deskthority

I cross-post it here, if any body is interested : There is a discussion about an Ergodox group buy in Europe on Geekhack

Spoiler: Someone mentioned aluminium cases! Could be interesting indeed.

In for one with aluminium cases.

Will there be the option to buy just the case and the components for the pcb? I bought an extra pcb set from Massdrop thinking I could source the components and case cheaper later.... but my laziness got the best of me so now I would love to just buy those from your GB

The idea is to have the whole kit similar to Massdrop. We're now looking for the cheapest and most reliable sources of all components. For example there is now discussion about the PCB to be ordered either locally in Poland and remotely from China. The cost difference is quite significant. Making PCB in Poland costs 25€, in China 12 dollars, but we need to pay for shipping and taxes. Still it turns out to be half the price. We will definitely get a discount in Polish company if we order more PCBs, my quote was for 40 pieces (20 sets of keyboards) which is not that many, but it will never be as cheap as China.
There is also question about electronics. I've sent emails to many major electronic wholesales in Poland and so far none of them replied yet, but we can easily count for a bit less less than 18 GBP from DigiKey. As for Teensy, fellow member of GeekHack offered his help sourcing them a bit cheaper than standard retail price as well.
All in all, whole set should cost the same or a bit less than what Massdrop offers, we are going to organize group buy in very near future.

Cool. And if aluminium cases are part of the kit, tell us about it!

Go with the Polish PCB manufacturer! Teensy from China is enough.

When you do get to make new PCBs, then please do start with the version that has the holes for PCB-mounted stabilizers. Then do fix the bugs with the 1u outer key columns.

I'm in the states, so I don't know if Czarek / et al. are looking into aluminum cases -- or if I'm the guy whose post made you mention it. but I do have a friend asking a relative about the homie hook-up price -- if there is one. I'll create an IC thread on GH when I have real information or, of course, if anyone else gets real numbers they can start their own IC / GB thread -- competition is good for the marketplace, so they say (but tends to lower MOQs in GBs. Oh well.)

Aluminum, or stainless steel? I was going to try for quotes of both, assuming they'd be similar.

AKmalamute wrote:Aluminum, or stainless steel? I was going to try for quotes of both, assuming they'd be similar.

Aluminium is about twice the price of stainless steel. (I was in Matt3o's lasered metal case custom keyboard GB. I went with stainless because I like the weight and finish.) Both are fine materials. Definitely worth investigation.

Just heard from the friend-of-a-friend. Aluminum will indeed, for this project be the same cost as stainless steel. There was quite a snafu, though.

The .zip file on ergodox.org with the listser .dxf files appear to be completely unitless. So there's no easy way right now to tell how big to make the silly things. I found a diagram of the MX switch ... 0.61" on a side, and presumably the inside of the holes on plate three match that, but ...

Do you know where to get useful information, like .dxf or .dwg files with sizes listed? Or a .png of graph paper with correct measurements made? Anything like that?

Here's the .dwg file Matt3o sent to the laser cutter in our recent GB. I can confirm that MX switches fit in the plates perfectly:

http://deskthority.net/resources/file/9227

He uses DraftSight to draw these layouts. I think .dxf is AutoCAD.

For dimensions, here's Cherry's own drawings:

Quite why these CAD apps don't all just work in millimetres I don't know…

Looks like you 0.61 inch dimension is spot on.

Thank you muirium -- I've passed that file along.
edit: and yes, that image is where I got the 0.61" measurement from.

Just a little update. The PCBs are ordered and will be ready in about 4 up to 6 weeks. I'm going to offer PVC case with an order for the PCB.

OK, I want one, where can I order?

Also: Are these supporting 1 unit keys where the vertical 1.5 units keys are?

I would also like one but i don't have the time to build one from scratch...

Ok I ordered the first batch of PCBs, it should be available in less than 4 weeks from now.
They will have black soldermask and white labels.
As I didn't know how to organise group buy properly I decided to pay for them from my own pocket and when they're ready I will be offering them in Geekhack's classified and Deksthority marketplace.
Don't worry about the stock, the first batch is 40 PCBs, if it sales off, I'll order another one which will take a bit less to produce (a week or 2 max). Also they're made locally in Poland so there is no long wait for shipping from China or anything like that

Will the layout allow 1 unit keys in place of the vertical 1.5 units?

I used drawings from ergodox.org - not sure if it supports it.
Also a note for people who don't have time to build the ergodox on their own: when the supply chain for all electronics will be up and running we will be offering fully assembled keyboards in nice white CNC machined cases.

Nice, I'd like a kit pcb + case

Sounds lovely, would definitely be up for a kit.

Edit:
I would also be willing to do a group buy for blank DSA keycaps from Signature Plastics, which I propose would be, per set (suggestions welcome):

Key	Colour	Quantity
1.0	TBN	52
1.0 deep dish	TBN	2
1.0	RBC	14
1.5	RBC	12
2.0 vertical	RBC	4

If enough people are interested look at having legends on the keys; or perhaps just sell a couple of modifiers with legends if folks are interested in that. If there is interest I'll get a quote from Signature Plastics for 20 or so sets, and update on prices. (I'm thinking the above should probably amount to about EUR 40 + shipping or less per set, but no promises.) Alternatively, if anyone knows of a keycap manufacturer within Europe that does orders to individuals, I would be willing to use them instead to reduce shipping fees and possible customs complications.

Edit 2: Ah, right, I reread the thread and it looks like you're intending to eventually sell an entire kit yourself, not just the PCBs, my apologies for intruding!

Just an update. PCBs are done, they're being shipped to me. Next week I'm going to start selling them through this forum's Marketplace and Geekhack's classifieds.
Priority will be given to those who already declared interest in this thread already, but don't worry if you can't get the first batch, I'll order second one as soon as this one is sold off and turnaround time will be quicker now - should be around 2 weeks max. Thank you local Polish factory for not being in far far away China
And the cases... well I still need to finish the design and couldn't do it without the PCB. They are definitely coming in both white PVC (for about 50€) and machined, anodised aluminium (for well over 100€) variations. I'll post final prices when I'm done with the designs and manufacturing optimisations. If there is a lot of interest I may use external factory to do them, if there's just a few, I'll use my CNC router and external company just to do the anodising job.

Yes, here! One pair with aluminium case please!

interested in a pair of PCBs but if there will be a second batch for sure - then I can wait till those come up.

Not to worry, I will keep the stock of them so anyone can get their set of PCBs or PCBs + Case or + Electronics and Teensy at any time with maximum wait of 2 weeks but most of the time everything should be ready to ship at the time of order.
Also please note I'm not doing it for profit, just to popularise Ergodox keyboard and make it easier to get. If I make some profit on it (by accident) I'll donate everything to Bram Moolenaar's charity as I both like charity and VIM

I would need to buy 2 PCB's of ergodox, where I can buy them ? (yeah, for make 2 keyboards)

Thank you

Look at this thread: http://deskthority.net/viewtopic.php?t=6972