The past few years have seen a lot of growth in our once-little community---something I didn't imagine would happen when I got my first mechanical keyboard (a Model M) five or six years ago. While the community has grown and our tastes have diversified, we still base all our new keyboard purchases on one or two switch types: Cherry et al or Matias's ALPS switches. I don't think I'm alone when I say I wish I could have a tenkeyless or 60% buckling spring keyboard. So a prototype or three were made.
I've made a modular buckling spring switch with a Cherry MX stem. The activation force is between 9-10 loonies, so around 65cN. Travel is 4.0mm. The switch is taller than a Cherry MX, as you can see, but this is a limitation due to the spring height necessary for buckling.
It will hold a 3mm LED. An RGB version could also be made.
The switch can be opened without taking it out of the plate, since the clips are mounted upside-down from a Cherry design. The sound is a bit muted, and a little higher than a Model M, but this is a bare switch without a plate or housing to resonate in.
Now that a working prototype is working, all that's left is to gauge demand and see how much it might cost to produce a few keyboard's worth of switches!
You can see an extra picture and gif here:
https://imgur.com/a/KBHoiTwo close-miked recordings of the switch with a keycap on top. Headphone warning for recording 2 especially.
https://clyp.it/2sy5wnk4https://clyp.it/0ejokeptCheers!