Why did ibm switch from 1 piece keycaps on model fs to two piece ones on the m?

[supamesican]

Yeah, its weird. I would have thought that one piece would have cost less to make. Heck unicomp uses them on custom color caps. So why did ibm change to the two piece caps for the model m?

[fanpeople]

Maybe a selling point ie remove and wash your caps? Maybe it was eaiser for them to print on the two piece shells? Maybe an engineer was feeling fancy?

[Gajible]

Like a lot of things with the Model F to Model M , it was probably cheaper.

[E TwentyNine]

I'd imagine it's a lot cheaper to manufacture keyboards all with the same layout and just the stem part of the key, and have multiple language/legend options added later on a different line.

You can go through all the mechanical tests that the keyboard functions before adding the final caps.

[kalrand]

Having been working with old M's and Model F's for the last few weeks, I actually have begun to appreciate the two piece keycaps.

It means that I can cap and test keys before I have to worry about what exact final layout I'm going to implement. I can only assume that was IBMs conclusion as well. Since keyboards report scancodes based on the position of the key and not "what the letter is", it means they could put keep the same-ness of all the different layout models further in the manufacturing process. Also, for the end user, it would have been easier to wash.

And I honestly can't feel the difference between the two.

I do tend to use my old-IBM keystems whenever I can, but I really don't have a good reason to do it... I just do.

On a separate note, I've always wondered why unicomp doesn't sell the tops and stems separately.

[supamesican]

I only recently learned unicomps aren't one piece, all the keyboards I've used from them were custom and I  guess that means 1 piece caps like my blank black ones

[fohat.digs]

I think that 2-piece keys were part of the desire for complete interchangeabilty, like having one set of internal components for ANSI, ISO, and other layouts. I have never seen a 122-key terminal with an ANSI Enter key, yet it was set up for it from the beginning.

Most of the 1-piece keys that I have seen have been on things like XTs and typewriters that were proprietary units.

[chyros]

The 2-piece caps were likely there for changeability. It can't have been that much cheaper to make them.

It's a really cool feature with very little actual usefulness IMO. I still like it, though. Much better was the uniprofile keys in a bent chassis though, giving both a sculpted profile as well as full interchangeability. Stroke of absolute genuis, that.

[evoman]

I have no logical reason to think so, but I have always liked the two piece caps on my ISO M more than the 1 piece caps on my M13 - so I assumed that the two piece were 'fancier'

[y11971alex]

They can blackmail people who can't touch type by removing the tops

[rowdy]

The 2-piece caps were likely there for changeability. It can't have been that much cheaper to make them.

It's a really cool feature with very little actual usefulness IMO. I still like it, though. Much better was the uniprofile keys in a bent chassis though, giving both a sculpted profile as well as full interchangeability. Stroke of absolute genuis, that.

+1

And the number of different key layouts I've seen on Model Ms, not to mention the variety of different colour keycaps.

Ultimately it would have been cheaper and used less plastic to bulk mold the stems, and then make as many covers out of whatever colour plastic as required.