 75% premium board
- Seamless and screwless in design
- Closes with 16 magnets instead of screws
- Quick plate change (less than 30 seconds)
- Uses advanced gel pads for a great insulation and flex
- Notches in the plate for quick & easy plate placement on the gel pads
- 6063 Aluminum with Mirror Polished Stainless Steel weight
- High quality PCB with ANSI & ISO support
- Layouts : 6.25U and 7U spacebars support, stepped and normal capslock support, splited and normal backspace support
- Unified USB-C Daughterboard with all the protections you need
- QMK and VIA support
- Designed, engineered, assembled and quality-checked in France
- Shipped from France with magnets, gel and feet pre-installed
- Price estimation between 420€ and 480€ depending of IC results
LinksWe'll post updates here, but you can follow us as well here :
VideosUnboxing and first sound test :
Our second sound test :
Our third sound test :
Magnetic operation, plate placement and gel dampening :
@hipyotech Review :
@jeffbattlestation Sound Test :
Edit #1 - IC ResultsThe IC is now closed, thanks you everyone for your support and for completing the form ! Here are the results :
We collected 140 answers from the form. On the question « Do you plan to enter into the Typemaster 180 group buy ? », we got a 77% « Yes » (107 answers), and 18% of « Maybe ».
About the color schemes, the winners are (Top color / Bottom color)
- Silver / Black « Gris argenté et Noir basalte » (23,5%)
- Black / Gold « Noir basalte et Or » (21,3%)
- Silver / Green « Gris argenté et Vert d’Eau » (11,8%)
- Black / Green « Noir basalte et Vert d’Eau » (6,6%)
- Black / Red « Noir basalte et Rouge Intense » (6,6%)
- Silver / Red « Gris argenté et et Rouge Intense » (6,6%)
- Black / Blue « Noir basalte et Bleu Électrique » (6,6%)
- Silver / Blue « Gris argenté et Bleu Électrique » (4,4%)
All these colors will be made for the GB !
The results also showed the majority does not want to pay more to get a numbered keyboard. We’ll probably do limited series in the future, but for now, we’ll stick with un-numbered keyboards.
Now, on to the questions :
1) The most asked question is about the absence of a logo in the top right corner. It’s a tricky question, and while we understand why some people would like to get a logo / brand on the face of their keyboard, we also understand why some other people prefers to get a clean look.
To be honest with you, our first take on the very first prototype was : « it definitely needs a logo on the top right ». So we did that, but it made the top right not « right », even if the result technically speaking was very good.
While a logo looks great when there’s no switches and keycaps on the board, the result is a bit messy once the keycaps are in. The looks feels too busy, and overall wrong.
Since this time, we are more and more convinced that a clean look is the way to go. This keyboard design is made to last in time, and we strongly thinks the overall design and look of the board makes it recognizable without the presence of a logo.
So, in our mind, the absence of logo is a mark of distinction by itself, as a part of the design choices.
2) The second most asked question was the lack of non-metallic plates. We have good news for you ! After talking with our factory, there will be extra plates for sale in the GB : you’ll be able to choose between aluminum, brass, stainless steel, POM, and PC. No carbon at this moment (it requires testing on our side), and no FR4 also (it requires a bit of time for design).
However, if the demand is here, we’ll do an IC for both of these materials later.
Side note is we never tested plastic-based plates on this build, so the result is not guaranteed :-) However, once the switches are in and the PCB is soldered, the amount of force required to open the keyboard should not damage the plate.
Another thing important to know is the gel fixed on the bottom part of the keyboard (3mm thickness) is giving a nice flex, even if you’re using stiff plates like brass or stainless steel. The flex is even better with aluminum plate. This is something to keep is mind, the gel acts like shock absorbers, nothing like classic rubber / silicone pads.
This is also why we will not propose half plates, as they are absolutely not necessary, and possibly not working well this the gel pads.
3) There was also a few comments about the feet of the keyboards. Some people feels the feet are too big. Indeed, there are bigger than that we’re used to see, but there’s a lot of reasons about that :
- It protects the keyboard from scratches on the back if you slide your board on your deskmat
- It adds an additional layer of flex on the typing experience if you’re using a deskmat
- It also adds a lot in terms of overall sound insulation, especially if you’re not using a deskmat
- It permits to give a little bit more of angle on the board without getting a « too big » look. The feet on the back are slightly bigger than the feet on the front
So in summary, you don’t see them, but there are definitely part of the overall experience :-)
4) The least common questions, with quick answers :
« Badge instead of logo ? » We don’t want a « bam in your face » look
« What about a white / rose / rose gold / crimson / purple / lilac / navy blue / brass weight version ? » If there’s enough interest in the future, we’ll certainly make another GB with new colors and materials. For now, 6 colors is already a lot to manage on our side for a first GB
« Hotswap PCB ? » Not at this moment, too restrictive in terms of layout. But maybe in the future :-)
« PC version ? » Probably not a good idea with the magnets (hello cracks), but we’ll probably test one day for fun !
« Plate 3D files release ? » I don’t see why we shouldn’t do that, so we’ll release the plate 3D file if you want to test some things :-) Personal use only.
« Is there any risk of the magnets damaging the internals of the keyboard ? » Absolutely no risks, we tried it the rough way and there never was a problem. No guarantee with plastic plates, however.
« Discord when ? » Not right now, we're already super busy with this project to make it right, and we want to keep the communication with you easy. You’ll find all the informations on updates here on GeekHack, on our Instagram, and also on our website.
Price, versions, ETA for shippingWe’ve got a lot of discussions with our factory the last days. The last quote we received from them was very pricey, and there was a lot of negotiations to keep the price sustainable.
We want as a side note to inform you there will be no compromises on the quality of the products we will make in this GB (and in the future) : best aluminum for keyboards, use of the smallest tools in the CNC to get the best result without machining marks (outside and inside the board), finest bead blasting we can get, carefully selected anodization factory, very small fitting tolerances, strict QC in factory + additional QC on our side, and so on.
All this premium features comes at a price, and we’ll going to make 2 versions of the board to accommodate most of the budgets :
The base version of the board with aluminum top, bottom, plate and weight will be 429€. If you want to go with a mirror polished stainless steel weight, the price will be 479€.
The MoQ will be 100 units, with a maximum of 250 units.
For the extra plates, the MoQ will be 25 units per material.
The ETA for shipping after the group buy is around 4-5 months for 100 units, and 5-6 months for 250 units. (2 months for the different factories to make the products, 1 month for sea shipping to France, 1 month per 100 units to prepare in France). Please keep in mind this is an estimation :-) But we’ll do our best to make this the quickest we can.
We will probably ship by batches on a FCFS basis. We will update you at every important step (probably every 2 weeks).
The date of GB will be announced soon.
Thanks again for participating in the IC, and feel free to comment and ask any questions :-)
Edit #2 - Video ProofAlso, as promised, here is a quick live record to show the sound of our videos is 100% raw, without any post production, here :
Sound file shown in the video :
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0453/4173/7116/files/Input_Device_Recording_20210102_1627.mp4?v=1609601386 
