HMKB V1 60 HHKB RAL9005
Time until product is ready to ship:
1-5 business days
Worldwide shipping from Germany. Shipping time depends on your location. More details here.
HMKB 60
Specifications
- top mount construction
- plate fully isolated (TPU grommets)
- high profile case, caps sink in deep
- adjustable typing angle (6, 8, 10 and 12°) via...
- screw attached mono foot
- low first/lowest key row
- weight of complete build ~1.45 kg
- includes grommets, bolts, standoffs, nuts and...
- user manual with build instructions
Plate
TPU through hole grommets are used to fully isolate the plate from the enclosure. The plate key layouts are mostly ANSI/ISO unified, though there are some ANSI and ISO dedicated variants. All support PCB-mounted stabilizers. More plate materials are planned for the future.
You can add further plates or order them separately over at the dedicated plate section in this shop. There you can also find plates with more exotic key layouts, like Boardwalk or DZ60 with arrow cluster.
If you want to get your own custom plate made, you can order the HMKB case without a plate. You do need a plate though, since the top mount construction requires it. If you consider a custom plate for your HMKB, you can find many downloadable plate files on then HMKB discord server. Further assistance can be provided when you reach out via the shops' contact form.
Most HMKBs can currently be paired with one of four different plate options...
FR4
The FR4 plate is very light weight. It is a simple, black plate without any copper layer. This plate makes a more poppy sound.
Steel
This plate variant is made from carbon steel. A black zink layer is applied through a galvanization process. This results in a deep black, it is durable and protects the steel from corrosion.
Inox
The inox plate is made from 304 stainless steel, also called "V2A" in German. It is bead blasted, which is a high quality surface treatment.
This plate has a more complex, so-called serpentine cut. This is meant to provide a slight, overall give to the plate assembly. Compared to the FR4 plate the sound of the inox plate is more silent and klacky.
Brass
The brass plate has a distinctly different design goal compared to the inox plate. It avoids any unnecessary cutouts in order to achieve a maximum amount off mass. The gained mass lowers the potential to resonate. Especially its wide frame helps to achieve this. This leads to a deeper and thocky typing sound. The plate is bead blasted, which is a high quality surface treatment. When you get the plate, it has a golden and clean look, which will change over time, since brass tarnishes when exposed to oxygen.
Foam
The foam is cut from EPDM and gets sandwiched between the plate and the pcb. With a thickness of 3.5mm, it fully fills the space between pcb and plate, firmly making contact with both and therefore dampens vibrations and noise. EPDM is well suited for sound and shock absorption. This foam is non sticky, which makes it easy to work with. There are a few separately available foam options available from third parties, so if you want to use those instead, you can order the HMKB case without the foam.
Pcb
On all pcbs, the switches need to be soldered. For 40%, 60%, 65% and 80% various third party pcb options are available and many of those are hot swap capable. HMKB hot swap pcbs are planned for 2024. If you already have a pcb that fits, you do not need to include one with your HMKB order. All psbs have a USB-C plug. The pcbs can also be ordered separately over at the pcb product page of this store. There you can also find more details regarding each specific model.
Design
Full steel, custom mechanical keyboard enclosure made from bent sheet metal. Combining steel and the manufacturing method of bending results in a heavy, rigid and durable construction. The bolts piercing through the frame reveal the top mount design. The overlapping and open flanges are a deliberate choice to reveal the method of folding. The typing angle can be adjusted by a screwable mono-foot, which keeps the case resting solid at every angle. When extended, the black mono-foot disappears in the shadow and makes the case appear like its rear is floating.
It is a minimalist design without any branding, made in Germany.
RAL 9005 Photos
RAL 9005 Renders
Info
The powder coated steel cases are available in four colors. This coating is very durable and has a slightly grainy texture. A fifth version is made of stainless steel, it is bare metal with bead blasted finish.
- RAL 1013 oyster white, fine texture
- RAL 7039 quartz grey, fine texture
- RAL 9005 jet black, fine texture
- RAL 1023 traffic yellow, fine texture
- 304 stainless steel, bead blasted
RAL 1013 pairs well with old and classic cherry keycaps. RAL 7039 is a warm grey which is a perfect fit for dolch keycaps sets. RAL 9005 black goes well with almost everything. RAL 1023 is a vibrant yellow.
To represent the RAL colors in the renderings, the corresponding RGB values from this page were used. The colors on your specific monitor may appear different compared to the real life RAL colors.
Depending on the combination of your plate and pcb, many different key layouts can be built. To see exactly which key layouts you can build with your desired HMKB size and variant, please go to the layouts page to learn more.
Most product images are 3D renderings and are for illustration purposes only.
For powder coating the parts are put on racks. This will leave a little mark. It is usually at one of the holes. Since the holes will be covered by the bolt heads, these marks will not be visible when the case is assembled. Although highly unlikely, it is possible that dust particles may be caught in the powder coating.
The bending process leaves slight marks. They are not a concern for the powder coated steel parts and not visible at all. The stainless steel parts are not powder coated but bead blasted instead. On all of the prototypes the bead blasting removed those marks completely and they were not present anymore. However, there is a small chance that some stainless steel parts may show slight traces of these marks, even after the bead blasting.
The angles of the flanges may not always be perfectly 90˚. Though unlikely, a deviation of up to 1˚ can occur. This would still be hardly noticeable.
The switch plates can have scratches. Do to the manufacturing process of sheetmetal, the switch plates may be slightly bent.
None of these effects are considered a defect and are no reason for a refund or a replacement.
PCBs need to be checked first before soldering. After soldering, damaged PCBs are not eligible for replacement.
Shipping world wide, with just a few exceptions. See the current shipping prices over at this page.
Updates and news about new products and variants will be posted on the HMKB discord server. There you can also find many additional information, including lots of build pictures. The Newsletter will also provide some news and updates. If you are looking for additional information regarding HMKB, feel free to use the contact form, linked in the footer of this page.