Free Standard Shipping in the US on orders over $99

Drop CSTM80 Barebones Mechanical Keyboard

CSTM80 Under the Hood

Sep 29, 20237035 VIEWS

The headlining feature of the upcoming CSTM80 keyboard is the magnetically attached (and easily swapped) top case, allowing you to easily customize the aesthetics of your board on a whim. That said, there is a lot going on under the hood of CSTM80 to create a full-featured board out of the box, and we’ll focus on those features in this story.

Typing Feel and Sound CSTM80 features a peg-type gasket-mounted plate design, shipping with a polycarbonate plate by default for both the fully-built and barebones versions. The PC plate offers a satisfying typing sound and allows for a good amount of flex to take advantage of the gasket-mounting construction. The stock sound with the included linear switches (Gateron Yellow KS3) has a subtle marbly-ness while not sounding overly muted or deadened, and the included tactile switches (Gateron Browns) sound surprisingly similar while maintaining a strong tactility. We’ll let the (soon-to-come) typing tests show the sound better than our descriptions, though—stay tuned for those. For further customization (an unsurprisingly common thread you’ll find with this keyboard), additional plates will be available in Brass, FR4, Carbon Fiber, and POM materials. Swapping plates will be just as easy as other hotswap boards for quick modification and testing of new configurations. In addition to plate and mounting considerations, a full assortment of foams will be included with the CSTM80 by default. PORON plate foam between the plate and IXPE foam, IXPE switch foam between the switches and PCB, and PORON case foam beneath the PCB; as well as a silicone pad beneath the whole setup to fill the rest of the case and act as a bottom gasket for the keyboard. South-Facing Switches We know that many enthusiasts prefer south-facing switches to ensure zero keycap compatibility concerns; we also like to include LED-focused features and considerations whenever possible. With CSTM80, switches are all mounted in the south-facing orientation (5-pin support standard) to maximize compatibility. We have also gone one step further and included laser-etched front shine-through keycaps with the fully-built keyboards to allow them to really shine. Should you choose to turn off the LEDs with these keycaps installed, the subtle legends make the keycap set appear as a classy blank set with only barely-visible legends. QMK, VIA, and Vial As has become standard, CSTM80 will be compatible with our own new Drop Keyboard Configurator, QMK, VIA, and Vial (after launch). VIA and Vial-supported firmwares can be easily flashed to the keyboard via our configurator application, which also includes the same keymapping support. Case Weight Speaking of under the hood—all the way at the bottom of CSTM80 is an aluminum weight to add some heft and help CSTM80 feel more substantial, like the fully-aluminum keyboards many of us know and love. Additional finishes and materials are on the way for further customization, including stainless steel with black PVD coating, stainless steel with chromatic PVD coating, and brass with clear coating (to prevent oxidation).

CSTM Top Cases As for above (or, more accurately, on) the hood? We’ve got a few top case colors, designs, and materials in the works. We are also planning to work with designers to expand designs from keycaps onto the top cases. Stay tuned for more information on top cases in the next Story! What features are you looking forward to most with CSTM80? Is there a particular keycap set that you’re most eager to see a matching top case for?

Vote

Sort by: Newest

Oct 17, 2023

Would love to see a grey/cream/beige ish option for a more retro look too!

raynari

Oct 9, 2023

Any chance of this having tri mode connectivity?

Vote

Rarebreed

Oct 5, 2023

Lol. You're like grandpa trying to build a keyboard these days, and then trying to convince me it's just what I need. You don't need any of that "fancy, fandangled modern stuff in it."

(Edited)

•

Cmacd749

Oct 3, 2023

Green or vintage cream for Nuclear Data 💚🧡

RayBaer

Keyboard Club Member

Sep 30, 2023

+1 more for wireless options (or upgrade) in the future. I love a wire-free desk!

nietzschesleftnut

Oct 3, 2023

RayBaer+2 for 2.4 ghz instead of blue tooth

Ledjon

106

Sep 30, 2023

Green/purple for zooted!

ChewieSolo

178

Sep 30, 2023

Looks very interesting, especially the ease of making it two-tone (hoping the case halves are reasonable prices). I've been looking for a 75%/TKL board that used a magnetic case and the only one currently available that I know of is a 65% (Dymium 65). I have a few questions/suggestions (I realize some of this may be answered in the next update, just want to ask them now so they can be addressed then if they can't now):

Will the shipped boards have Via compatible firmware out of the box, or will you need to flash it with the configurator? I know its easy to do (did it with my CTRL), but I feel like most people use Via/Vial at this point and some will complain that it has to be done at all.
There are a nice variety of plate options, but curiously no aluminum. Will that be an option or if not I'd be curious why not as I feel that's one of the most popular. Also a polypropylene plate would be a good addition as its current the "hyped" plate material (also I've seen ABS plates growing in popularity but still fairly new so not sure if that will get widepread).
Can the FCC, CE, etc certification info be moved out of sight? Maybe inside the case, under the weight, or on the pcb (which is what I imagine is actually what is certified unless is the preassembled board as a whole). The smaller branding vs the Sense75 looks nice otherwise though.
Among the other weight options (SS and brass) there is mention of an aluminum wight. Is this actually a weight (meaning the bottom case is not aluminum) or just a "weight"?
Since this is a TKL I think it would be a great opportunity to use a more standard PCB size like H88, which would give more options to people that want things you may not end up offering like soldered PCBs, different layouts (like Tsangan), or people that just already have PCBs and want a case and plate.
Will this use a daughterboard or a fixed use port? If a daughterboard preferably one like ai03 unified or the Geon Fly that is easily obtainable well after the original is sold.
Having different hardnesses of the gasket pegs would be great. Its becoming increasingly common, for example the QK80 and Mode Envoy come with two options, the Mode Tempo has 4 options, and the Geonworks Frog (and Mini) has 5 different options, etc.

Edit: Formatting, unordered list does not show up after submitting for some reason. Edit 2: Thought of another thing

(Edited)

View 7 More Replies

static.overdub

571

Oct 6, 2023

Yep, top plate is purely for aesthetics or feel. Not an integral component, and not really intended to be swappable, though no reason you couldn’t with a beige from the other available colorway.

Vote

static.overdub

571

Oct 6, 2023

I also prefer wired boards, but I needed something for my bedroom htpc. And this CSTM will be what… at least 6x what I paid for my 871? Not knocking it, as they’re different markets entirely. I do like the magnetic top plate and think it’s a neat design feature. in fact, I also like how it in effect turns the 871 from low to high profile. Could accommodate different profile caps. It doesn’t look like the cstm is made to be used without a top plate.

(Edited)

Vote

Nlspoh

Sep 30, 2023

Hoping for 60/75/96/98, will wait for that. Looks good so far

YanboWu

8549

Collaborations

Sep 30, 2023

NlspohNo one ever says 104 until everything gets released and people are mad there isn't an 104 :(

(Edited)

MamaNet

Sep 30, 2023

Is this wired? I never liked having a battery inside my board. It's a deal breaker for me. I think I will wait for this board to come out before buying an alu TKL keyboard.

HoffmanMyster

3234

Community

Sep 30, 2023

MamaNetIt is wired only, yes

mattris

1300

Sep 30, 2023

Purple Amethyst case for GMK Laser caps Dark Green case for Drop Jasmine caps Cobalt Blue case for Drop Camillo caps Deep Red case for Drop Garnet caps

(Edited)