[The Eraser Mod]: Reduces/Eliminates the plate ping

[KHAANNN]

Issue: Keyboard plates that produce a ping/resonation sound on bottom outs, loud enough to overtake the switch sounds
Detection: Knock on the keyboard, if it pings, likely the plate isn't secured enough
Possible causes: Aluminium plates, thin plates, flimsy soldering, misfortune
Eraser Mod: De-solder 6-8 switches throughout the board, insert sliced eraser pieces that are just slightly thicker than the pcb/plate distance wherever you can, don't damage the diodes
Why it works: These eraser pieces increase the pressure between the plate and the pcb, makes the plate push on the switches from downwards, connect the plate to both the pcb and most of the switches, increase force absorption, let the pcb and switches absorb bottom out forces, rather than cause them to dissipate on the plate and cause ping sounds
Practical: Erasers are easy to find, easy to slice, re-soldering 6-8 switches is simpler than desoldering the entire pcb/plate and apply a more permanent/harder fix
Beware: Too much pressure might cause the solders to give up in the long run, so choose the eraser that isn't too hard, yet it shouldn't be too soft either, it should be ~1mm thicker than the pcb/plate distance, so it will pressure the pcb/plate, but doesn't cause any issues



(I only desoldered one additional switch while modding, the remainders were the switches that I was already replacing with better ones)

Keep in Mind: This doesn't completely prevent the ping, yet reduces it to manageable levels, using o-rings with the keycaps also helps a lot, as it reduces the bottom out force, if the plate pings for 2 seconds audibly for example, this method might reduce it to 0.5seconds and mellow it out, so it stops becoming an issue

After applying this method and using o-rings, I managed to eliminate the ping on my WASD V2 with green switches, keep in mind that heavy bottom outs are the cause of the issue and it's not an issue specific to WASD's, I've been inspecting plated keyboards, they more or less use the same plate in a similar way, the mechanical differences are mostly aesthetical, the ping becomes an issue as the plate grows and the bottom outs get harder, so with this logic, 60% keyboards might resonate much less and not cause pings etc.

[SpAmRaY]

 What if you shoved orings in there?

[KHAANNN]

What if you shoved orings in there?

Nope

[SpAmRaY]

What if you shoved orings in there?

Nope

I'm 99% sure I've seen that before putting orings between PCB and plate.

[Joey Quinn]

What if you shoved orings in there?

Nope

I'm 99% sure I've seen that before putting orings between PCB and plate.

+1

[spiceBar]

Issue: Keyboard plates that produce a ping/resonation sound on bottom outs, loud enough to overtake the switch sounds
Detection: Knock on the keyboard, if it pings, likely the plate isn't secured enough
Possible causes: Aluminium plates, thin plates, flimsy soldering, misfortune
Eraser Mod: De-solder 6-8 switches throughout the board, insert sliced eraser pieces that are just slightly thicker than the pcb/plate distance wherever you can, don't damage the diodes
Why it works: These eraser pieces increase the pressure between the plate and the pcb, makes the plate push on the switches from downwards, connect the plate to both the pcb and most of the switches, increase force absorption, let the pcb and switches absorb bottom out forces, rather than cause them to dissipate on the plate and cause ping sounds
Practical: Erasers are easy to find, easy to slice, re-soldering 6-8 switches is simpler than desoldering the entire pcb/plate and apply a more permanent/harder fix
Beware: Too much pressure might cause the solders to give up in the long run, so choose the eraser that isn't too hard, yet it shouldn't be too soft either, it should be ~1mm thicker than the pcb/plate distance, so it will pressure the pcb/plate, but doesn't cause any issues

(Attachment Link)
(Attachment Link)
(I only desoldered one additional switch while modding, the remainders were the switches that I was already replacing with better ones)

Keep in Mind: This doesn't completely prevent the ping, yet reduces it to manageable levels, using o-rings with the keycaps also helps a lot, as it reduces the bottom out force, if the plate pings for 2 seconds audibly for example, this method might reduce it to 0.5seconds and mellow it out, so it stops becoming an issue

After applying this method and using o-rings, I managed to eliminate the ping on my WASD V2 with green switches, keep in mind that heavy bottom outs are the cause of the issue and it's not an issue specific to WASD's, I've been inspecting plated keyboards, they more or less use the same plate in a similar way, the mechanical differences are mostly aesthetical, the ping becomes an issue as the plate grows and the bottom outs get harder, so with this logic, 60% keyboards might resonate much less and not cause pings etc.

Very interesting idea. I had thought about inserting long stripes of rubber by force, horizontally, between the place and the PCB, but I had no idea how to do it.

I have never heard about a better solution than yours, at least in theory. I'll have to try it. I'll report when I have done it.

@spamray: Huh? How do you use the O-rings between the plate and the PCB? Just curious.

[KHAANNN]

Just make sure you select nice points to apply pressure, and the inserted erasers actually apply pressure, it wouldn't work if they are too thin, too narrow, they should at least slightly nudge the pcb, but not too much to cause a solder-break, "barely insertable" might be a nice standard, also choose an eraser that doesn't get torn apart easily, in that aspect, my choice of pelikan was not too ideal, yet pelikan is a nice eraser, good enough for the task, a more plasticy eraser would be better for the mod

It's also a nice idea to test the pcb resonance by hand after each insertion and log the improvements, you will see that many insertions are needed, it's not very easy to prevent the plate pinging, the spacebar, arrow-key/controller area, F-keys, F1, ScrLk, G, E, P, Insert might be nice insertion points

In the end the ping is still there, yet it should be much lower and short-living enough to be not-hearable

After this mod and this one: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=70182 the ping is not an issue for me anymore, the remainder of the imperfections just blend in with the sound of the keys, even in a silent room

It would also be harder to insert erasers before soldering the switches, the already soldered switches help in this aspect

[SpAmRaY]

Issue: Keyboard plates that produce a ping/resonation sound on bottom outs, loud enough to overtake the switch sounds
Detection: Knock on the keyboard, if it pings, likely the plate isn't secured enough
Possible causes: Aluminium plates, thin plates, flimsy soldering, misfortune
Eraser Mod: De-solder 6-8 switches throughout the board, insert sliced eraser pieces that are just slightly thicker than the pcb/plate distance wherever you can, don't damage the diodes
Why it works: These eraser pieces increase the pressure between the plate and the pcb, makes the plate push on the switches from downwards, connect the plate to both the pcb and most of the switches, increase force absorption, let the pcb and switches absorb bottom out forces, rather than cause them to dissipate on the plate and cause ping sounds
Practical: Erasers are easy to find, easy to slice, re-soldering 6-8 switches is simpler than desoldering the entire pcb/plate and apply a more permanent/harder fix
Beware: Too much pressure might cause the solders to give up in the long run, so choose the eraser that isn't too hard, yet it shouldn't be too soft either, it should be ~1mm thicker than the pcb/plate distance, so it will pressure the pcb/plate, but doesn't cause any issues

(Attachment Link)
(Attachment Link)
(I only desoldered one additional switch while modding, the remainders were the switches that I was already replacing with better ones)

Keep in Mind: This doesn't completely prevent the ping, yet reduces it to manageable levels, using o-rings with the keycaps also helps a lot, as it reduces the bottom out force, if the plate pings for 2 seconds audibly for example, this method might reduce it to 0.5seconds and mellow it out, so it stops becoming an issue

After applying this method and using o-rings, I managed to eliminate the ping on my WASD V2 with green switches, keep in mind that heavy bottom outs are the cause of the issue and it's not an issue specific to WASD's, I've been inspecting plated keyboards, they more or less use the same plate in a similar way, the mechanical differences are mostly aesthetical, the ping becomes an issue as the plate grows and the bottom outs get harder, so with this logic, 60% keyboards might resonate much less and not cause pings etc.

Very interesting idea. I had thought about inserting long stripes of rubber by force, horizontally, between the place and the PCB, but I had no idea how to do it.

I have never heard about a better solution than yours, at least in theory. I'll have to try it. I'll report when I have done it.

@spamray: Huh? How do you use the O-rings between the plate and the PCB? Just curious.

I've not done it personally but I've seen it somewhere around here.

Here was one link using a type of rubber band http://www.otd.kr/data/file/pj_356/2105777654_958acd14_DCS_7620.jpg

Also that was found here https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=53942.msg1354232#msg1354232 not exactly what I was thinking but still some more dampening ideas.

And I do think somewhere I saw where someone cut up some orings and put them between the pcb and plate but can't seem to find it now.


Back to the OP this does seem like a novel idea since you don't have to desolder everything.

[KHAANNN]

Obviously o-rings would achieve the same task, yet they would have to be large enough to cover the entire switch, and slim enough to allow the plate to be pressed, and applied while the board is being built

If I was building a board, I would try to find rubber pieces like spiceBar mentioned, or cut them from something, it would be pretty hard to close the plate/pcb tho

[KHAANNN]

Thanks for the links spamray, they are very inspirational, especially the first one

For the plate holder rods, I use variations of this one: http://www.amazon.com/Saunders-Removable-Adhesive-Putty-99683/dp/B0000AQODM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1426994493&sr=8-2&keywords=tack+it - I just apply it onto the rod, it gets squeezed when the plate gets on

I also buy 2-3 packs of tack-it's, and just fill the entire case with tack-it's, it's easy, cheap-ish, and it really adds to the bulk of the keyboard

Yet, my case mods always turned out to be ineffective, they just make it harder for me to remove the pcb/plate, they might also be improving the general sound quality of the keyboard, but I haven't noticed, so I don't think the issue is ever the keyboard case, at least with bulky keyboards like KUL/WASD/KBP etc.

The case rods directly support/touch the plate from underneath, but they are obviously not enough to absorb the bottom out forces, o-rings, or general rubber material seems like a much better option now for the case mods, specifically between the rods and the plate, I should open up and re-mod the case sometime

[Oobly]

This is a good way to prevent plate resonance. Good job.