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:
Sat Jul 27 '19 Announcement
over 6 years ago
– Sat, Jul 27, 2019 at 05:45:21 AM
Besides the positive feedback, we also received some cool ideas:
“Havinga layer for gamers” -- We’ve been planning on creating custom layers specified for certain FPS, RPG, and MOBA. This will be in the future version of the software!
“Have WASD keycaps with a rubber material on it to have more grip.”-- This can be an option we will offer in the future!
Programming the time the keyboard turns off after computer has been shut down. -- While inactive, the light of the Raise keyboard automatically turns off after 10 minutes. A user suggested that there be an option to modify the duration.
Create different options for the palm pads - in height and hardness.-- This is also something we are planning to offer in the future!
“Would be nice to have an indicator light on the caps lock key to show when caps lock is on, or have some way to change Caps lock LED color when it's on (there might be a way I haven't found yet, still experimenting ;)"-- There were many more suggestions and they have all been added to our list!
Issues:
The most important feedback we wanted from our testers were the issues they encountered, and there were a few...
1. Stabilizers
Two backers, Rafa and Jordan, pointed out that there was a wiggle or rattle when pressing the bigger keys, (enter, shift, backspace). We were worried that it might have been from the stamping mold of the top panel. But we found out that this had to do with the stabilizers that we used.
We didn’t notice this in the beginning but after one backer sent us a video comparing our stabilizer to the Cherry MX stabilizer, we saw the difference. It’s mostly only noticeable when you press down the key straight or when you intentionally wiggle it. But we realized that this might be important to some people. We would need to change suppliers and get more rigid stabilizers for mass production but we can’t guarantee that we'll find a new supplier in such a short time. For sure it will be implemented in future production runs.
2. Configurator software
Riccardo had issues with the Caps Lock key. Pressing it would restart the keyboard. After a few seconds, it would turn on again. This would only happen when he turned on the PC and pressed Caps Lock. After a few tries, it wouldn't happen again.
We still don’t know the reason behind this, whether it's a software or electronics issue. We have asked for him to send the Raise back to us once we send him a replacement. This way, we can check if the problem is in the electronics.
Another case was when one backer, Shay, changed the color of a key in the configurator software, the LEDs flashed as if it were reset.
The good news is that these issues aren’t happening to the other units. We think these bugs can be fixed when we update the software.
3. Firmware
Issues regarding the functionality of certain keys were also mentioned. Some keys on the Raise were recognized differently to the same key on another keyboard. This occurred when Jordan used an audio editing program. The period in the Raise and in the audio software was recognized as 2 different keys. So when he configured the period in the key and pressed that key in the audio program, it didn't work. He had to reconfigure the audio program key.
Another issue was that sometimes the Raise wouldn't illuminate right away when plugged to the Neuron(Huble). They would need to replug the Raise until it electronically connects with the Neuron. This was a common feedback from the testers.
We have taken all these issues on board and we are working on improving them when we update the firmware.
4. White RGB LEDs
The white LED color has a slight red tint. This is something that is common in other keyboards but we are still working on how to improve this. This has to do with the material of the plastic and how the light works.
Another minimal observation is that some of the backlight colors appear to be more intense than the others. We will try to adjust the intensity for mass production.
5. Palm pads
The palm pads also had some issues. The first version of the white palm pads looked a little yellow, and we wanted it to look more like pearl white, similar to the color of the keycaps.
The edges of the palm pads would also rise slightly after prolonged use and pressure. So we told the supplier to remove the PVC inside the palm pads to make it less rigid.
Just the other day, we received samples of the newest version. The color of the white palm pads look way better than the previous version and the PVC inside has been removed so it sticks better to the keyboard.
Silver Raise with white palm pads
Black palm pads on black Raise
Sat Jul 27 '19 Announcement
over 6 years ago
– Sat, Jul 27, 2019 at 05:00:04 AM
Feedback and photos from Dygma Raise testers
Everyone has been extremely helpful in providing their feedback, we were flattered with the positive ones. And we were thrilled to read about the different ideas people suggested!
Their impressions:
“Small form factor is actually awesome and frees up much space on desk, also makes distance between wrists much more ergonomic and natural when gaming using left half of Raise and a mouse. Normal full size keyboards usually force you to have your wrists further apart and at an angle.”
“Ergonomics, both when Raise is together and when separated, are great. Found that with the shape of the keys, different keys are actually more ergonomic/easier to reach when gaming compared to other full size keyboards”
“Seems to have near 0 latency, much faster than the Corsair K70 RGB I was previously using (had to often turn off LEDs to shorten latency)”
“The quick response time and unique layout combined with the full customization also makes it an amazing experience for gaming.”
“I have to add - a big huge thank you for adding the switch PCB mount holes, it was so nice not having to cut off the two stems from every switch!”
“The unboxing experience of the keyboard in the carry case was really superb and I think it's something every Dygma owner needs to experience.”
PUBG Pro League in Berlin
One of our backers, Riccardo, was also able to use the Raise in a PUBG Pro League in Berlin. He gave us some detailed feedback about his experience.
PUBG Europe League 2019
Travel case
“The bag is made of a hard material so I’m not scared to lose keycaps or maybe be careful when I have everything in my backpack to don’t hurt anything.
So I would rate the bag 10/10, not too small, so you have space for cables, etc, and not too big to take more space than needed. The protection provided from that bag it's the best feature.
Most of the times even if you have a good keyboard bag and a backpack you lose keycaps and other stuff.
Also, all the other keyboard bags are made from 3rd party vendor that they produce certain product to fit most of the keyboards on the market based on the length. Yours is only made for the Dygma, so it's beating everything else.”
Form factor
“Gaming: I was playing the PUBG Pro League in Berlin so as every other major event you have so much space on the table at your disposal. For this reason, the Dygma’s minimal design didn't get any points over any other keyboard. BUT I would say that on the 90% of the LAN event in every esports, you don't have so much space at your disposal, so your keyboard will become the go-to, to save space and be as comfy as you can.
So for the Highest Level Players in the Pro scene it's not a big deal the amount of space that Dygma is taking, but there are only a few games that have an official pro-league where all the players play at the same venue, and even in those game most of the semi-pro player are playing in one-off event where space on the table is a thing, and Dygma will come to help.
Split design
"I would say that it's a really good point in favour of the keyboard, having only to care about the left part of the keyboard (even from visual feedback) it's better than playing with a "normal" keyboard."
The BEST feature for LAN setups:
"The BEST feature that beats everything else when it comes to LAN setup is this: no driver needed and onboard memory to have all the profiles and colors that you need. This is by far the best one compared to every other keyboard”
Read more in the next update!
Mon Jul 8 '19 Announcement
almost 7 years ago
– Mon, Jul 08, 2019 at 07:58:47 AM
Hello everyone!
Testing phase of the Dygma Raise
The testing phase of the first units of the Dygma Raise has already begun!
DVT units
We’ve prepared and sent out 19 keyboards to be tested. Some have been sent to backers living in Shenzhen, some living here in Valencia, and some have been sent to the developers and consultants that have helped us during the development of the Raise.
One of the developers helping us all the way from the Ukraine
In our last update, we asked those of you who were interested to be a tester to answer a questionnaire. We saw some very interesting profiles and setups! We even saw that there were some people who answered but weren’t backers. Cheeky! Nice try guys ;)
Those who were finally selected were:
- Jake Hogan
- Jordan Howard
- Karl Sabo
- Rafa Puerta
- Riccardo Beccaria
- Shay Fuimaono
Congrats guys! You’ll be receiving a Dygma Raise DVT unit and will be part of the pool of testers.
A big thank you to everyone who answered! :)
Feedback from the testing phase
One backer tried to connect the Neuron to their Mac computer using an official USB-C to USB-C cable from Mac. But the keyboard wasn’t recognized by the computer.
We learned that some USB-C to USB-C cables, especially the more expensive ones, have an extra component on each connector that helps give extra information to the computer for specific purposes. It basically helps the computer detect what it is connected to.
But we also tested other cables and learned that if you used an adaptor or other cheaper USB-C to USB-C cables that didn’t have that extra component, the keyboard would be recognized by the Mac computer.
In the end, we decided to add an extra component in the Neuron that will allow more advanced USB-C to USB-C cables to detect the keyboard. This will be implemented in the new PCBs for mass production. And of course, if you use our Dygma cables, the keyboard will work 100% as well.
Another issue we saw was with the rotating effect of the underglow. At some point, it would stop rotating or changing colors. We spotted this bug quickly and Matt was able to fix this by updating the firmware.
Receiving feedback from the testers is really crucial as we move forward with mass production. We have already fixed a lot of the bugs from the software but we still want to monitor the other Raise units. We want to make sure we spot these issues now and fix them before we start with mass production.
There are still other minor bugs that we are troubleshooting now. We will keep you posted on their developments.
Certification of the electronics
We’re extremely happy that we’ve already sent out a few Dygma Raise units for some backers to test out! All the components are already ready, but the only thing that is blocking us now is the certification of the electronics. The electronics of the Raise are working fine, but the official certification is what’s taking a while.
We already talked about our frustration regarding this topic in our previous updates. We had worked on this for so long and then passed. But, since we had to modify some parts of the PCBs, it made us fail in the other tests. We’ve been making modifications on the PCBs based on the tests that failed and when we had it checked again, it passed in one test but failed in a different test.
Making these modifications, having the new PCBs created, and booking for a test, and re-doing it once or twice have all been so time-consuming. And this is the only thing really blocking us.
But we are doing the best we can to solve this! Hopefully, in our next certification test this, we will pass all of them and finally start mass production.
Mon Jun 24 '19 Announcement
almost 7 years ago
– Mon, Jun 24, 2019 at 04:26:45 AM
Hi!
DVT samples
We received the DVT samples last week. We’ve been busy these last few days testing all of them and planning our next steps. We were able to identify some problems and fixed most of them.
A few units have minor manufacturing defects like one side would wobble if you laid it on a flat surface and pressed down one of the edges. This is because the top panel isn't completely leveled. There was an unevenness of 0.2mm-0.5mm. This is mainly due to how the top panel is stamped.
Now we created a more strict quality control document for our metal factory. They will have to disregard all top panels that come out uneven.
Default layout
The main thing we worked on was the electronics and the software. We updated the firmware of the PCBs and created a default layout.
Layout 1
Layout 2
This is a basic layout, simple for everyone to understand. It is the base layout from where you can easily create your own.
Samples to be sent
Now the samples are ready to be sent to influencers for review and to some backers for testing. This version of the Raise isn’t the final product and as we said, some of them have minor flaws. But we'd still like to ask some of you who are interested to test them out.
Most of them are the black version. We only have them in English US and Spanish keycaps, and the mounted switches are a split between Cherry MX Red and Kailh Speed Copper.
We’ve decided that we will send out 4 units to our backers living here in Valencia so we can closely monitor them as they test the Raise on a daily basis. We will then send 10 units to our backers from around the world. We will cover the shipping cost to send them.
We know many of you would like to test out a DVT sample so for those interested, please answer this questionnaire.
We will be choosing testers based on their profiles. This doesn’t mean that there are wrong profiles, but we just want to have a diverse selection of testers.
NOTE: If you’d like to receive a DVT sample and decide you want to keep it, then we will no longer send you the final one from mass production. But if you decide that you prefer to receive your pre-ordered Dygma Raise, then we will send that to you. But you would need to pay the shipping fees for returning the unit back to Spain before we send your final Raise.
Manufacturing Updates
Palm pads
One more component that needed modification was the palm pads. We checked them in the DVT samples and they didn’t have the quality we wanted. So we told the factory to keep trying to make one that met our requirements.
Since then we have done 4 different samples of the black one. The last one we received was really good! So now we have a solution for the black ones. Now we are working on finding a nice top material (the skin) for the silver version.
Electronics
Excluding the palm pads, all of the components of the Raise are already done. What we’ve been working on a lot now is the electronics, mainly the PCBs of the Raise. We had to go back and forth fixing issues encountered almost on a daily basis, but luckily Matt, our CTO, was able to fix them.
We had to make a new design for the PCBs with the requirements given by our new PCBA factory. Good thing the PCB modifications were much easier than expected and have already been done.
If you didn’t read our last update, we had to change PCBA factories due to quality concerns.
We sent the new gerbers to the new factory yesterday and the plan is for them to make 100 units of the PCBs as a trial run. We will then have them certified and hopefully, things turns out well and we can finally start mass production!
Thank you all so much for your continued support despite the delay. We will make sure you guys receive the most amazing keyboard you’ve long been waiting for!
- Dygma Team
Mon Jun 17 '19 Announcement
almost 7 years ago
– Mon, Jun 17, 2019 at 12:52:24 AM
Hello everyone!
Happy Monday!
As you might already know, we at Dygma highly prioritize quality, and all the modifications we’ve done with the Raise were always directed towards making the product better.
After the DVT (Design Validation Test), we found that there were still some components that needed ironing out before launching mass production. Thus mass production has been delayed.
These issues were mainly due to quality control and management within the factories.
Base
The base was one of the components that needed refining. During the DVT, its quality was inconsistent; the light of the underglow didn’t have the intensity that we saw in previous samples. We told the factory to make a new one with the correct polycarbonate formula and to make some tooling modifications to give more polish to the base.
The factory sent it over to us from China. It arrived last Friday. And now, we have validated the new base! Can you guess which side is the new one? Left side or right?
CLUE: More intensity!
The right side has more intensity.
The right side has more intensity. You can really tell the difference in the photo above. That will be our new and final base.
Quality Inspection Specifications
In the last 2 weeks, Manel, our Product Manager, was working on finalizing the Quality Inspection Specifications of each component of the Raise. This was an important document that needed a lot of work. As long as we have the correct and detailed quality control measures for each component in the assembly factory, then we can ensure that the final product will meet our standards.
Purchase Orders for mass production have been sent
Another important document that we finalized and sent out was the Purchase Orders. So now the factories are preparing to manufacture all of your orders in the next few weeks. Exciting!
DVT samples from China
We still haven’t received the DVT samples from China. We are expecting 30 samples and they should have arrived early last week but they got stuck in Paris airport. We were told that we will receive them this week. Once we receive them, we will check them ourselves and maybe send some out to influencers or media companies or maybe even to some of you backers who want to test it out before mass production.
Nothing has been finalized but we will keep you all in the loop!
PCBA Factory change
As we said earlier, quality is number one. And if you remember in our last update, we had a difficult time dealing with our PCBA factory. Their SMT (Surface-mount technology) was poor and we weren’t happy with their work.
It was a tough decision to make but finally, we decided to change factories. It might be late in the process to change factories but we believe this was the right decision.
The new PCBA factory has higher expertise and is familiar with using the Kaihua sockets in the PCBs. They also have machines that do resistance testing for the sockets. We are confident that they will do a better job than the other factory.
The next step is they will make a set of our PCBs for validation.
Configurator software
We have a new version of the configurator software. It’s still the MVP but we’ve implemented some new cool features:
- Control of the underglow lights
- ANSI and ISO layout recognition
- New color picker
- Dark interface version
Configurator with the underglow color change feature
Dark UI with the new color picker
We've been working with a javascript programmer and he finally received the PCBs we sent so we are quickly moving forward and improving the configurator. We will have more to show this week!
Matt’s Q&A interview
We’ve also managed to squeeze in some fun content for our Youtube channel. We did a Q&A session with our CTO, Matt. This was our 3rd video of our Q&A series.
Matt did a little performance for us with his DJ and beatboxing skills. It was a fun video interview and we’re planning on doing more fun content like this in the future. Do you guys have any suggestions of other content you’d like us to make? Don't be shy to let us know in the comments below!
We will try to post more updates as we approach mass production. We might have already passed the “worst case scenario” timeline but we hope that by sharing our developments, you can understand our side of the process and why things have been pushed back. We're nearly there!!
If you have any comments or questions, feel free to write them down below or simply email us at [email protected].
