I'm pretty much ready to pull the trigger, but I am debating between the solid alu case and the bent case. Bent looks like a really nice low-budget alternative, but I feel like it'll flex like crazy. I'm also worried about the weight. Is there any noticeable flex? How much does it weigh fully assembled?
As for the alu cases: do we have any photos of the non-raw options, or do we have to use our imagination from the alu samples?
At the moment, all I have for the alu cases are the color samples, but yeah, you'd have to sorta use your imagination for those.
As for the bent plate, there's not really that much noticeable flex, but compared to an aluminum case, the aluminum case has a completely different feel when typing. The key is that with the bent plate, you should build it with PCB mount switches. It makes all the difference in the world if you ask me.
Comparing the bent plates themselves, it's not much more flexible when you push down in the middle compared to a shorter 75 percent board since the cutouts on the front and back were reduced quite a bit to compensate for the length of the case.
Thanks for getting back to me. I know this is entirely personal opinion, so indulge me anyway. Does the bent plate have an appealing feel.... Again, it's completely up to personal preference, but I worry that it'll feel a little light, cheap, etc? Does it hold it's own against the alu case, or is it really just a 'poor mans' option.
I say 'poor mans' in quotes... I do see the irony there.
I would say that the bent plate is definitely not a "poor man's" option. It's more of a feel preference imo. I don't know how to put it, but comparing an xd84 on a bent plate with a CNC case (same build; PCB mount gat blues, etc...), they're very different. There is of course still flex in the aluminum case from the plate and pcb flexing between the mount points, but on the bent case, it's a different kind of flex. Both of these aren't really noticeable, but you can tell when you use the two of them side by side. They feel ever so slightly different on bottom out and the sound is definitely different. My word of advice would be to build with PCB mount switches regardless of whichever option you get since I've had a lot of success with that on all the builds I've completed that way.
Would you mind elaborating more about having "more success" with PCB mount switches than plate mount. What do you mean by that? Do you mean switch alignment etc...
A wall of text ahead, but I'm not sure how to explain it without going in-depth
So taking from what I've built, with plate mount switches, the interface of the switch and plate vary because of how the tolerances vary from manufacture to manufacture and from run to run. Some switches fit loosely in the plate (older Kailhs) and some fit really really tight (New Otemu pros). If you have tighter switches, no problem, but when you have looser ones, alignment starts to become an issue. Optimally, it's a press-fit (rather than slip fit) interface between the PCB and the switch. for PCB mount switches. This is one of the advantages that I've found.
Alignment also is much easier with kits that have universal plates. A good example would be the break/backslash key right above the enter. Since most plates that are universal are cut out for the ISO stab too, the only support is at the top left corner where the switch doesn't "lock in" since the two tabs at the top and bottom don't make contact. This also creates a sort of vertical alignment (think z axis) issue in addition to having it aligned horizontally (think x and y axis).
As far as vertical alignment is concerned,
most PCB mount switches help with this. This really depends on the tolerance of the switch housings and the size of the PCB mount holes on the PCB itself. Most of the switches, if you've noticed have four small nubs on each corner of the switch housing on the bottom. Those should sit right on the PCB itself. If the switch/PCB interface well with each other, you should have to push the switch into position with a little bit of force. This causes the extra aligning legs to bite into the PCB and keep the switch there. If the switch is seated all the way, then the four little nubs should sit right on the PCB without any room between. This though, doesn't work if the PCB and switch housing don't mesh well together. You can usually tell if you press the switch into the PCB and it falls out when you turn it upside down.
On the other hand, with plate mount switches, you're relying on the plate to provide the vertical alignment and make sure that all four nubs are in contact with the PCB. The issue here is that the only thing holding it to the PCB are the solder contacts as well as the center round thing on the bottom of the switch. Most of the time (in my experience) doesn't interface all that well with the PCB and doesn't provide that same "holding" force it does with PCB mount legs. This means that when you are soldering the switch in, you basically have to compress the switch and the PCB in order to make sure that the four nubs on the corners are sitting all the way flush with the PCB. This is a pain in the ass to do. Even moreso if you have to manually align the switches so that it's straight, horizontally as I mentioned above.
As far as stiffness, I think it might be all relative. Or maybe there's science behind it. I don't know, but building with the PCB mount switches on the XD84 bent plate as opposed to the plate mount switches has given me a sturdier feel. I would say this is from the support coming from both the PCB and the plate since the bottom of the switch is being held by the two tabs mounting the switch housing to the plate and the PCB mount legs, in addition to the soldered contact points holding the four nubs down against the PCB. I guess that last point is also applicable if you build your board really well and make sure that the switch is held down against the PCB as mentioned above.
Some issues with this are that if you're kinda going for a quicker build, you can't just pop all the switches into the plate real quick and line it up with the PCB. You need to go one-by-one pushing them into the plate and PCB at the same time, making sure that the switch is seated all the way. Because of the force you need to push the damn switches into the PCB combined with the force it takes to push the switches into the plate, you can't really feel if the terminals (I think that's the term) aren't aligned with the thru holes and you end up with completely bent ones that don't make it through the PCB out to the other side. If you try to apply the same method that you use with plate mount switches (populating the plate, then just aligning with the PCB) you end up with the issue of the two extra PCB mount legs requiring too much force to press into the PCB itself since now, instead of needing enough force to press one into the PCB, they're all connected together and basically impossible to press into the PCB. You then either end up with either/both PCB and plate not being flat since it's damn impossible to apply all the force you need to press all the pins into the PCB at once.
Uhhh... and take this with a grain of salt since I haven't exactly tried this with all the combos that would make a difference.