Author Topic: Dampening Foam Suggestion For Underglow Keyboard  (Read 3115 times)

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Offline candy800419

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Dampening Foam Suggestion For Underglow Keyboard
« on: Tue, 15 October 2019, 23:15:52 »
I'm building my first keyboard. I've searched around where a lot of people suggest using neoprene foam to dampen the keyboard typing.
However, the keyboard I'm trying to build will have underglow with clear/milky case.
Is there such thing as "clear foam" you can use to silent the keyboard a little? If not, is there other suggestions on how to mod it?
I already plan on using a desk mat, so I'm specifically looking for in-case mods.
Thanks!

Offline Findecanor

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Re: Dampening Foam Suggestion For Underglow Keyboard
« Reply #1 on: Wed, 16 October 2019, 07:01:04 »
Clear? No. When clear plastic gets foamed, the product looks white. There is packing foam like that.

Is it a 60% in a standard Poker-compatible tray-style case? Then the PCB will be screwed to standoffs: instead of using foam, you could put rubber O-rings on the standoffs.

Or is it a PCB suspended from a plate? Then foam won't do much, as most vibrations will be transmitted through the plate and not the PCB.

Another silencing mod people do is to put foam between plate and PCB (3.5 mm), but it is more work cutting holes for all switches and I dunno how much effect it will have compared to the other methods.
In any case, underglow/sideglow is around the perimeter. You could perhaps use a smaller rectangle of white foam inside that perimeter, and the white sides of the foam will reflect the light.
🍉

Offline candy800419

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Re: Dampening Foam Suggestion For Underglow Keyboard
« Reply #2 on: Wed, 16 October 2019, 15:28:37 »
This is the case I'm thinking about using, along with the XD60/XD64. https://kprepublic.com/collections/case/products/xd60-xd64-xiudi-60-aluminum-case-with-acrylic-diffuser
I can try putting foam between plate and PCB, but like you said, it's a lot more work and not sure if the effect is worth the time and effort.
Have you tried shelf liner between plate and PCB? I'd assume that would be less work in terms of cutting holes, and allow backlight LED to shine through if I decide to add those.
Does shelf liner sound really different than foam?