The Best Way to Implement an Idea: Translucent Keys

[chuckster]

I love the look of translucent keys in old-school movies like Alien and 2001, sort of like this :



Where translucent does not turn into transparent, and the keys are given a milky glow. The lighted keys on my Leo F660cM reminded me of this, since the keys are thin PBT and the LED very strong, which makes much of the key seem to glow outside of the small window. This also showed me the major issue with this on Cherry MX compatible boards is the keycap construction itself, which is clearly shown in this photo:


http://www.maxkeyboard.com/images/detailed/1/clear-translucent-max9-red.jpg

The construction of the key leads to dark spots and kills the effect of the retro glow. I can't see a way around this with MX, so what switch do you guys think would best suit a project like this? I'm shooting for uniform glow over a semi-transparent key to give a warm glow effect that isn't as harsh as typical blacklighting. I know I would have to squeeze the layout together to remedy bleed-through, but that's a secondary concern. I like the theory behind the new Steelseries switch that seems to be a derivative of Topre, but I don't know if that would be better.
 

 

[cheebs]

I also always loved that style of backlighting.  I think it's only going to really work with translucent switch housings, stems, caps and base. That's how it's done in the rubber dome versions anyway.  Then there's the issue of getting the light to shine through all of the hard, thick plastic in mechanical switches. I think it's only really feasible in scissor switch boards like the one you posted.  The one switch that might work well for this I think would be the Matias.

[GenKaan]

Ive been thinking about the same thing, like a frosted PBT cap that is semi transparent. The thing is that you would have to do at least two LED's per cap to make it look like a even glow if not more

[baldgye]

[evangs]

Ive been thinking about the same thing, like a frosted PBT cap that is semi transparent. The thing is that you would have to do at least two LED's per cap to make it look like a even glow if not more

I thought I saw something about leds in the middle of mx switches.  looks like it was kailh switches https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=61944.0

[rowdy]

The one pictures is unlikely to be mechanical - too much variation in the keycap size.

POM keycaps with a white plate might produce something similar.

[Oobly]

The one pictures is unlikely to be mechanical - too much variation in the keycap size.

POM keycaps with a white plate might produce something similar.

Lastpilot's GON NerD Crystal with POM caps:



Another option would be to rub off the coating on some stock OEM backlit keycaps as many of them are milky ABS with black coating. You could first apply some sort of acetone-resistant paint to fill in the legend area that is usually lasered away, wait for it to dry and then go to town with some acetone to wipe off the coating. May also work best with LED's that have had their lenses filed down or rectangular LED's, since they spread the light a bit more.

[TheSoulhunter]

I guess PCB mounted LEDs + a diffusor (as found in LCD panels) as plate will get you close...

[metalliqaz]

This is my Ducky:

[Findecanor]

Some of those coloured lights you see in sci-fi movies are actually relegendable. There is a translucent white base that diffuses the light and then a cap of coloured transparent plastic that snaps on top.

Kailh and Omron have new mechanical key switches with the LED in the centre, but I don't thin they illuminate the whole cap.
A couple of years ago there was a thread about a guy who had made himself a small PCB for each key that was mounted in the LED socket in each Cherry MX switch and with two surface-mounted LEDs to backlight the keys from two sides instead of just one.