Hello everyone!
Here we are again with another update from your favourite keyboard company.
CERTIFICATION
Let’s just cut to the point.
WE PASSED THE FINAL CERTIFICATION!!!
We finally received the official document stating that the Raise has passed all the tests needed to be certified by the CE and the FCC.
It was a long process, -after passing some of the pre-certification tests then failing in the others-, finally, it all paid off once we received the official certification.
NEXT STEP: MANUFACTURE 100 PCBs
The PCBA factory started manufacturing 100 PCBs.
Before creating the 100 PCBs, Matt had to make sure all the testing jigs were working. There was an unexpected problem with some of them. But good thing Matt was there to save the day, once again.
Now, the testing jigs are all working fine.
The testing jigs are used to test everything on the PCB. They check the switch sockets, the microprocessor, the LED drivers, the magnets for the sensors, and all the other components to see if they are in the right place and are working.
The LEDs passed the quality-control tests and we have now manufactured 100 units of the left and right sides of the PCBs, both ISO and ANSI.
Check out the video below to see how Matt did the quality control for the LEDs and to see how the PCBs of the Raise are assembled!
Next week, they will manufacture the PCBs of the Neuron (formerly called the Huble), and then they will check that all of the 5 PCBs: the left side, the right side, the left low profile PCB, the right low profile PCB, and the Neuron PCB, - are all working properly!
100 RAISE KEYBOARDS, THEN 1900 KEYBOARDS
Once we’ve validated them all, we will manufacture 100 keyboards, check them, and then manufacture the remaining 1900 units!
And then…….. shipment!
A FEW THINGS TO FIX BEFORE MASS PRODUCTION
WOBBLING PROBLEMS
One of the first issues we saw from the first DVT units was the wobbling of the keyboard. The wobbling mainly occurs when the keyboard is split. And it is only apparent in a few samples. It’s really not that obvious but we want to make sure this doesn’t happen in any of the keyboards anymore.
This wobble is caused by 2 factors:
- The top panel shape tolerances
- The rubber legs in the middle of the keyboard
Since we have these rubber legs in the middle, there is a small 0.3mm gap in the front that causes the wobble.
Solutions:
1. Our metal supplier will improve the evenness of the top panel. This is the best solution for us. This would require a very thorough QC in their factory to make sure all top panels are completely flat.
2. Using shorter rubber legs in the middle. Instead of 1mm, we will have them at 0.5mm. This way the keyboard won’t wobble and there will still be support in the middle area even if you press the thumb keys really hard.
We want to be 100% sure that none of the keyboards wobble. So if there is still wobbling after getting the top panels, then we will do solution # 2.
PALM PADS
We liked the latest palm pads that we received from our supplier. We like the softness, adhesiveness, and the thickness.
We’re finding solutions to make the palm pads flatter because the version we have now tends to have its edges rise up after some use. We’re also working on making sure that the cut on the sides are smoother so you don’t see any rough edges from the die-cut.
We’re already happy with the palm pads but we’re still pushing to make them even better. We don’t know if we can get the quality that we exactly want but we will do our best. These are minor details but we just want to make sure they get the attention they deserve as well.
We’ve learned that these palm pads are very complicated to make. There’s nothing in the market similar to this. But the final version will be much better than the one we did in the DVT order.
OTHERS:
Besides the components, there are a few other things we are working on such as improving the handle of the travel case by altering how its sewn and attached, and we’re also finalizing the user manual.
When Matt gets back next week, he will continue working on improving the firmware and the software. Hopefully, in our next update, we can show you the improvements in the software.
Till then, here are a few pictures of our awesome backers using the Raise!
We hope you liked this update! Thanks for staying up to date with all our developments. We will post another update next Friday… this time, about our business plans! So stay tuned!
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