Thanks for all the responses! Means a lot
<3
From the looks of it you have Outemu dust-proof switches, which are indeed plate mount. As long as you have a new board that you can make a plate for or has one, it will be an easy swap. Not using a plate would technically work, but when removing a keycap you risk ripping it out of the pcb.
Are you sure they're plate-mounted? Just popped out one of the switches to check, and it's directly in the PCB. Is it common to have PCB-mounted switches that aren't soldered in? (see attachment 1)
If they are plate-mounted: Does the plate have to be anything special? I have access to a 3D printer and other materials. I'd rather not 3D print much (owned by my school, limited student access), but could if necessary. Depends how high quality this needs to be, but I have lots of leftover cardstock or plastic folders that are pretty durable.
If I didn't use a plate, would they have to be soldered to the PCB? I don't have any soldering experience. I know people who do, but trying to keep this as low budget as possible.
Also, the dust proof switches use smaller pins, so generally only Outemu switches will fit in those sockets on the PCB. You would need to desolder/remove the sockets in order to use different switch brands on that board as most use larger (technically normal size) pins, and Outemu is the only one I know that makes small pin switches. So keep that in mind.
I know some people who have keyboards with Cherry MX switches, so I can try putting those in mine. What do you mean by "desolder/remove" the sockets? Like replace the little holes where the switch clips in?
Plate mounted simply means that there is some material (usually steel, aluminum, or some kind of polymer) between the switches and the PCB, as opposed to PCB mounted which means the switches rest directly on top of the PCB, which isn't all that common to my knowledge.
In terms of the switches, Plate-mount switches only have two copper contacts protruding from the bottom (along with the round center plastic plunger piece). PCB-mount switches have two extra plastic legs. A lot of plate-mounted custom keyboards (and even one of my old Corsairs oddly) have the two holes in the PCB for the two extra legs, meaning you can use either type of switch (it supposedly adds a bit of stability and helps line up the switch better even with the plate). But a lot of plate mount consumer boards' PCBs don't have the two extra holes; in that case, you either have to use plate-mount switches or clip the plastic legs off the PCB-mount switches for them to fit.
Oh, good to know! I was thinking that PCB-mounted switches are really common, and plate-mounted pretty rare.
Well, this is really annoying. This whole project seemed pretty straight forward, but I guess not... Really hope there's still a way to make this work!