geekhack
geekhack Projects => Making Stuff Together! => Topic started by: kody_ on Thu, 06 September 2018, 17:33:40
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I generated a keyboard layout with builder.swillkb.com and ordered it through lasergist. I am using cherry mx black plate mount switches. I've noticed that the switch takes almost no effort to remove from the plate, and significantly less force than the force of removing a keycap. I was under the impression that the plate should hold on to the switch with more strength. My intention was to just hand wire the button matrix, but now I am concerned the delicate wiring could be damaged if I try and remove a keycap and the switch comes up with it. Should I make a pcb to go with it? or is there a good way to add some extra grip from the plate?
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Huh, this is disheartening. I was hoping of doing the same thing :(
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That sucks to hear :( AFAIK plates designed with builder.swillkb.com should have the normal sized cutout for MX switches & the plate should hold them pretty tightly. You could still got the hand wiring route though. Maybe hot glue the switches to the plate, that would hold them pretty well & also easily come off if you ever needed to replace a switch or something in the future.
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Have calipers to check switch hole dimensions? If they are off, you might be able to get a new plate from the shop that cut it.
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IIRC switch holes should be 14mm x 14mm. It may also depend on the thickness of the plate, as it need to be around 2mm for the plastic to catch and ping in place.
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Maybe the laser was out of focus or set too strong for your material. take some measurements and call them if it is out of speck. You can also check the angle of the cut. When the cutter has a short focal length or the material is very thick, the cutting angle can be quite noticeable. Maybe check if the switches hold better the other way around. If so, you can just mirror flip the design for the next cut.
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Did you set a Kerf value in Swill's program??
You have to set a kerf value on all laser-cut items to account for the thickness of the laser when cutting materials. If you don't set a value, all your holes will be too big, because of the extra material removed from each side of the cut line.
Kerf will vary a bit from one manufacturer to the other. I usually set the kerf to 0.15mm (which will work for most lasercutters), and my switch plates have come out perfectly, and switches fit very snug.
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Thanks for the replies. I dont have a caliper but they aren't too off from 14mm. I'm now thinking that even if the plate was perfect it still wouldn't hold as well as I'd like. I've decided to just etch a one sided copper clad board. A plate plus a pcb is probably the ideal construction anyway.
Did you set a Kerf value in Swill's program??
swillkb automatically sets a kerf before it allows you to send the layout to lasergist so it wasn't that.
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One way to thicken the holes slightly would be to paint the plate. Do that from angles so that the paint layers add up on the inside edges of the holes.