#NEWIDEA: Linear switches + a small vibration motor under each switch

[KHAANNN]

I think it would make a pretty fun keyboard, as long as the key is active, the motor vibrates, with the option to only vibrate briefly at the activation (activate once at activation would obviously be the default mode)

Especially with a switch like MX Red's, which requires little force to activate, it would act like an amplifier, turning each click into a small joy

I think I'm going to adopt this idea as a DIY project, http://www.adafruit.com/product/1201 this motor design seems ideal

I'm so excited

[KHAANNN]

Gave a bit more thought to this idea, how it would be feasible

There is a base plate / PCB with vibration motors mounted on it, on vibration motors there is a silicone application, a regular switch plate is put onto the vibration plate, each switch's plastic bottom resting on the silicone's to absorb/transfer the vibration

This separates the switch dynamics from the vibration layer, keeping the simplicity and maintainability of the mechanical keyboard

[jacobolus]

Skip the vibrator, and just put a solenoid in.

That is, a solenoid + metal rod that gets accelerated into some part of the keyboard case. Many IBM beam springs used these. When activated they make a sharp 'click' sound (potentially quite a loud one), and with the right construction you should even be able to feel the vibration.

[KHAANNN]

Skip the vibrator, and just put a solenoid in.

That is, a solenoid + metal rod that gets accelerated into some part of the keyboard case. Many IBM beam springs used these. When activated they make a sharp 'click' sound (potentially quite a loud one), and with the right construction you should even be able to feel the vibration.

That is very interesting, however it seems more challenging design-wise, especially space-wise

These vibration motors seems to be very thin, some even have brushless motors and controllers inside them, like this one: https://catalog.precisionmicrodrives.com/order-parts/product/910-101-10mm-brushless-vibration-motor-3mm-type

65ma seems feasible too, probably with a capacitance circuit, the whole thing would be well under the 500ma usb limit even at 200wpm's

[snipars]

pretty sure this feature exists in the kinesis advantage, or some similar keyboard, though i don't think it was with MX linears 
i wonder how that would feel to type on, probably great

[Dihedral]

Sounds like it would tickle

[FrostyToast]

I would expect this to feel kind of like the vibration on a phone when you use the keyboard which in my opinion is terrible.
Although I am still interested in how this goes.

[Wilba]

This is similar to the Logitech iFeel Mouse, which has a vibrating motor which would provide tactile feedback when the mouse was hovering over something "clickable".

It's an interesting idea... I think a solenoid would work better, though.

[SpAmRaY]

This may be razer's next big thing in gaming keyboards, a keyboard with vibration feedback to things going on in game.

[Zekromtor]

Could be cool. It would be pretty easy to rig it up for a test on a single key. See how it feels.