How it's made
Every box is built by hand on one bench in Thief River Falls, Minnesota. Here is what that looks like.
1. The board
It starts with the circuit board, cut to the shape of the box, with a pad for each button. The small wireless board on top is what talks to the USB dongle in your sim PC.
2. Soldering
The wireless board and the battery leads are soldered by hand under the fume extractor. Careful work here is what makes a box run for years on one AA battery.
3. Into the case
The case is 3D printed in the shop, in the color you ordered. The board drops in, the AA battery holder is wired up, and the buttons snap through the top onto their pads.
4. Testing on the bench
Before a box is closed up it goes next to a laptop that shows each key press as it comes in. Press a button, see the key.
5. Fitting and finishing
Brackets, the encoder board and the last small parts go in, then screws and a last look over before it ships.
The bench
Laptop, soldering station, fume extractor, a bin of buttons and whatever box is mid-build. That is the whole factory.