Dygma Raise- World's most advanced gaming keyboard
Created by Luis Sevilla
Dygma Raise is an ergonomic keyboard designed to increase gamers' performance, health and comfort.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Fri Aug 23 '19 Announcement
over 6 years ago
– Fri, Aug 23, 2019 at 09:50:01 AM
Hey guys!
As promised, we have another manufacturing update for you all this Friday.
In our last manufacturing update, we talked about passing the certification of the electronics and how we started manufacturing 100 PCBs of the Raise.
The next step then was to manufacture 100 PCBs of the Neuron. Out of the 100, 97 passed and 3 failed. The 3 units that failed are now back here in Valencia and Matt is checking them to find out why they failed.
The only thing we are waiting for now is the final signature and contract from the factories in China and then we are offto begin mass production!
While we’ve been waiting to launch mass production, we’ve been using this time to improve some components of the product. These improvements aren’t delaying mass production. We are simply using the waiting time to make the improvements.
Stabilizers
One of our backers, Karl, showed us that the quality of our stabilizers wasn’t good enough. He sent us multiple videos showing the shakiness of the stabilizers on his Raise sample and compared it to another set of stabilizers.
Once we learned about good stabilizers, we decided that we shouldn’t settle for low-quality ones.
Manel contacted different suppliers in China and after weeks of research, we found 2 options. We tested them on the Raise and finally chose the most solid one.
It was a big improvement and we were all excited to find out that we were on time to change the stabilizers for mass production.
In this video, Manel compares the new stabilizer to the old one and does some sound comparisons.
We are very grateful that Karl addressed this issue. Thanks to him, we were able to improve this feature of our product. Asking feedback from backers has really helped us produce a better product. And this has already happened numerous times.
We just want to reiterate that we are very thankful for having such awesome backers who are willing to help us out.
Keycap and switch puller
For the DVT units, we sent out a keycap puller and a switch puller, which was different from the original keycap/switch puller that we intended to include.
After testing them, we realized that the original keycap/switch puller that we had was actually the better option. It is easier to use when removing keycaps and it was also better to use for removing the low profile switches.
Switch and keycap puller (left), Dygma keycap-switch puller (right)
In the video below, Manel demonstrates and explains why we decided to use our original keycap/switch puller for mass production.
Palm pads
We received a better version of the white palm pads just last week. The problems we had with the previous palm pad sample were that the cut wasn’t smooth and the edges would rise up after long use.
Now, the material of the white palm pads has a different elasticity, which makes it flatter when propped on a level surface. The factory also improved the cut of the palm pads, so now the edges are smoother.
The color and the silkscreen paint color is also better.
We will keep improving the palm pads and we will make sure that the factory follows our quality control standards so the final product is the best we can provide.
Cables
Three of our testers also experienced some disconnection issues with their short cables, the 20cm USBC-USBC cable. Basically, it would suddenly disconnect and then you’d have to wiggle it a bit for it to reconnect again.
We still don’t know why they kept malfunctioning so they have been sent to the factory in China so they can check and understand the causes.
We have also had many people ask for longer cables to be able to split the Raise farther apart. So we will be offering 50cm and 90cm USBC-USBC cables on our website in the future!
Firmware
Some of the testers have experienced problems with the BIOS of their computer not working with the Raise. The BIOS is software that starts when you turn your computer on, and where you can configure things like boot order or clock speed.
Some old BIOS versions don’t work with NKRO USB reports, only with the older Boot Protocol reports.
Our firmware already supports a toggle switch to choose which report is used, but it seems to have a bug with the ARM chip we are using. We expect to fix this over the next weeks.
Another issue we are working on is this ISO/ANSI detection bug where the computer thinks the keyboard is an ISO but actually, it’s an ANSI. In effect, the LED of one key turns into a different color after booting. We’re doing our best to fix all the issues that have been submitted by our testers.
We will continue updating you with the developments.
- Dygma Team
Fri Aug 16 '19 Announcement
over 6 years ago
– Fri, Aug 16, 2019 at 06:57:22 AM
Hello everyone!
This isn’t your regular manufacturing development update.
In this update, we will talk about the business side of Dygma.
Expect our next manufacturing update next week!
While we’ve been updating you all with the product development of the Raise, we’ve also been working on the business side of the company, specifically our fundraising.
Luis had been spending most of his time preparing a fundraising round and finding investors for Dygma.
This was no easy task, finding startup investors is a long process. You need to have a crystal clear vision for your company and be able to communicate it. You start by creating your investor pitch deck and a financial document, present that to the investors, and eventually find someone that is willing to invest and that culturally fits with the company you envision. Having an investor that doesn’t fit could potentially be problematic in the future, so you don’t want to accept any investor.
After months working on the round, two awesome investors have invested in Dygma. One has a background in international manufacturing and the other has created animation, tech and video game companies and is also a casual gamer. Wooohooo!
They believe our company has potential. They see how much attention to detail we have given to creating the Raise and how we communicate to our community. So they are not only investing in the Raise but also in our vision. We’re very fortunate that we found the right people who want to financially help our company grow.
Truth to be told, business-wise the last year was a struggle. We were tight on a budget because all the delays made us spend more money than we planned. Every time we made a change in a component or sent components back and forth to China, that was an extra cost. Creating PCBs usually takes a week. And we modified the PCBs numerous times. Also, the pre-certification process, redoing the PCBs, hiring consultants, booking the labs, etc., cost a fortune. On top of that, every month we delay shipment means that we have to pay another month of salaries. And all this without a product. It’s been really tough.
Finally, we can focus less on surviving and more on growing the business. Now that we have the investment, we can plan on creating more products and expanding our team.
So yes, we are hiring!
We are potentially looking for 5 positions:
Electrical engineer - an expert in firmware
Software developer - must have knowledge of javascript, node.js, and electron
Web developer
International sales manager
Marketing manager
The reason we are posting this announcement first in our update is that we would love to have backers in our team. You guys have already shown interest in our project. You’ve seen us grow, you already know what we’ve been through, and you know us!
Next week, we will share more details of the job openings on our website but if you are interested, please send us an email at [email protected]. We can send you more info then.
Our plan is to create a new category called performance peripherals. These products will be similar to gaming peripherals since that is our target market, but they will also be designed for ergonomics - both in hardware and software. So you can expect more products coming from our side :)
So that’s a little snippet of our business plans. We will keep you updated for more!
Fri Aug 9 '19 Announcement
over 6 years ago
– Fri, Aug 09, 2019 at 07:37:53 AM
Hello everyone!
Here we are again with another update from your favourite keyboard company.
CERTIFICATION
Let’s just cut to the point. WE PASSED THE FINAL CERTIFICATION!!!
We finally received the official document stating that the Raise has passed all the tests needed to be certified by the CE and the FCC. It was a long process, but it all paid off once we received the FINAL certification.
NEXT STEP: MANUFACTURE 100 PCBs
Before creating the 100 PCBs, Matt had to make sure all the testing jigs were working. There was an unexpected problem with some of them. But good thing Matt was there to save the day, once again!
Now, the testing jigs are all working fine.
The testing jigs are used to test everything on the PCB. They check the switch sockets, the microprocessor, the LED drivers, the magnets for the sensors, and all the other components to see if they are in the right place and are working.
The LEDs passed the quality-control tests and we have now manufactured 100 units of the left and right sides of the PCBs, both ISO and ANSI.
Check out the video below to see how Matt did the quality control for the LEDs and to see how the PCBs of the Raise are assembled!
Next week, they will manufacture the PCBs of the Neuron (formerly called the Huble), and then they will check that all of the 5 PCBs: the left side, the right side, the left low profile PCB, the right low profile PCB, and the Neuron PCB, - are all working properly!
100 RAISE KEYBOARDS, THEN 1900 KEYBOARDS
Once we’ve validated them all, we will manufacture 100 keyboards, check them, and then manufacture the remaining 1900 units!
And then…….. shipment!
A FEW THINGS TO FIX BEFORE MASS PRODUCTION
WOBBLING PROBLEMS
One of the first issues we saw from the first DVT units was the wobbling of the keyboard. The wobbling mainly occurs when the keyboard is split. And it is only apparent in a few samples. It’s really not that obvious but we want to make sure this doesn’t happen in any of the keyboards anymore.
This wobble is caused by 2 factors:
- The top panel shape tolerances
- The rubber legs in the middle of the keyboard
Since we have these rubber legs in the middle, there is a small 0.3mm gap in the front that causes the wobble.
Solutions:
1. Our metal supplier will improve the evenness of the top panel. This is the best solution for us. This would require a very thorough QC in their factory to make sure all top panels are completely flat.
2. Using shorter rubber legs in the middle. Instead of 1mm, we will have them at 0.5mm. This way the keyboard won’t wobble and there will still be support in the middle area even if you press the thumb keys really hard.
We want to be 100% sure that none of the keyboards wobbles. So if there is still wobbling after getting the top panels, then we will do solution # 2.
PALM PADS
We liked the latest palm pads that we received from our supplier. We like the softness, adhesiveness, and thickness.
We’re finding solutions to make the palm pads flatter because the version we have now tends to have its edges rise up after some use. We’re also working on making sure that the cut on the sides are smoother so you don’t see any rough edges from the die-cut.
We’re already happy with the palm pads but we’re still pushing to make them even better. We don’t know if we can get the quality that we exactly want but we will do our best. These are minor details but we just want to make sure they get the attention they deserve as well.
We’ve learned that these palm pads are very complicated to make. There’s nothing in the market similar to this. But the final version will be much better than the one we did in the DVT order.
OTHERS:
Besides the components, there are a few other things we are working on such as improving the handle of the travel case by altering how its sewn and attached, and we’re also finalizing the user manual.
When Matt gets back next week, he will continue working on improving the firmware and the software. Hopefully, in our next update, we can show you the improvements in the software.
Till then, here are a few pictures from our awesome backers using the Raise!
Thanks for staying up to date with all our developments. We will post another update next Friday… this time, about our business plans! So stay tuned!
Fri Aug 2 '19 Announcement
over 6 years ago
– Fri, Aug 02, 2019 at 08:15:22 AM
Hey backers,
Happy Friday!
Thought we'd share some video content and this cool project on Indiegogo, TwitchPi.
Video Interview of Dominique
Getting to know the Dygma Team better!
We asked you guys on IG and Twitter @dygmalab if you had any questions for Dominique for her Q&A session. This is our fourth video interview. If you want to check the other Q&A's, clickhere.
Many of the modern consoles have the ability to stream to Twitch built-in. However, they lack the customization available to those who stream using a computer and a capture device. Programs like OBS allow for SO MUCH customization. TwitchPi is meant to land somewhere in between these two solutions. TwitchPi will offer the ability to overlay a webcam over the gameplay as well as customization options for those willing to dig in.
We will try to be more prompt and consistent with our updates. We will start posting updates every other Friday at 4 pm CEST or 10 am EDT. We will also share the updates on our social media channels on the days following, @dygmalab.
Thanks for reading!
Sat Jul 27 '19 Announcement
over 6 years ago
– Sat, Jul 27, 2019 at 05:58:18 AM
We have more backers testing the Raise, and finally, we have news on the certification of the electronics and our next steps. :)
Backer visits the Dygma office
We welcomed one of our backers and his friend as they visited us in our office at the University of Politecnica Valencia.
They met us at the office and tested the Raise in the office. They were super impressed with the quality of the product. Borja said that it was even better than he expected. He was amazed with the technicalities of the Raise and said that he loves our updates. :)
He offered himself to test any of our products during their development (and we accepted his offer).
He is studying programming and he's a gamer. He bought 2 keyboards in KS (one for a friend) and after the visit, he was so impressed that he bought another one, along with extra keycaps and switches!
He has been following our project since we started with the Shortcut. It was such a humbling feeling meeting a backer who is such a fan of our product.
Number #1 backer fan gets a Raise
We also sent out another silver Dygma Raise to our #1 fan, Jake Nelson! He has been unfailingly commenting on all our posts on Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube since day 1. He has also received the award of being Top Fan on Facebook. ;) Congrats and thank you Jake!
We really appreciate the positive comments from all our followers. We feel guilty for the delay and for many months we have been struggling with constant problems. But it makes us feel great when we see the support of our backers.
So as a "thank you surprise", we decided to send him one of the Dygma Raise units for him to test out!
Certification of the electronics - CE & FCC certification status:
Our Chinese lab has done another pre-certification and we passed everything except the EFT (Electrical Fast Transient). This test is intended to show the immunity of electrical and electronic equipment when subjected to such fast transients.
We found out that we could pass this if we put extra shields on the cables. But this really messes up the way the Neuron sits on the table because the cables are so stiff. (If you remember, we spoke about this last year when we were deciding the new design for the Huble.)
One of the issues we've been having is that the Chinese labs do things in a particular way and the European labs in another. It's been confusing trying to resolve failing tests when the tests are carried out in different ways.
In China, they perform the EFT test by plugging the keyboard into a computer and then sending the pulses into the computer. In Europe they put the pulses into the USB cable, and one lab we spoke to were confused as to why we even needed an EFT test.
A few weeks ago Matt reached out on Twitter to try to find a European expert to help us out with our certification problems. Philip responded and helped us reach a better understanding of the EFT test. He pointed out that for ports that accept cables less than 3 meters long, an EFT isn't even required! So as long as we specify that the keyboard is not certified for USB cables longer than 3 meters we can skip the test and start the final certification!
The certification started on Wednesday 24th and we expect it to be completed in 6 working days.
Mass production
Matt will be flying to China this Sunday to oversee the work being done in the factory. He will be preparing the testing jigs and will do quality checks on the electronics. The factory will then manufacture 100 PCBs and Matt will be there to check that everything is working. BOSS!
Manel will then follow to China at the end of August, shortly after Matt comes back. Manel will be in charge of production as we finally fulfill all the orders. He will personally check (if needed) every single keyboard manufactured. PRESSURE!
Shipping
We will update you guys as soon as we can about the estimated date of shipping. Once we start mass production, we'll have a date.
