I started designing the Qazimodo in February and just got the first aluminum case from the manufacturer a couple days ago. Very happy with how it turned out.
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Why?
Torture device, presumably.
Yeah… I mean I want to try it out but… is it a joke or is it supposed to be an improvement?
It started as a joke but then I posted the layout from KLE on the 40% Discord and things got out of hand and the next thing I knew I was reaching out to manufacturers on Alibaba.
Could you elaborate some into your experience on Alibaba? That case is gorgeous. I’d love to hear more about the process and costs. (I have an mATX project I’d like to put in a custom little box.)
For sure! As far as process, I came up with the layout using keyboard-layout-editor.com and from there I designed the PCB in KiCad and the switch plate and case with Fusion 360. The case took a lot of trial and error to get everything fitting right so I made a lot of 3d printed prototypes before I was satisfied with it. After I had my printed prototype done I basically went on Alibaba and searched for manufacturers who had keyboard cases listed as products they could make and I messaged a bunch of them asking for quotes on 1, 3, and 25 cases (I was trying to decide on 1 or 3 prototypes and then 25 will be the minimum order quantity if it makes it to group buy). The one that gave me the lowest price was also the company that someone I’ve been getting advice from has used on group buys he’s done, so I ended up going with them since he vouched for their quality.
The cost goes up quite a bit as the order quantity decreases, so this prototype was expensive. After shipping and fees and everything, it was over $600. I probably wouldn’t have paid it if I hadn’t just gotten a tax refund honestly. Some of the other manufacturers that I talked to had slightly lower prices for smaller order quantities but they were too expensive for the group buy quantity.
That’s about the price I was expecting, really does need to be at least a group buy to make sense! Or a tax refund :)
Was there anything you have to do to translate the model from FDM plastic to the manufactured prototype? At $600 I’d be worried that I have snug plastic that becomes too loose or impossible to fit in a different material.
Oh I was very worried that something wouldn’t fit right once I got the prototype; mostly the USB cutout. I did like 20 printed prototypes with little adjustments to the cutout until I was as confident as I could be, but I still wasn’t positive it would fit because of differing tolerances but thankfully my printer was pretty much spot on with what I got from the manufacturer.
A true leap of faith! Glad it worked out, the result is really beautiful.
I literally dont understand keyboard hobbyists, like at this point youre just being different for the sake of being different.
When you hit Q, A, and Z at the same time it spits this out
You guys always kill me because it’s like you come up with a funny idea for a keyboard meme product and then someone spends actual effort mocking it up or making a CAD model and then someone decides to actually make it and you spend real money on it because nobody had the sense to just say “this is actually stupid” somewhere along the way.
that’s really useful!
How does having those 3 keys on the right help?
People kept asking me how I use a keyboard without QAZ so I threw them on there to appease everyone.
This looks like you asked AI to make a keyboard 😂
What if we’re all just AI
So is this a keyboard meant for people who don’t believe in numbers?
Numbers?
Is it named after the hunchback?
It is. My wife came up with the name and she’s very proud of it.
What keycapps are those?
Akko WOB Building Blocks
Not my bag, (where muh numpad!!!) but looks neat.
