We are already packing for shipment!
Yes, we are very close to shipping all of your keyboards 😆
The assembly factory has already finished packing all the remaining keyboards. What we mean by packing is that they’ve done Step 4 of the Assembly Process.
What are the steps in the Assembly Process?
Step 1 - Glue the joint cover to the base, insert the magnets, test the PCBSs, flash the Neuron’s PCB, screw the PCBA to the top metal panel, attach the metal pins, then screw the low-profile PCBs to the base.
Step 2 - Assemble the Neuron: attach the top metal cover to the plastic base, mount the switches to the Raise, then do a function test.
Step 3 - Test the Neuron, test the left side and the right side of the keyboard, then mount the keycaps.
Step 4 - Attach the mylar sticker to the bottom of the base, attach the rubber feet, do one last function test, clean everything. Then, put all the components (such as the palm pads, the extra test switches, cables, user manual, Dygma stickers 😉into the travel case.
Next week...
Next week they will begin doing the OQC, the outgoing Quality Control Check, of all the keyboards. They will randomly select a number of keyboards, unbox them from the travel case, remove all components, and do rigorous tests to the switches, keycaps, and cables.
This will be the final check.
After the OQC, the fun begins… packing the keyboards in boxes, along with the extra components, and getting them ready for shipment 😁
Last-minute issues detected with the white and black ABS keycaps
The ABS keycaps are the Spanish, French, German, Japanese, and Nordic keycaps.
White ABS keycaps
The white ABS keycaps that we received from our supplier was not to our standards.
In the heat of the battle during assembly, we thought they were fine. But once we checked them again here in Valencia, we realized they weren't.
The letters on the keycaps felt rough to the touch. There were some issues with the paint. The illumination wasn’t as intense. Overall, it didn’t meet our requirements.
Legends on the keycaps aren’t smooth and are rough to the touch
Creating white laser-etched ABS keycaps is difficult. That’s actually one of the reasons you won’t easily find high-quality white ABS keycaps. They’re hard to produce simply because of how they’re made. They first need to be painted in grey. Then in white. This is so the light doesn’t shine through the white paint. They are then laser-etched.
We wanted our white ABS keycaps to look similar to the PBT ones. But we’ve come to realize that with our current supplier, that’s impossible.
ABS keycaps on the left compared to PBT keycaps on the right
The light illuminated through the ABS keycaps aren’t as intense.
Black ABS keycaps
The black ABS keycaps were too shiny compared to the ones we had accepted before.
How did this happen? When they make ABS keycaps, they first paint the keycap in black then laser-etch them. After that, they applying a UV coat that will protect the keycap.
Unfortunately, the factory allowed too much exposure to the UV light which resulted in a shinier appearance to the keycap. This was something we weren’t 100% satisfied with.
In China, it looked fine. But we only noticed it more clearly now in Valencia with some of the final Raise units that Manel brought back.
Shiny ABS keycaps
ABS keycap (left), PBT keycap (right)
We had two options.
Stop the shipping, open all keyboards with ABS keycaps, throw them in the bin and start looking for a better supplier. But that would have meant another delay, and this one much longer.
The second option was to accept the mistake and try to make the best out of what we have right now and not delay the shipment. Because these keycaps didn’t meet our standards, we've decided to ship a free PBT keycap set (with the UK English language) for everyone who bought ABS keycaps. That was already part of the deal for our Kickstarter and Indiegogo backers, but not for our website pre-orders.
We are sorry these keycaps don't meet our standards, but we hope that you are happy with the PBT ones 😊
**What are the differences between ABS and PBT keycaps? Watch our video here.**
So for those who pre-ordered ABS keycaps (Spanish, French, German, Nordic, and Japanese keycaps), you will have PBT keycaps (UK English keycaps) mounted on your Raise keyboard. The ABS keycaps will be in a separate case.
And that's it.
We have more to tell next week!
We will update you as soon as possible once we start shipment.
Thanks for reading!