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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: RudyTheThird on Tue, 20 April 2021, 20:51:12
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Hey Everybody,
I recently purchased a 4mm brass plate from iLumkb, and was wondering if I will need to make any modifications to ensure all the components work together. I've read a few things saying that a thicker brass plate, especially 4mm, might have issues with the switches and pcb. Was planning on using a Tofu60 and DZ60 with Durock stabilizers and Tealios V2. If you think there might be any problems, please let me know as I'd like to avoid ordering all the parts and have to figure out something doesn't work after arrival. Appreciate any help.
Sincerely,
Rudy
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4mm? is a laser cutted plate? i don't think this will work :(
mx switches are made for 1,5mm plate.
if you increase the thickness the switch won't properly "hook"
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I haven't seen the picture with the back side right, but it looks like CNC machining, not laser cutting.
Brass is a material that is surprisingly difficult to process. Compatibility problems can arise with some microscopically oversized switches.
This is because thin end mills are not used to reduce manufacturing costs. Brass has a higher processing cost compared to aluminum.
For example, in gateron ink, etc. Of course I may be wrong because I haven't actually seen it.
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Looking at the price it's not even double their standard brass plate and it doesn't say it's machined which is a selling point so would surely be mentioned or pictured - to me it's a flat plate. That means the switches won't clip in and you will have to make sure each one is firmly pressed in before soldering it to the PCB meaning the build will take longer than when using a standard plate.
A thick plate means no hotswap and PCB mounted stabilisers so your parts list looks good to me, assuming Tealios aren't known to be big (I'm out of touch with the endless switch options available today)
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4mm? is a laser cutted plate? i don't think this will work :(
mx switches are made for 1,5mm plate.
if you increase the thickness the switch won't properly "hook"
4mm does still work, but you do need to keep the switch in place while soldering. The max plate thickness you can use is 5mm.
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mx switches are made for 1,5mm plate.
It only needs to be 1.5 mm where the clips are located so that MX switches will clip in.
It is hard to tell without an image of the bottom side on ilumkb's page (https://ilumkb.com/collections/pcb-and-plate/products/in-stock-tyl-4mm-plate) but when I look carefully it looks to me like it is actually machined with dents in these areas so that switches should latch properly.
It apparently made for PCB-mounted stabilisers, so that shouldn't be an issue.
Switches could also be press-fitted with the snaps permanently pressed in ... but with tray mount (plate held up by switches) I would be afraid of it sliding down.
Personally, I would skip the plate altogether, but that's my preference.
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It's going to depend on the PCB used.
If anything is mounted on top, it will NOT work, as mentioned there is only about 1mm clearance and any SMD parts will reach that far, much less any through hole. Yes, most parts are on the bottom, but not always and not always everything.
Another consideration is your switches will not hold themselves in very well since there's no bottom edge for them to clip onto Yes, they need 1.5 or more, but there is actually a maximum as well as minimum thickness for that reason. Granted it doesn't do much for retaining switches once soldered but it;s much more impoertant if hot swap. There could be if it was machined, but there will NOT be if it is simply laser cut. Stabs will also be problematic with this if they're plate mount. You will require pcb mounted stabs.