Help Identifying Keycap Profile

[alfa_lima_echo_xray]

Hello all,

Hoping someone with a more experienced eye for keycap profiles can give me a hand

The shape and size of the color-coded keycaps pictured below are what I'm trying to replicate. I've worked out that this keyboard uses cherry mx black switches and that the keycaps are PBT. The keycaps are nearly flat on top as opposed to angled back, and all five rows are the same height more or less

The black keycaps in the comparison photos are the stock ABS keycaps off of a new Quickfire Rapid, I'm assuming these would be called OEM profile, correct? Obviously these two are really different profiles and they feel really different.

What would I call the profile on the color-coded caps to locate some black or white PBT caps with the same feel?

[FrostyToast]

They look like they are all the same row.
Possibly row 2 of something similar to DCS.

[jdcarpe]

They appear to be uniform F-row profile. They look to be slightly lower in profile than OEM, maybe similar to Cherry or SP's DCS? Hard to tell for sure.

[alfa_lima_echo_xray]

Thats a really interesting thought, hadn't even considered it was a custom set...

So running with that, it looks like the number row in the comparison is about the closest in size, between the ABS OEM and the color-coded PBT, with the PBT cap being slightly smaller.

Seems totally plausible that they're all the shape of say, the number row or F row of a Cherry or DCS profile maybe.

Thanks so much for the input guys!

Has anyone seen a flat (non-sculpted) pbt keycap set like this for sale before... or is this kind of a unicorn that I'm trying to copy?

[FrostyToast]

Thats a really interesting thought, hadn't even considered it was a custom set...

So running with that, it looks like the number row in the comparison is about the closest in size, between the ABS OEM and the color-coded PBT, with the PBT cap being slightly smaller.

Seems totally plausible that they're all the shape of say, the number row or F row of a Cherry or DCS profile maybe.

Thanks so much for the input guys!

Has anyone seen a flat (non-sculpted) pbt keycap set like this for sale before... or is this kind of a unicorn that I'm trying to copy?

Not to that height.
I have only seen DSA in PBT non sculpted

[Oobly]

Looks like all Row E Cherry / Row 1 DCS profile.

It's unusual. I haven't seen any like that myself.

All Row 3 DSA is the only other "flat" PBT set type I have seen.

[IvanIvanovich]

I agree it looks like R1 SP DCS. They did it the same on older Deck/TG3 boards and a few other older video editing specialist boards I have seen. It's also common on matrix type boards like those from Access-IS.

[alfa_lima_echo_xray]

Yup, look at that! The Deck Legend did the flat keycaps (as in the top pic), even while the Plum board looked to use the same casing but traditional sculpted profile keycaps





I think you brought the context to it, Ivan... it definitely seems that it was mainly specialist video/audio editing boards (of which my source keyboard would be considered) as well as custom POS boards that used this sort of flat profile... very often in conjunction with the heavier mx black switches.

Naturally other than that, it seems to be pretty uncommon on anything aimed at typists.

Thanks again for all the input and info guys! Appreciate it

[jacobolus]

The shape and size of the color-coded keycaps pictured below are what I'm trying to replicate.

Why do you want to replicate a uniform profile? Personally, I wouldn’t recommend it. Keycaps are sculpted for a reason.

If you must have something uniform, uniform Cherry/DCS home row profile would be better to type on than uniform number row profile. With this one, your fingers are going to collide with nearby keys whenever you try to press a key the top 2–3 rows.

[Oobly]

The shape and size of the color-coded keycaps pictured below are what I'm trying to replicate.

Why do you want to replicate a uniform profile? Personally, I wouldn’t recommend it. Keycaps are sculpted for a reason.

If you must have something uniform, uniform Cherry/DCS home row profile would be better to type on than uniform number row profile. With this one, your fingers are going to collide with nearby keys whenever you try to press a key the top 2–3 rows.

Only if you type with REALLY flat hands and don't move your hands when reaching for upper rows, like you should be doing....

Here are some nightmare caps for you, then, jacobolus


I find flat profiles to be fine to type on and I suspect many people who have used a laptop are also used to flat profiles, even though a sculptured profile is a little better ergonomically.

DSA is an interesting case, however, since some people seem to have difficulty typing on it, which I suspect is due to the smaller keycap tops which make it harder to find the keys you want by touch.

[jacobolus]

I find flat profiles to be fine to type on and I suspect many people who have used a laptop are also used to flat profiles, [...] DSA is an interesting case, however, since some people seem to have difficulty typing on it, which I suspect is due to the smaller keycap tops

Note, the profile in the OP has a negative step from row to row.

Laptop keys only have 1–2mm of travel, which makes a tremendous difference here.

The small tops of DSA are better than larger keytops would be, on an entirely flat uniform key profile, because they provide a bit of extra clearance for the finger between keys.

[alfa_lima_echo_xray]

Probably should have mentioned, the keyboard in my original post is in fact my every day, hours on end keyboard at work. Whether you recommend it or not, I'm using that uniform profile already.

I can assure you from hands on experience that there are no collisions. It is a really really comfortable keyboard to type on, even for lengths of time. On top of that, the feel is really aesthetically pleasing to work on.

I'd recommend you try one out yourself to see for yourself, but it seems those caps are made of unobtanium at this point, short of a fully custom order.

Thanks again for all the input guys!

[jacobolus]

If you don’t care about the legends, it’s pretty easy to put together a set of caps like that, at least for the 1x1 keys. You need maybe 3 full sets of keycaps in a typical OEM/DCS/Cherry profile (of a type where the F row and number row are the same), and then you can just take the number row and F row caps and distribute them over the rest of the keyboard. Larger stabilized keys might be tough though. For instance, Signature Plastics doesn’t even make any shapes larger than 1x2 in row 1 profile DCS.

It’s certainly possible to type on keycaps like that. Almost nobody is going to consider it “really really comfortable” though, in comparison to more typical profiles. As for “aesthetically pleasing”.... well, there’s no accounting for taste.

[alfa_lima_echo_xray]

Got it, Thanks again for all your help Jacobolus!