geekhack
geekhack Projects => Making Stuff Together! => Topic started by: IonutZ on Sun, 06 October 2013, 12:54:25
-
Does the QFR use a PCB or Plate? I'm looking to get some replacement Cherry switches for it but I don't know whether I need the Plate Mount (without pins) or the PCB Mount (with pins) for it?
Thanks
-
Does the QFR use a PCB or Plate? I'm looking to get some replacement Cherry switches for it but I don't know whether I need the Plate Mount (without pins) or the PCB Mount (with pins) for it?
Thanks
Both. It has both a PCB as well as a Plate.
-
You can't only have a plate :P
But what I think the OP meant was are the switches plate mounted or PCB mounted, then answer is, they are plate mounted.
-
You can't only have a plate :P
But what I think the OP meant was are the switches plate mounted or PCB mounted, then answer is, they are plate mounted.
Direct wiring.
-
I doubt CM would sell a direct wired keyboard, I really do.
-
I think the only keyboards with no PCB are DIY.
@IonutZ, If you get PCB-mount switches for the QFR, you will have to trim the pins off, or swap the bases with the PCB mount that come with the QFR.
-
a direct wired production keyboard would be hilarious, but would also cost a million dollars. all production keyboards have electrical wiring a proper FR-4 PCB. the major thing that varies between the pcbs vended by the different keyboard manufacturers is the amount of copper (very little is needed to carry signal, but a more copper and more fiberglass means that the pcb is more rigid and provides more support to the switches. additionally, PCB circuits can have anywhere from 1 to 8 layers. inter-layer communication is carried over something called a via (which is what the company VIA is actually named after -- fun fact!) which is just a metallized hole in a layer that connects to a trace on another layer. the maximum number of layers you would ever need on a cherry PCB is basically 2. if you're using more than that you're basically doing it wrong. topre PCBs are almost all 4-layer pcbs, but then again, they are capacitive, which is very very tricky to work out electrically, and they have no metal plates.
almost all production cherry or cherry-like boards these days use metal plates and the corresponding plate-mount cherry switches (although note that pcb-mount switches are fully plate-compatible, they just have extra studs to further attach themselves mechanically to the PCB. the plate thickness of a cherry switch is fixed at 0.06", or about 16 gauge in imperial sheet measurement terms. however, the material is completely open, and some keyboards have aluminum plates (NOT rigid, extremely flexible until you get to aerospace grade aluminum alloys), mild annealed steel (the least rigid of all steels, and what ducky tends to use), high carbon steels (which i'm not aware of anyone using) or stainless steel (i can confirm that most if not all of the CM Storm quickfire series uses a stainless steel alloy for their plates). i've written briefly about how solid i feel the CM storm stainless plates are. i also think the red powdercoated one looks BOSS. that said, like levar burton would say, "you don't have take my word on it.. take a look, it's in a book reading rainbow!"
ok it's a keyboard not a book, but you get the idea.
-
What would be cool is a socket-mount switch, where you can just unplug a switch from the PCB rather than unsoldering it.
-
I would think most Realforce keyboards use a metal mounting plate. But then, of course, I have only seen the Swedish layout ones. The happy hacking has the sliders/slider mounts fitted directly into the plastic case. Other than that I have nothing to add.
-
What would be cool is a socket-mount switch, where you can just unplug a switch from the PCB rather than unsoldering it.
Someone in China prototyped this, I can't find the thread right now.
-
its actually quite an experience to desolder and solder new switches. most problems can be solved easily. Might be quite a tedious process but its quite fun actually!
-
I did this to my QFR, as long as you are okay with a solder iron you should be fine.