Is this... Normal?

[rcaldejr]

Hey all!

So just swapped my switches on my GMMK Pro. Previously I lubed and filmed some Milky Yellows and have been using them for awhile, but I just swapped them today with some Oil Kings. I am most likely going to be lubing and filming these as well, but I am a little concerned about this situation.

I've attached an image, but basically what we're looking at is that everywhere you do not see a switch, the switch came out with the key when I pulled it... Is this normal? I feel like it should not be that way and am a little bothered by it. I don't seem to be having any connection issues with the switches, but I don't like that they are so loose sitting in the PCB that they just remove themselves with the switch.

This is only the second time switches have been removed from this PCB.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

[granola bar enthusiast]

this is probably normal and may sometimes be more prominent on "gaming" keyboards that utilize hot-swap sockets or on softer plate materials, i also experienced with my batch of Gateron milky yellows that they may possibly have slightly smaller molds than some of their newer switches (such as the oil kings or the new Gateron black inks) making them easier to pull out of the plate than some of Gateron's other switches, Don't take my word for it but it's just something I noticed.

It's fairly common on a hot-swap keyboard for switches to sometimes come out when the keycap is pulled off, this changes from board to board depending on their model of hot-swap socket and the measurements of the plate and switch and may not be noticed on the more high end "enthusiast" keyboards.

sorry for the 2 paragraph i sort of went on a tangent lol

[Leslieann]

Depending on tolerances and how things are mounted you will get some that are loose and others super tight.

It happens, it's not a big deal.

[rcaldejr]

Depending on tolerances and how things are mounted you will get some that are loose and others super tight.

It happens, it's not a big deal.

this is probably normal and may sometimes be more prominent on "gaming" keyboards that utilize hot-swap sockets or on softer plate materials, i also experienced with my batch of Gateron milky yellows that they may possibly have slightly smaller molds than some of their newer switches (such as the oil kings or the new Gateron black inks) making them easier to pull out of the plate than some of Gateron's other switches, Don't take my word for it but it's just something I noticed.

It's fairly common on a hot-swap keyboard for switches to sometimes come out when the keycap is pulled off, this changes from board to board depending on their model of hot-swap socket and the measurements of the plate and switch and may not be noticed on the more high end "enthusiast" keyboards.

sorry for the 2 paragraph i sort of went on a tangent lol

Appreciate both of your responses! I won't worry about it then. I'll just be optimistic in the sense that it helps me save time by pulling both caps and switches at the same time haha

[Maledicted]

Depending on tolerances and how things are mounted you will get some that are loose and others super tight.

It happens, it's not a big deal.

this is probably normal and may sometimes be more prominent on "gaming" keyboards that utilize hot-swap sockets or on softer plate materials, i also experienced with my batch of Gateron milky yellows that they may possibly have slightly smaller molds than some of their newer switches (such as the oil kings or the new Gateron black inks) making them easier to pull out of the plate than some of Gateron's other switches, Don't take my word for it but it's just something I noticed.

It's fairly common on a hot-swap keyboard for switches to sometimes come out when the keycap is pulled off, this changes from board to board depending on their model of hot-swap socket and the measurements of the plate and switch and may not be noticed on the more high end "enthusiast" keyboards.

sorry for the 2 paragraph i sort of went on a tangent lol

Appreciate both of your responses! I won't worry about it then. I'll just be optimistic in the sense that it helps me save time by pulling both caps and switches at the same time haha

Soldered switches are always going to be more bulletproof than hot swap, no matter how cheap the board is. It is just one less thing to oxidize and/or fail. Hot swap boards are for testing new switches and/or specific combinations of switches or mods to them. Once you find a configuration you love, solder a whole board the way you want it and be done with it.

[Rob27shred]

For the GMMK Pro with it's stamped instead of CNCed plate I'm gonna say this is normal. It is a pretty big number of loose switch cutouts, but having a few that pull out with the caps is par for the course with hotswap boards IME. If you use a pair of tweezers or something similar to pull out the clip tabs on the front & back of the switches a little farther than normal they should at least catch in the plate.

Edit: On a closer look I see you're using a PC plate, not sure if they stamped those as I doubt PC would take to stamping, but they're still churned out much faster & rougher than a plate for a custom kit would be. If the issue really bothers you possibly switching to a metal plate might yield less loose switch cutouts. Although I can't promise that the way Glorious is churning these parts out.

[Sup]

Its normal. But why are you gonna "Lube" oil kings. There is a reason they have OIL in there name. They are already factory lubed.

[lakeboredom]

Its normal. But why are you gonna "Lube" oil kings. There is a reason they have OIL in there name. They are already factory lubed.

Factory lube/oil is not the same thing as "lubing your switches" despite it using the same name. It's not even comparable.

Sent from my moto g power (2022) using Tapatalk

[Sup]

Its normal. But why are you gonna "Lube" oil kings. There is a reason they have OIL in there name. They are already factory lubed.

Factory lube/oil is not the same thing as "lubing your switches" despite it using the same name. It's not even comparable.

Sent from my moto g power (2022) using Tapatalk

What is so different about it. Lubing your switches is just using your preferred lube and being able to control how much lube you apply. Why in the hell would you get a prelubed switch then. Like are you gonna mix your own lube with the pre lube or is he going to painstakingly try to clean all the pre existing lube.

It wasn't much about why people would lube switches themselves but, more like why buy prelubed switches that you gonna lube again???

[Handke]

Thats a plastic plate, polycarbonate. Absolutely normal.

[Leslieann]

Thats a plastic plate, polycarbonate. Absolutely normal.

It certainly happens far more on plastic plates but it also happens with metal plates.

[lakeboredom]

Its normal. But why are you gonna "Lube" oil kings. There is a reason they have OIL in there name. They are already factory lubed.

Factory lube/oil is not the same thing as "lubing your switches" despite it using the same name. It's not even comparable.

Sent from my moto g power (2022) using Tapatalk

What is so different about it. Lubing your switches is just using your preferred lube and being able to control how much lube you apply. Why in the hell would you get a prelubed switch then. Like are you gonna mix your own lube with the pre lube or is he going to painstakingly try to clean all the pre existing lube.

It wasn't much about why people would lube switches themselves but, more like why buy prelubed switches that you gonna lube again???

Prelubed switches are mainly marketed towards people with their hotswap boards that are too lazy to lube manually, or those that don't appreciate the difference like yourself. And yeah, people who do lube will either lube over the factory stuff, or wipe it off first.

[Leslieann]

Its normal. But why are you gonna "Lube" oil kings. There is a reason they have OIL in there name. They are already factory lubed.

Factory lube/oil is not the same thing as "lubing your switches" despite it using the same name. It's not even comparable.

What is so different about it. Lubing your switches is just using your preferred lube and being able to control how much lube you apply. Why in the hell would you get a prelubed switch then. Like are you gonna mix your own lube with the pre lube or is he going to painstakingly try to clean all the pre existing lube.

It wasn't much about why people would lube switches themselves but, more like why buy prelubed switches that you gonna lube again???

Prelubed switches are mainly marketed towards people with their hotswap boards that are too lazy to lube manually, or those that don't appreciate the difference like yourself. And yeah, people who do lube will either lube over the factory stuff, or wipe it off first.

Unless specified all switches are pre-lubed and it has nothing to do with hot swap or soldered boards, they're literally the same switch (except in rare cases).
Some switches have extra lube and some have none but in both instances they will usually be marketed as such specifically because they're a niche product.


People add lube because the factory lube is either insufficient or inconsistent, or they are doing just in case they are. If you build a high dollar soldered board you wouldn't want to assume the factory lube was fine only to later realize it's not and have to risk desoldering to fix it. Also lubing is not just about how much you apply, it's also a matter of how and where you apply it.