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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: Piotr Dobrogost on Fri, 18 October 2013, 06:30:24

Title: Are there smaller version of standard (Cherry MX type) key switches?
Post by: Piotr Dobrogost on Fri, 18 October 2013, 06:30:24: I'm working on adding extra, smaller keys to the keyboard (see http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=48615.0;topicseen (http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=48615.0;topicseen)) and thus I need smaller version of standard key switches (by standard I mean Cherry MX type of switches).

Do you know any such smaller version?
Title: Re: Are there smaller version of standard (Cherry MX type) key switches?
Post by: SpAmRaY on Fri, 18 October 2013, 06:32:37: All cherry mx switches have the same size footprint as far as I know.
Title: Re: Are there smaller version of standard (Cherry MX type) key switches?
Post by: BlueBär on Fri, 18 October 2013, 06:49:14: Spamray is correct, all Cherry MX switches have the same size. You could maybe use some Cherry microswitches though.
Title: Re: Are there smaller version of standard (Cherry MX type) key switches?
Post by: Findecanor on Fri, 18 October 2013, 06:52:17: Cherry MX switches can not be smaller. But they can be larger. There are some rare types with longer key stems
Title: Re: Are there smaller version of standard (Cherry MX type) key switches?
Post by: BlueBär on Fri, 18 October 2013, 07:09:40: Quote from: Findecanor on Fri, 18 October 2013, 06:52:17
Cherry MX switches can not be smaller. But they can be larger. There are some rare types with longer key stems

Hmm if you are referring to the MX-M8 adapters, I think the stem is only about a millimeter larger, but yes, those exist.
Title: Re: Are there smaller version of standard (Cherry MX type) key switches?
Post by: Piotr Dobrogost on Fri, 25 October 2013, 17:12:16: Quote from: BlueBär on Fri, 18 October 2013, 06:49:14
Spamray is correct, all Cherry MX switches have the same size. You could maybe use some Cherry microswitches though.

Well, microswitches is what I used in the first prototype but they have totally different characteristics from "standard" keyboard switches - they are much stiffer and have very short travel distance.
Title: Re: Are there smaller version of standard (Cherry MX type) key switches?
Post by: davkol on Fri, 25 October 2013, 17:39:10: Just a crazy idea... what if you put a membrane over the PCB with MX switches? You could get another layer this way... with say spring-over-membrane "switches".
Title: Re: Are there smaller version of standard (Cherry MX type) key switches?
Post by: epiphany on Fri, 25 October 2013, 20:10:35: What about Cherry ML switches? Those are a little smaller. I'm not sure that they are small enough for what you're working on, however.