User avatar
grshaw

Posted Sun Dec 27, 2020 6:48 am

Hey there

I'm planning to build a SixtyClone C64 for my next project. Ideally out of as many new components as possible, so this Mechboard clone would fit the bill perfectly.

@obitus1990 - I would be up for ordering one of these plates. Would be shipping to the UK. PM Pending. :D

@rpiguy9907 - Do you have any PCBs / kits left. I am also happy to do soldering myself.

User avatar
obitus1990
USA

Posted Sun Dec 27, 2020 7:04 am

Replied to PM.

User avatar
rpiguy9907

Posted Sun Dec 27, 2020 1:51 pm

grshaw wrote:
Sun Dec 27, 2020 6:48 am
Hey there

I'm planning to build a SixtyClone C64 for my next project. Ideally out of as many new components as possible, so this Mechboard clone would fit the bill perfectly.

@obitus1990 - I would be up for ordering one of these plates. Would be shipping to the UK. PM Pending. :D

@rpiguy9907 - Do you have any PCBs / kits left. I am also happy to do soldering myself.
Yes.

User avatar
obitus1990
USA

Posted Wed Jan 20, 2021 9:00 pm

Prodcuts.jpg
I received notice of shipment today...they should be here shortly.

User avatar
rpiguy9907

Posted Sun Jan 24, 2021 1:24 pm

obitus1990 wrote:
Wed Jan 20, 2021 9:00 pm
I received notice of shipment today...they should be here shortly.
Looking great!

User avatar
JuddSandage

Posted Wed Mar 10, 2021 2:22 am

I am building a SixtyClone as well and would love to get in on this, still doing plate runs or going to wait for a large enough request for another run? I was going to order my own PCBs from PCBWay! in black, though I would need to get all the components that go on the keyboard. I might even get a friend that would like a couple of plates as well.

User avatar
alpha
Berkeley, CA USA

Posted Tue Aug 23, 2022 8:14 am

Bumping this topic, but I'm currently trying to source the keyboard bracket in 2022!

I should have done my research, but a US-based laser cutting quote is coming in around $280 USD for a single plate, and Shapeways 3D print around $180 (using the 3-piece Thingaverse model).

1. First, anyone have a bracket they want to sell? :)

2. Or, any interest in a group buy, say if we could get 10 brackets fabricated? Not sure what the *exact* discount will be, but I can find out. Sourcing with lasercuttinginc.com, per a reco... I did reach out to the source in China, but haven't heard back...

Literally have everything but the bracket, ugh.

aLPHA

User avatar
intric8
Seattle, WA, USA

Posted Tue Aug 23, 2022 8:37 am

I should have done my research, but a US-based laser cutting quote is coming in around $280 USD for a single plate, and Shapeways 3D print around $180 (using the 3-piece Thingaverse model).
That probably doesn't include a nice paint job after the fact either, does it?

I think we can now quickly see and appreciate why the original Mechboard by Lau was so expensive to produce. He quickly became discouraged by some in the community who complained over costs and cancelled things, but none of this is inexpensive to do on such a tiny scale.

To this day my C64 (Reloaded MK1) equipped with a Mechboard is my daily driver purely for the UX. The keycap 3D-printed extenders are slightly wobbly, but other than that the thing is absolutely dreamy - and accurate - to type on.

User avatar
alpha
Berkeley, CA USA

Posted Tue Aug 23, 2022 1:09 pm

intric8 wrote:
Tue Aug 23, 2022 8:37 am
I should have done my research, but a US-based laser cutting quote is coming in around $280 USD for a single plate, and Shapeways 3D print around $180 (using the 3-piece Thingaverse model).
That probably doesn't include a nice paint job after the fact either, does it?

I think we can now quickly see and appreciate why the original Mechboard by Lau was so expensive to produce. He quickly became discouraged by some in the community who complained over costs and cancelled things, but none of this is inexpensive to do on such a tiny scale.
Totally! Labor of love, cost-be-hanged at this point :D

I've now got a bulk quote that brings it down under $100 eac, which is what someone else was selling them on eBay for. I might go that route as well, and hope to offload the extras on eBay...

User avatar
intric8
Seattle, WA, USA

Posted Tue Aug 23, 2022 4:09 pm

Obitus1990 were all of your metal plates from 2021 accounted for? Did you sell off the whole batch?





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