Will any of this project be openly available (like gerber files for the board, CAD files for the spring barrels) in case anyone wants to make a model f in the future? (Or at least have the files to work from) or is it all owned by the Chinese company?
Jeff the xwhatsit controller is open source so it will be possible to make it again in the future if a PCB fails. The challenge in bringing back the Model F is in the six-figure costs of construction of the tooling and the years spent for this project in R&D to make the right choices in materials and production processes that will match IBM’s exacting standards. The factories do not own these molds.
As noted earlier I will not be paying to maintain these molds and production will be shutting down in the near future. For anyone considering a Brand New Model F I recommend getting one while you still can!
I do hope you consider joining the project – or have you done so under another email address? If you have any other questions feel free to email me directly.