Beam Spring 104+SSK Reproduction Project! First Batch In Stock, Shipping early next year after New Model F Project

[darkcruix]

I also like the design. They look different compared to the zeitgeist. Many designs of mechanical keyboards these days play only with frame edges, illumination color and so on, but fear to dive deeper. I like designs that are appealing and stand out but still have function.

[Rauha]

Really like the design.

[HV_Medic]

I bought two round 1 boards. I thought the round 2 prototype was hideous, but these renders are starting to grow on me. Depending on how much I like the round 1 board and after seeing an actual production round 2 board, I may buy one round 2 board, still have not decided yet.

[tron]

@Ellipse. Are the R1 switch stem legs prone to breakage during shipping or from mounting keycaps with too much force? It's rare but I've seen the legs break off during shipping and noticed the compact R1 stems have less material to reinforce the stem legs (less material relative to IBM stems).

[JP!]

@Ellipse. Are the R1 switch stem legs prone to breakage during shipping or from mounting keycaps with too much force? It's rare but I've seen the legs break off during shipping and noticed the compact R1 stems have less material to reinforce the stem legs (less material relative to IBM stems).

Mods: This needs a NSFW tag

[tron]

@Ellipse. Are the R1 switch stem legs prone to breakage during shipping or from mounting keycaps with too much force? It's rare but I've seen the legs break off during shipping and noticed the compact R1 stems have less material to reinforce the stem legs (less material relative to IBM stems).

Mods: This needs a NSFW tag

@JP! I didn’t mean for the post to come off as inflammatory, the stem legs are easy to fix with super glue. I’m just curious if the stem leg breakage I've experienced is primarily due to old/brittle plastic or a potential issue with shipping any beamspring keyboard.

[JP!]

@JP! I didn’t mean for the post to come off as inflammatory

Ignore me. It was just in jest. Normally for this level of gore it's best to a have a "viewer discretion is advised" disclaimer. I'm sure the 40+ year old plastic isn't as robust as it once was but my thoughts are for this sort of damage to occur that either it was not packaged adequately, was abused in transit, or combination of both.

[Ellipse]

An update: I have ordered a mold for the beam spring washer. Instead of the glue on metal washer from the original design, the Round 2 boards will have a removable friction-fit plastic washer with a cross in the middle to match the cross of an MX key module (a reminder that this project uses MX style keycaps). This helps speed up and facilitate end-user repair time and initial assembly time. Now if the flipper falls out of place there is no more need to use the paper clip method - you can just remove the washer by hand and reattach the flyplate. The purpose of the washer is primarily to hold the spring and o-ring in place before keycaps are installed, so it did not need to be permanently attached with glue.

Yes, I know of at least one example where a leg ("beam barrel part B" - the white color plastic part) broke off in shipping while installed in a module, so it can definitely happen to both original and reproduction beam spring keyboards. I show this particular example in the beam spring setup video posted some weeks ago.

The roughness of shipping in recent years is one main reason why each beam spring keyboard is getting free modules as part of the mini first aid kit for beam spring keyboards, plus I replace broken modules under the limited warranty as described on the product page.

plastic washers.jpg (665.41 KiB) Viewed 34757 times

[Ellipse]

The custom double shot PBT set with all black keycaps and white text came out nicely - this is the finalized production set (the prior set had additional sample keys not part of the set, as noted earlier):

This set is available separately in the shop for other MX keyboards as it is a standard Cherry MX compatible set.

2023-02-20_16-29-39.jpg (1.62 MiB) Viewed 34393 times

[Scarpia]

Looks fantastic! Are they sculpted or uniform rows?

[ifohancroft]

Looks fantastic! Are they sculpted or uniform rows?

I'd love to know that as well.
Also, is that an existing profile (which one?) or if it's a new one - have you named it?

[Ellipse]

As noted earlier the keys are a custom profile not in line with any standard MX keycap profile. As shown in the photos the keys are quite flat relative to each other but do vary slightly in row height, from about 9.5 to 11.5mm from what I can see. So I guess they would be called very slightly sculpted? You can see the relative key heights in these photos of the keys installed on a new beam round 1 board:

viewtopic.php?p=510145#p510145

[Scarpia]

They look damned good. I’m only trying to decide how many sets to buy

[tiltowait]

I ordered a couple of months ago, but I wish I'd waited to see that new 62-key case. Oh, well!

[garoslaw]

Just wanted to say, placed an order back around late December, really cool project and hope to see it succeed! I've recently also gotten my hands on the olivetti inspired blue/white/grey keycaps in the AF SA profile just for this unit.

[HV_Medic]

I think they look really nice! I hope you consider making them in additional colors, I figure getting the molds made would be the hard part. I loved the grey that the prototype used, would be nice if that color was made. Plus it would be nice to see red, blue, green, etc, if only for modifier keys, one of the things that made terminal keyboards so cool was the various splashes of color. Even if the black and white is all we get, it is still nice to have a good set of double shot PBT keycaps, I will probably order an extra set or two just to have on hand. I cannot wait to get my boards, everyday I wake up, I check my email for a shipping notification, this is the most excited about a project I've been in a long time.

[Ellipse]

They are offered in the same case colors as the compact F cases (industrial gray, black, off-white/beige, dark blue, light blue, and red). For the other colors the tooling and paint mixing costs would be several hundred dollars so I would recommend taking the case to a local powdercoating company if you'd like another color.

Regarding keycap colors the minimum order quantity is 1,000 sets per color scheme, which is why there are only two color schemes (total 2,000 key sets).

[Scarpia]

Regarding keycap colors the minimum order quantity is 1,000 sets per color scheme, which is why there are only two color schemes (total 2,000 key sets).

Understandable, though if the quality is as good as I have come to expect from your products, I wouldn’t be too surprised if you could sell another several thousand sets with the right colors. I had been searching for black and white Round 5 caps but nobody is selling theirs and if they were, they’d be a hell of a lot more than $49!

[caesarcaliyugula]

Are there approximate dimensions available for the B104 (as well as any other) configuration of the Round 2 model? I didn't see any posted on the product description page.

[Ellipse]

All dimensions are approximate

B62: 341 x 210mm (13.4 x 8.3in)

BSSK: 406 x 248mm (16 x 9.8in)

B104: 491 x 248mm (19.3 x 9.8in)

B122: 535 x 248mm (21 x 9.8 in)

All beam spring heights are 39mm (1.5in) in the front to 49mm (1.9in) in the back

[Ellipse]

The LED overlays were just approved for production, meaning the Round 1 beam spring boards can start going out now. More details and photos here: viewtopic.php?p=512382#p512382

[Ellipse]

Today the Brand New Beam Spring keyboards started to ship! Just two of the single digit serial Round 1 BSSK's went out today. The LED overlay "main design" (like on a Model M) is expected to be completed next week, with the remaining designs to be completed next month.

[enthdegree]

Amazing project. Questions I can't find answers to:

- Anyone who’s in for the HHKB/split backspace+split right shift option, what do you plan on doing for keycaps?
- Practically speaking, are the beamspring boards expected to be significantly less reliable than new Model Fs long-term, without babying from the elements? The XT Model F I am using is in the ballpark of 30 years old and is really dusty but hasn't needed repairs in the last 5 years. I wouldn't care about this if there were a systematic way for individuals to create replacement parts.

[Ellipse]

enthdegree please take a look at the available key caps for this project as they include extra keys that may possibly accommodate the additional layouts.

Both the Model F and beam spring keyboards require maintenance as dust and debris enter the keyboard and affect the capacitive sensing, more so with the beam spring design, and Model F springs and metal parts in the beam modules do fail. I would say that in general the IBM Model F was designed to be more robust and require less maintenance than their predecessor the beam spring keyboards, and I would expect that to apply the same to the reproductions of each technology. Given that examples of both technologies are extant today I don't think that one would necessarily outperform the other long-term. I do offer first aid kits and spare parts for both the F and beam boards so hopefully everyone can maintain both boards long after the project has shut down. Maintenance for both board types is relatively straightforward compared to other keyboards which are often non-repairable. Parts can be taken apart and reassembled, so I do not think anyone should doubt whether to use one of these keyboards because of the prospect of maintenance.

[dodddummy]

with the remaining designs to be completed next month.

I'm curious, does this mean the designs will be completed, the boards will be manufactured, or the boards will shipped?

[Ellipse]

Talking about the LED overlays - "The remaining LED overlay designs"

The Round 2 boards should be completed later this year.

[Ellipse]

Important Keycap Removal note (not in the setup video), now that the beam spring Round 1 boards have started shipping:

I use a wire key puller with gentle rocking motion and have no issues removing the caps.  The keycaps cannot be pulled up fast in one motion.  If you are using a lot of strength to pull them straight up or twist them, then you will most certainly break the modules. One user reported that they broke a number of their modules this way.

[Rena]

Just received my Round 1 BSSK!

[Ellipse]

Great Rena! The first photo of these boards out there! Please do share your experience following the setup video and setting things up. How many switches needed replacement? How is the key feel? Did you notice any shipping damage to the box or contents?

[Rena]

Great Rena! The first photo of these boards out there! Please do share your experience following the setup video and setting things up. How many switches needed replacement? How is the key feel? Did you notice any shipping damage to the box or contents?

Shipping:
Everything arrived safely/without damage, there were a few dents/scratches on the main shipping box but nothing alarming or noteworthy. Key caps in the separate boxes were all undamaged and packed securely.

Setup experience:
The setup experience was great, I might have been lucky, but I tested each pre-installed switch several times and had no issues with stuck or off feeling switches so I didn't need to replace any of them or do the wiggle method. Adding the keycaps was an easy process. I did have to remove and swap out some key caps for my layout and I was very careful to wiggle back and forth until they came off instead of pulling straight out. Plugged it into my PC and everything was good to go!

EDIT: Since using this I have noticed some keys that felt off a bit, using the wiggle method in the video has solved them though.

Key feel:
I'm not great at reviewing switches but my first thought was "Wow!", this is the type of feeling I was hoping for when I purchased the Model F77. The Model F is still great, but I can see why others consider this a "step up". Each key feels distinct and "heavy"(?). It does feel like you're typing on a typewriter. I think it will take a few days to get up to speed with it, I'm not as fast as I was with the Model F, but this definitely feels more "fun" to type on if that makes sense at all.

I also enjoy the sound a lot more than the sound from the F77. It's louder I think but it doesn't have a "ping" sound that the F77 had.