The latest blog update has just been posted on the project web site:
https://www.modelfkeyboards.com/blog/
Below are a few portions of the update:
Production status for the various projects
For the most frequent day-to-day updates on the various keyboard projects please head over to the mechanical keyboard forums such as Deskthority and geekhack (links can be found above by going to About, Forums/Press). I only post on the blog and send out email newsletters on a more limited basis, to summarize what has been going on.
As I always say, we are at the mercy of the factories for such low volume production, especially around the timeline. It is truly a miracle and a great sign of today’s manufacturing advances that such complicated projects to bring back these great old style keyboards can proceed today given the limited economies of scale and even though production volume is significantly limited compared to most mass market products and we are far from top priority clients for that reason.
Here is the status by keyboard type:
Classic Case F104 and FSSK: inner assemblies are complete, first batch of cases is 900 complete, still need to complete the balance of the cases (see below for additional details).
F122: some errors with the prototype inner assembly plates; I have ordered a new sample of the top and bottom inner assembly plates. I assembled the F122 prototype with Rico’s latest Leyden Jar controller that just arrived recently and noticed some things that I want to change regarding the inner assembly tabs and posts and their alignment with the PCB so I will be requesting another sample of the top and bottom inner assembly plates.
Beam Spring Round 2: The factory is working on the new case tooling. I am working on finishing up a prototype of the Round 2 keyboard with the final production case design and new modules (the Round 2 keyboard had a working prototype a while back, just with an older case design and modules that were changed to be about 1mm taller to allow for the newly introduced top layer of inner foam above the key modules but below the top inner assembly, just like with the IBM beam spring originals). Two of the plastic module parts are currently in mass production (the beam barrel part A and B). The beam flippers finished production some time ago. The two metal parts will be entering production soon (they are retooling the metal part for beam flipper).
Here is a photo showing the assembly process of the second Round 2 B104 sample. The inner assembly is attached upside down to the bottom case so that it does not slip out of place. One can see that the flipper factory improved the color of the flippers – they are more of a deep black color compared to the dark gray color of the originals. There is no functional difference and no one can see this inside of the keyboard, but the black color is closer to the IBM originals.
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The factory is still looking to wrap things up around year end, which means that the keyboards should start going out early next year. Please keep reading for more details on each of the parts.
Drop-in replacement PCB assemblies now available for F62, F77, compact F104, and compact FSSK
I have a bunch of presoldered controller+ribbon cable+large capacitive PCBs that can serve as drop-in replacements for these keyboards in case they are needed. Anyone who needs one or wants a spare please email me for details. It is always good to have a spare that you don’t have to mess around with desoldering and resoldering.
Beam spring production process
After the sample order was assembled and tested back around the end of July, the updated beam barrels (part A and B) for Round 2 were approved for full production and I placed the order. These took a while to get right but I am glad everything is good now. Production is just about done: the modules are still in production, expected to finish around month end, and then they need to be assembled. The press-fit design is going to be saving a lot of assembly time compared to the older glued on washer design.
I also ordered the capacitive PCBs for all 8 beam spring variants and the F122, as well as the Leyden Jar version 3 controller for testing.
The 8 beam spring variants: B62 Split Shift and Regular Backspace, B62 Split Shift and Split Backspace, BSSK ANSI, BSSK ISO, B104 ANSI, B104 ISO, B122 ANSI, B122 ISO
The factory is also preparing the tooling to bend the aluminum cases. Then they will produce a full working sample keyboard of each design for verification, and then the case and inner assembly plates production can start. Then these need to be assembled and sent out on the container ship. The factory already completed a prototype of the new case and inner assembly design earlier this year and it has no issues, but to be safe I want to confirm that the new tooling makes things right for all the parts.
