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Corne-ish Zen R3 GB Status
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These updates are automated and originate from the #zen-r3-status channel on the lowprokb Discord server
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If you have any questions or concerns, either join the Discord server here: https://discord.gg/zgWd9k5nSP or email info@lowprokb.ca
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[Feb 22] - Zen R3 Interest Check launched
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[Feb 24] - Set up an automated status channel that syncs with a Google sheet so that non-Discord users can get the identical updates
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[Feb 25] - Contacted all suppliers but one, and have arranged pricing and timelines for components.
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[Feb 25] - Am currently making arrangements with various keycap manufacturers to allow their product to be sold in this GB. More details coming soon
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[Feb 25] - The new Sunset Tactile Choc switch by lowprokb will be available to be added to your GB order!
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[Feb 25] - The new LDSA chock keycap by lowprokb will be available to be added to your GB order! PBT blanks in white and black only at this time.
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[Feb 28] - IC has been up one week and we are at 540 responses. 53% of those said they were 100% in and 40% are seriously considering it. This thing is definitely going forward.
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[Mar 7] - Unfortunately, an important component on the PCB is now unavailable, and as such, will require a slight redesign to accommodate new components. More details can be found in the discord server, but this will cause a delay 😒
https://discord.com/channels/714974558981062728/932995602294394930/950390286796882011
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[Apr 7] - Happy to announce that SplitKB.com and Mechboards.co.uk will be vending for the Corne-ish Zen for R3! This allows all customer from UK and EU to save on shipping and import expenses dramatically.
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[Apr 7] – Happy to announce that we are getting multiple options to bundle legended keycaps with the R3 run of the Corne-ish Zen. Both MoErgo (maker of the MCC POM cylindrical keycaps) and FKaps (maker of MBK keycaps) have developed a 40% legended keycap kit specifically for this group buy. Both kits will have all the alpha and modifier keys needed to fill a Zen, plus homing and thumb keys to finish the look. More details will follow shortly about the kit’s specifics, but for now just know that there will be great new options available to bundle with your Zen!
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[Apr 8] - Details of the MBK 40's kit that will be offered as part of the Zen R3 GB

grey on white - https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/932995602294394930/962003031774355486/MBK-Legend-40s-GoW.png

white on grey - https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/932995602294394930/962003032072134786/MBK-Legend-40s-WoG.png
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[Apr 19] The final Corne-ish Zen case colors have been decided:
- black
- grey
- silver
- purple
- orange
- blue
- rose gold
- e-white
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[Apr 19] The date has been set for the start of the Corne-ish Zen group buy. The store at lowprokb.ca will be activated to accept orders this **Sunday April 24 at 1:00pm EDT**. Also at this time, the pre-sales for the Sunset tactile Choc switch and LDSA spherical keycaps will start in parallel.
Mark you calendars and set your alarms... its going to be a wild ride!
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[Apr 23] We are coming up to 24hrs till launch! πŸŽ‰

All the product are listed on lowprokb.ca, and Mechboards. Thomas is still working hard to get his page up on SplitKB.

I highly recommend doing the following to make the checkout process as painless (and quick) as possible for yourself:

1)** Create an account now on the site if you do not have one already**. Make sure all your information like shipping and billing addresses, email addresses and phone numbers are correct. Go through this pain now, so you don't have to do that while you are trying to check out.

2) **Make sure you are logged in**. Just prior to launch time, make sure you are logged into your account on the site, so that your personal info will be prefilled in the fields during the checkout process.

3) **Figure out exactly what you plan to order today**. Browse the site and come to terms with how much of your money you are going to part with. At launch time all you should have to do is add to cart, and then check out. Making decisions at launch time will likely land you in later assembly queues.

It sucks that we have a bit of a race at the beginning, but it is what it is. An ounce of planning ahead of time will optimize your time while checking out. This is much more of an issue for folks not ordering from a vendor. The vendor orders will all be in one assembly queue (per vendor) so it is essentially a non issue there. For orders from lowprokb.ca, timing will unfortunately be of the essence. <@&836659620730372127>

Good Luck!
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[Apr 25] Some stats after 24 hours... not including vendor sales at this point:
- 275 Zens sold
- 325 orders including Sunset switches in some format
- 276 orders including LDSA keycaps in some format
- 184 Zen orders bundled with Sunset switches
- 147 Zen orders bundled with LDSA keycaps
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[May 1] - After 1 week here are the Zen sales to date (vendor sales not included)
- 370 Zens sold in total!
- 259 were 3x6 and 111 were 3x5
- color breakdown (5col / 6col)
- black 115 (33 / 82)
- grey 67 (23 / 44)
- white 59 (21 / 38)
- purple 45 (12 / 33)
- orange 26 (7 / 19)
- rose gold 22 (5 / 17)
- silver 19 (6 / 13)
- blue 17 (4 / 13)
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[May 25] - The Group Buy has finished!!! πŸŽ‰ I will take the next couple of days to work with the vendors to get final tallies, and then begin ordering components in earnest as soon as possible. Thank you to everyone who participated, I will do my best to keep the level of service as high as possible.
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[May 30] Final vendor numbers are in and this is what it looks like:
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[June 1] - Bumpons, screws, e-paper displays, batteries, cases and baseplates are ordered and paid for.
- PCB prototype has been created and shipped to me for validation. Should arrive next week.
- packaging materials and travel cases have been ordered and paid for.
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[June 6] Prototype V2 PCBs arrive today. Once the functionality changes from V1 have been validated, I will place the final order for the production run
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[June 15] Everything has been ordered except for the PCBs themselves (but all the PCB components have been ordered). Had to make a small change based on the prototype sent. The machining on the cases has begun and we should get some progress pics soon of that. So far, we are mostly on or ahead of schedule..
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[June 29] All packing materials and boxes are here now.
- All bundled switches (except Sunsets) are shipped and should be here hopefully next week.
- The batteries have been received
- The microfibre pouches are here
- The travel cases should be here next week as well
- The e-paper displays are all here
- LDSA keycaps should be here next Wednesday- MBK 40's Keycap kits should be here late this week
- Stickers have all arrived
- Still building firmware to fully test the PCBs. Most of the components have arrived at the PCB manufacturer.
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[July 11] Final PCB design has been submitted to manufacturer for assessment.
- All bundled switches (except Sunsets) have arrived and been counted
- All LDSA keycaps have arrived and are currently being separated from the sprues and packaged
- Sunset switch parts have all been manufactured and will be assembled starting next week
- Travel cases have arrived, but were wrong size somehow. Working with the manufacturer to get replacements.
- Bluetooth modules have been flashed and sent to the PCB manufacturer
- hotswap sockets have been shipped to the PCB manufacturer
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[July 12] I got word last night that the manufacturing of the aluminum cases is approaching the 50% mark. That works out to roughly 400 keyboards or 800 individual cases done machining.
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[July 25] Machining of the cases is complete and we are about half way through the anodization process. Cases should be ready to ship in about two weeks.
- PCBs are being manufactured now
- manufacturer is sending new travel cases, as the first ones were made the wrong size... this should not create a delay of any sort
- All other components are with me already... we are getting there!
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[Aug 9] What I had hoped to be the final PCB sample arrived yesterday. The left side tested perfectly, the right side had 3 assembly issues that prevented me from fully testing it. Pretty disheartening if I am being honest... considering the issues I had with the last PCB vendor. They are investigating what happened and will let me know what the solution is.
- Orange case color was too difficult to approve over emailed photos, so the factory has sent me samples that should be here Monday.
- The replacement travel cases are in Canada for delivery this week.

So basically just the PCBs and the cases are left to complete. Once orange is approved, they will get anodized, and then packed up with the rest of them to be shipped. When I have more info about the PCBs I will relay it here.
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[Aug 20] - Good news! The final PCB sample passed my inspection and testing with flying colors! I will give the factory the OK to start assembling the bulk order tomorrow night (Monday morning in China). I am awaiting an estimate on how long the assembly process will take... but hopefully only a week or so.
- The orange case samples I received did not match what I envisioned. The factory was having a hard time matching a pantone chip... so I sent them a tent pole (my original inspiration) from my personal camping tent for them to match. Sure hope I get that back lol. I should hear back Monday on if they matched it successfully. All the other cases are complete and packed for shipping... just waiting for the orange ones.
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[Aug 29] Orange anodization color has been approved and will be applied this week. All other colors are done and packaged and in a crate waiting for orange to be completed.
- PCBs are still being assembled but should ship early next week.
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[Sept 7] Orange cases are done, and all cases are packed in shipping boxes. Shipping is paid, and will be sent out tomorrow. - PCBs are done and have been tested (cursory test by factory). They should ship out in the next day or so.
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[Sep 19] All the aluminum cases have arrived to me, and I have started inspecting them for damage/blemishes etc. This is a pretty consuming process as they are all individually wrapped in stretch wrap and finding the end of the wrap takes longer than the actual inspection. I got about 300 done on the weekend, and will do a bit each evening, with the hope of having them all inspected by the time the PCBs arrive on Friday. Then I have to test all the PCBs to ensure they function correctly. I have to do this up front because I only have 14 days to make a claim.
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[Sep 29] The cases have been fully inspected and the PCBs arrived yesterday. I will test the PCBs this week (and weekend) while trying to get the Sunset orders out the door. It's a perfect storm right now at lowprokb, so your patience is greatly appreciated.
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[Oct 16] OK Sunset presales are out the door, time to make some Zens!! I have tomorrow off of work, so I will spend the day getting prepared for the process. I will figure out exactly which orders are in which round and post that info here. After packing boxes and printing labels for the last week or so, I am fired up to get this going!

Also, to those who ordered Replacement PCBs, you should have received your shipping notification, assuming you have not opted to bundle that with another order that is still waiting.

Also for those who ordered extra cases on their own, I will likely be getting those out the door this week as well.

Finally!!!!
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[Oct 17] Here is the list of Assembly rounds. I will try to keep it up to date as I go. Once I get going, I may add a column with estimated start dates for each round.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Mu_YnT4W-6YVzW2kL70ui170dgdrIztUMz3UmxBqd1M
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[Oct 30] OK... all the packages in the first assembly round are labelled and ready to be dropped off at the various shippers. There are a few that did not though... and those are the ones that have MCC keycaps as part of the order. I am expecting those very soon... sorry about that.
There were some production issues with those keycaps, so it took longer than it was supposed to.

Monday I start assembling PCBs for the second round. It seems to take about two weeks to get a run out.... so do the math... I can't in my state :rofl:
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