Stainless Steel vs Aluminum Plates

[IBNobody]

Can you tell the difference in stability between stainless steel and aluminum?

If I have a 104-key plate with 90 degree bends on the front and back and internal stand-offs sprinkled throughout my sandwich case, will I notice the difference between stainless steel and aluminum?

Will 0.063 aluminum be slightly too thick for Cherry switches to snap into?

I am asking because I am having some buyers remorse. I bought some SS to cut on a waterjet I have access to, but the cost to make a 104-key plate out of SS is much more expensive than to make it out of AL due to the cutting time.

[Spopepro]

Many people will swear there's a difference in rigidity and feel, but I think it's all in their heads. .063 metal of just about any type is actually pretty thick as far as things made out of metal goes. You should be able to snap cherry switches into anything close to that dimension. They are pretty forgiving of tolerances there.

One reason you might want to stick with steel is the bends. Bending aluminum isn't nearly as easy. Typically it requires pressure and a form to keep it from getting brittle at the bend. You can just throw steel on the brake and have at it.

[Leslieann]

The metals have different amounts of give and react differently to impacts (bottoming out), so yes, some people can tell a difference. A lot however depends on the case and how it's mounted.
Personally, bent steel feels dead while thick flat stainless and aluminum feels more alive.

Switches aren't that impacted by not fully snapping into place, there's nothing really trying to pull it back out, however, the lock does provide feedback to tell you when it's seated fully.

[Data]

Cherry's spec for plates:


Tolerance is ±0.004 inch.  So anything in the range 0.056 to 0.064 will work, but I can tell you from experience that 0.063 sheet steel is a tight fit that requires significant persuasion to get the switch to seat fully in the cutout.

[jaffers]

There is also a fairly large difference in feel through the way that the plate absorbs the impact of a keystroke. Especially so with the tactile feedback from a tactile switch and the bottom out for linears

[Leslieann]

Cherry's spec for plates:

Show Image

Tolerance is ±0.004 inch.  So anything in the range 0.056 to 0.064 will work, but I can tell you from experience that 0.063 sheet steel is a tight fit that requires significant persuasion to get the switch to seat fully in the cutout.

0.004 may be within tolerance, but you also have tolerances for the plate, which you leave no room for, hence a tight fit.

[Data]

Cherry's spec for plates:

Show Image

Tolerance is ±0.004 inch.  So anything in the range 0.056 to 0.064 will work, but I can tell you from experience that 0.063 sheet steel is a tight fit that requires significant persuasion to get the switch to seat fully in the cutout.

0.004 may be within tolerance, but you also have tolerances for the plate, which you leave no room for, hence a tight fit.

Isn't that what I said?

[duynguyenle]

Cherry's spec for plates:

Show Image

Tolerance is ±0.004 inch.  So anything in the range 0.056 to 0.064 will work, but I can tell you from experience that 0.063 sheet steel is a tight fit that requires significant persuasion to get the switch to seat fully in the cutout.

0.004 may be within tolerance, but you also have tolerances for the plate, which you leave no room for, hence a tight fit.

Isn't that what I said?

No he meant the plate itself will have a manufacturing tolerance which on the upper end, may exceed Cherry's range of tolerance for the plate. As a general rule of thumb, if a manufacturer is selling you 0.063 inch plates, in reality it will be something like 0.063 +/- 0.005 or something (made up the number, but it's within reason).

As you can see, on the upper end of the tolerance range, the plate could come in as thick as 0.068 inch, which is out of spec.