Sound dampening between the plate and PCB?

[phorx]

I’ve been doing a little reading on sound dampening and one of my search hits pointed me to someone that had applied sound dampening to the underside of their switch plate.  See here: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=92284.msg2520173#msg2520173

I’ve not seen this approach before, but it seems interesting for cutting out the ‘ping’ on bottoming out.  How common is this method?  Are there any concerns with it getting too close to the PCB?

[tp4tissue]

Difference in LOUDNESS is minimal,

It only changes the "texture" of the sound a bit. reducing reverberation

[Puddsy]

Difference in LOUDNESS is minimal,

It only changes the "texture" of the sound a bit. reducing reverberation

can't believe i'm saying this, but tp4 is correct

[xondat]

How common is this method?  Are there any concerns with it getting too close to the PCB?

Not very common, I've seen it probably 2/3 times. It's non-conducting (you'd hope), so it's most likely touching, without problems.

tp4 is right though. I don't think I could tell a difference in one of my full metal boards, so YMMV. Sound dynamics in keyboards are basically still a mystery.

[captsis]

honestly your best bet would probably be to just get a plastic/acrylic case. All of the click and clack but none of the clang if your picking up what im putting down 

[nogoodnames444]

honestly your best bet would probably be to just get a plastic/acrylic case. All of the click and clack but none of the clang if your picking up what im putting down 

Also plastic sounds more full because it doesn't ping or anything

[Hyde]

That's a bit over kill and to get between plate and pcb you'd have to desolder everything (or do it before you build it).

If you use metal case you likely will not notice much difference, but if you have plastic case it will make quite a bit of difference.

I'd recommend doing this:  https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=47224.0

Stuffing inside with drawer liner removes interior noise and putting matt on the bottom between keyboard and desk removes desk echo.

It's fairly easy to do and you can buy those sheets from dollar store.  Also easily reversible if you don't like it.

[phorx]

That's a bit over kill and to get between plate and pcb you'd have to desolder everything (or do it before you build it).

If you use metal case you likely will not notice much difference, but if you have plastic case it will make quite a bit of difference.

I'd recommend doing this:  https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=47224.0

Stuffing inside with drawer liner removes interior noise and putting matt on the bottom between keyboard and desk removes desk echo.

It's fairly easy to do and you can buy those sheets from dollar store.  Also easily reversible if you don't like it.

I was thinking of maybe using a self-adhesive sheet of sorbothane ( probably .10” or .25” thick ) and using the plate as a template for the holes.  All done pre-build of course.  I’m not sure how I’d punch out the holes neatly though, since I don’t have a fancy shop or anything.

[eksuen]

Regular packaging Styrofoam has worked well for me. I make sure it's thick enough to fill the gap between the PCB and case bottom (i.e. makes contact with PCB and the case when assembled) and cut out holes for screw posts, protruding components, etc.