Business Stores Customer Service. Written by Giovanni 21 September Which mechanical switch suits you? The best clans, streamers, and professional gamers can't go without: mechanical gaming keyboards. The so-called mechanical switches really make a difference on these keyboards. But how does a mechanical switch work exactly? And which type of switch suits you?
In this article, we'll tell you all about it. How does a mechanical switch work? Which types of switches are there? Optical mechanical gamers Optical mechanical: Razer Huntsman Choose.
More sensitive Unique features Interchangeable keycaps. View all mechanical gaming keyboards. Cherry MX Red gamers. Sensitive No feedback Force to point of actuation: 45 grams. Cherry MX Blue typists and programmers. This is a much more expensive method of printing keys and must be used in situations where the dye is darker than the material being dyed. Instead of printing characters onto plastic, double shot injection molding molds the character and underside of the keycap into one piece of plastic with the top part of the keycap molded onto another piece.
They are fused together to form a dual-layer keycap with a very high contrast graphic. This is the most expensive, highest quality type of printing possible and results in a key that cannot be worn off as it is part of the keycap.
It also limits the printing to two colors per keycap due to the molds and expenses involved. There have been examples of more than two colors using this method, but the price at this point is way too high for most companies to embrace. In fact, even most keyboard companies have abandoned double-shot injection molding based upon its high cost. There are many different types of switches found in mechanical keyboards.
The only way to know what type of switch is inside the keyboard is to take apart a board and sometimes even the switches, risking the destruction of the keyboard or the switches. Switches differ in how they close the circuit, signaling a key depression, the amount of tactile bump felt and the loudness of the click when the key is depressed.
Cherry MX are mechanical switches that consist of a spring and two metal contacts. When depressed, it causes the plastic stem to go down, at which point a steel spring inside closes the switch, signaling the key has been depressed.
One of the benefits of Cherry MX switches is the gold-plated contacts. Unlike other metals, the gold prevents the contacts from rusting, increasing the lifespan of the switch. There are a variety of switch constructions for these types of keys, and they can be differentiated by the color of the stem, which you can see when you remove the keycap.
Cherry MX Black switches were one of the first mechanical keyboard switches available to the general public. Many gamers like these because of the smooth feel and the fact that the actuation and release points are at the exact same position, making double-tapping easier than other switches.
The Brown switches are about halfway between a typing and a gaming switch. Unlike the black switches, the browns have a soft, tactile bump about halfway through the keypress. The Brown switches have a softer click when depressed and require less force to actuate. The Das Keyboard tactile-soft series utilizes Brown switches. The overall experience of Blue switches is very similar to typewriters, however, those around you might not be as big of a fan due to the audio feedback.
Cherry MX Clear switches are a bit harder to find in keyboards, but many users consider them to have more of a tactile feel than the Browns without being as clicky as the Blue switches.
The clear switches have a higher actuation force than the Brown switches and a more pronounced tactile bump. Also, Clears tend to have the most friction among mechanical key switches, this is due to the size of the tactile bump.
This means that their feel remains constant through each up-down keystroke. Where they differ from the Black switches is in their resistance; Red switches require less force to actuate. Buckling Spring switches contain a spring that buckles when the key is pushed. This mechanism controls a small hammer that strikes a membrane switch to signal the key has been depressed.
Topre switches are a newer development that are almost a hybrid between a mechanical switch keyboard and a rubber dome keyboard.
Topre switches are capacitive switches that use a spring underneath a rubber dome. The linear switches were introduced with the Apex , the other two variants made their first appearances in the Apex 7. Low-Profile switches are particularly flat switches which are used to build thin mechanical keyboards. As a consequence of the smaller build size, the travel distances of low-profile switches are typically shorter than those of common switches.
Cherry has low-profile switches in their assortment since They can be used for both typing and gaming. The linear MX Low Profile Speed has an even shorter actuation distance of 1 mm, we recommend them primarily for gaming. GL switches refer to the low-profile series of Logitech, meaning that the height of these switches is only about half the height of a traditional switch.
They were introduced with the Logitech G and Logitech G The actuation point is for all three types at 1. Optical switches, often also called opto-mechanical switches, are a recent innovation and might play an important role in the future of high-quality keyboards.
In contrast to traditional mechanical switches that actuate by establishing a metal-to-metal contact, optical switches are triggered by a signal of light. Thus, less physical contact is required which makes the switches less susceptible to problems caused by physical degradation. There are several manufacturers producing optical switches.
A very well-known brand is Razer — the company introduced their optical switches in June As the name already suggests, the Razer Clicky Optical Switch provides tactile and audible feedback. For the coloring, Razer has chosen purple. An analog switch with the ability to not only detect if a key is pressed but also measure how far it is pressed. It enables finer movement control in games, similar to a joystick.
Logitech is now describing a new switch they have developed as being a Logitech MX Blue. Some details and experience with that would be valuable as I am a Logitech sheep. I love cherry reds because of their actuation, yet I do wish they were tactile instead of linear because of the fact I love the feedback of blues.
You could include more of it. Your email address will not be published. Mechanical Keyboard. Guide Switches. Also, we have created Keychron optical switches for the K2 in the future. The K4 currently utilizes the LK switch, but we will use the Keychron optical switches for the K4 very soon.
We are determined to make the optical switch in all our keyboard series. Mechanical switches are similar to optical switches, but they have a much longer history. The key difference from the optical switch is their activation method. The switch core trigger and spring which is sleeved on the internal switch column, which controls the operation of the entire switch when triggered.
These switches rely on contact between two conductive materials to send a signal through a circuit board to the computer when a key is pressed. Since mechanical switches have been popular for a long time, the market has so many different mechanical switches: blue switch, red switch, brown switch, black switch, silver switch and so on.
And there are three types of mechanical switches: linear, tactile, and clicky. They are defined by their keystroke behaviour. With Keychron mechanical keyboards, we chose Gateron switches. If you want to know more about the Gateron switch, please check out our previous article here.
The advantages of traditional mechanical switches are obviously it's customizability and availability. Users can choose different switches according to their preferences and needs. Traditional mechanical keyboard switches are soldered in, so altering the original switches can be difficult.
But with the latest technology, hot swappable boards have hot sockets on the PCBs to make the changing switches in seconds possible.
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