Keyboard Builders' Digest / Projects
ALU40
HuibenLAB's ALU40 is a wireless ortholinear mechanical keyboard designed to complement Apple devices.
Published August 31, 2023
ALU40 is the first ever wireless true ortholinear mechanical keyboard designed by huiben's cofounder Rich (aka polishedaluminum/corndoggarcons) in collaboration with Polarity Works to complement Apple devices.
I recently released ALU40, the first ortho 40 board with built-in bluetooth wireless! Most other wireless 40s are either staggered or missing keys, or have a separate controller sticking out, so Polarity Works (designers of the Kinesis Advantage 360) and I have developed a slim and sleek wireless kit – Rich.
The images on the product page are a mix of photos and renders, so I asked for real photos for you (the cover image is a customer photo too!).
The designer has been getting a lot of happy customers just by word of mouth so far, but there are some last specimens left for you to grab.
If you like what you see, spare some cash by using the KBDNEWS discount code (10% off).
Available in black or silver alu, plus a clear frosted acrylic case (to showcase RGB underglow), there are partially assembled and DIY kits on offer – you'll have to add switches and caps (plus an optional rotary encoder, and also 2u stabilizers if you choose a 2u spacebar layout).
Specs
- 48 keys (4x12), ortho layout
- MX, hotswap
- wireless (up to 5 Bluetooth devices)
- 1u, 1x2u or 2x2u space layouts supported
- optional rotary encoder (one at a time in any one of the four corners)
- 3° typing angle (matches apple magic trackpad)
- 23-27mm total height to the top of (square) keycaps, 18-22mm to the top of the high profile case
- precision machined aerospace aluminum in bead blasted and anodized finish
- ZMK firmware
I'm still wary of promoting group buys, but this one is over, and huibenLAB is selling the extras now – so in this case you don't have the usual risks associated with GBs. As a side note, the ALU40 was announced earlier in April, and you can find a detailed timeline here. A next batch may come later, but it's unlikely it would materialize this year.
By the way, huibenLAB is a spin-off of fashion space Huiben Shop and focuses more on creative projects of objects and tech and furniture. If you are interested, R Ying has his other projects here but hasn't unveiled them on the huibenLAB website yet, since it's still focused on ALU40 as the main product.
Resources
Published on Thu 31st Aug 2023. Featured in KBD #202308.
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