Group Buy / Production Updates

Tiny update

Error and issue cases will be picked up on Monday - they were all packed back up and labelled with any defects etc.

The factory had already wrongly bent the rest of the batches but we told them before the painting step. We're hoping we have found a solution with the bend issue before we move forward with painting the rest so they can still be used. This will require a test piece being delivered so we can sign off on it.

I don't have ANY estimate on when the pieces will be back with us. We will await the cases being delivered back to the supplier and when the sample piece can be delivered and await next steps. They're being super helpful/responsive so I'm hoping it won't be too bad.

In better news, plaques have arrived and will be shipped with any future keyboards.

Thanks for all your hyper-patience with all this.

We're back! Power is on, snow has gone, and operations resume. Time to give you all an update as to where we're at.

The very good news is the factory has taken full accountability of all the quality issues mentioned in the previous update. The bad news is that it limits how many we can send out with this batch and adds a small delay while they pick up the ones we're not happy with so they can inspect the problems themselves before producing the next batch.

As a result, we've shipped as many as we can from this batch (once the last few ship out tomorrow). From the 100 cases that arrived this time, we deemed only about 30 of them were up to the standard we are aiming for.

There were another 30 that were in the "maybe" range when doing QC. But considering the factory has offered to redo them, and that you've all already waited years, bumping those 30 into the next batch so that you get the absolute best final product possible is the correct decision in my opinion.

So a small delay, but still hoping to get another batch in before the end of the month (assuming no more acts of God to sabotage us). So if you've not received a shipping email by tomorrow evening, then yours will be in the next batch.

Generally this is all very positive. So far we've had one issue (the PCB issue mentioned in here) and we have updated our process now to hand test every PCB before they go out.

On top of that, next week there should be a video coming out as a collaboration between the biggest UK tech YouTuber and the biggest UK mechanical keyboard YouTuber that will feature the Hyper7 on it. We do not know whether they'll praise the audacity of such a keyboard, or if they'll shun it for being a bit too extreme. So keep your eyes open over the next week on YouTube!

We shall give you another update when the factory provide us with the next delivery date.

• Merry Christmas Hyper7 people! I wanted to go into depth about some of the quality issues we've had with the first batch so you're all aware of the situation. Please read to the end as there might be a chance for some of you to get your H7's earlier than planned.
  
• Issue 1: Many of the bottom plates got damaged during the shipping to us. They were not packaged securely enough, and they rubbed on contact points and have caused scratches. These have been put aside and the factory has already taken accountability for the issue, but we won't know the solution until they open again on the 5th of January.
  
• 
  Issue 2: Many of the black cases have noticeable "fisheyes/dimples", where the paint has caused little circles. On the prototypes these fisheyes were few and far between, so not really noticable. However there are a high number of top cases on this production batch where the fisheyes are so noticeable that I am not comfortable shipping them out. The factory has yet to address this issue but that's only because we raised it with them after they had already closed for the holidays. We'll know more in January. This does seem to be isolated to the black cases though.
  
• Issue 3:
  This one is a bit of an odd one! Our design had two of the screw holes on the plate misplaced by 0.7mm. This was not really an issue as the case holes were equally misplaced to match them, so we never noticed. However, the factory has bent the cases back to front. As a result, two screw holes are now 1.4mm out of place. This causes alignment issues when trying to use those two holes. Again we're waiting to hear back from the factory, but it's actually a really solvable issue. You just don't use one of the two misplaced screw holes. And since it is on the bottom, you'll never see it, and can even place one of the feet over it. But we don't want to just force this issue on people. So instead, we're going to offer people to confirm they're happy with that problem (issue 3 specifically, not the other two) for a chance to be bumped up the queue. The holes will be placed correctly for the next batch, so it won't matter which way the factory bends the metal.
  
• If you fill out the form below to accept this screw issue, it does not guarantee you will be in this first batch of shipments, but we'll only ship this batch to people who have filled out the form, so it will increase your chances of getting it earlier than you would have. Please note this is for Wave 1 kits only, not assembly builds 
  https://forms.gle/RH1EnJcVTs4HWKww8
   
  

Just a little update for you all, some good news and some bad news!

Good news is that we've started shipping, slowly but surely we'll be dispatching Hyper7s every working day from now.
It'll start off slowly but hopefully in the new year we'll be able to start getting them out the door quicker!

The bad news is, there's a few QC issues that we're not happy with.
We're working with the factory to get these sorted, but as we're shipping slowly to start anyways, there shouldn't be any delays.

I think that just about covers where we're up to, hopefully some of you lucky few will have a Hyper7 in your hands by the end of the year!

Hey everyone, time for another lil update. We're getting very close now, and shipping is looking like it's going to begin in December.

First up, we've received a small test batch from the case manufacturer, for us to sign off on before they make 400+ for us! (All was fine, apart from a slight threading issue, that we'll be fixing by hand while shipping)

They're now beginning production of the cases, we're hoping to find out when the first batch will be with us soon, but it'll most likely be in around 15 working days.

However, for a lucky few of you, we'll be shipping yours out tomorrow! This is for a final check on shipping and tariffs, to see if there's any unforeseen issues. (These people have already been contacted, so it's up to them if they want to show off!)

Lastly, we've found that TX-stabilisers have some tolerance issues on the spacebar. We'll be getting in contact with people who have ordered TX-stabs and our keycaps to get the stabilisers changed to Durock V3s (which we wish was the only option in the first place!)

Thank you for all of the continued patience, hopefully more of you lucky bunch will have a Hyper7 by Christmas!

@hyper7 Mini update (15/10)

Hey everyone, we've got a few updates and something to tide you all over!

First off, train.
The train with everything, excluding the metal cases, arrived in the UK a few days ago. Our domestic tracking information for it hasn't started yet, but it'll hopefully be making its way to us next week.

Now for the metal cases.
Unfortunately they've been taking a bit longer than expected. This is mainly due to sorting logistics, because we're a first floor business, we can't have pallets with several hundred Hyper7 cases blocking up the path outside the office, and it'll take a lot of lifting to get them all up. Understandably, the manufacturer isn't too keen on storing them for us either. So we're going to have them produced in waves, to make it all a bit easier to handle, with production starting soon.

Cable and Plaque news.
As we mentioned last week, we'll be sending out an email for discounted cables in the next couple of days, this will also include a form for you to fill in details regarding your plaque! So keep an eye out!

Finally,
As some of you eagle eyed people have noticed, there is now a Hyper7 build guide video. So feel free to close your eyes and pretend you're building one in the correct way for practice!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omU7fYxIHjw

Thank you for all of the continued patience, we look forward to having a jam-packed warehouse very soon!

Cherry switches and keycaps have been purchased, we await shipment to continue with PCB production

Mini update: Now 90% certain we'll be upgrading to Cherry ULP switches and keycaps. They're much higher quality than the kailh ones (more durable and does not required paper shims to remove rattling) but they are a higher actuation force of 68g and the keycaps are clear. Will send out a full email update once we've made payments for them

Short version: we're running a little behind, but for good reason.

The case and PCB design for the Kailh switch version is now locked in and can be ordered whenever we're ready. So, why the delay?

As mentioned previously, these Kailh switches are quite fragile. On top of that, we've encountered a few issues during production where one or two switches needed replacing during testing. While reworking the boards is something we can do, and will if required, we wanted to explore other options first.

So we spun a Cherry ULP variant, which has been ordered and we're eagerly waiting for it to arrive before making any final decisions. From our initial testing on an OEM Cherry board, these switches seem to be more robust. We're hopeful they'll result in a better product than the current Kailh offering. There's no need for any case design changes to accommodate these switches either, so the transition is pretty seamless.

We'll post another update once the Cherry ULP version arrives and we've decided on the direction we're taking.

Awaiting Acrylic pieces before shipping