cutting plate for compatability?

[Jixr]

Hi all, so i have a board with a modular layout and plate that accepts different layouts, but one big PITA thing is when i want to change from a 7x to 6.25x spacebar, I have to desolder the entire board.

I was thinking about using my dremel to cut out the spacebar area, and that would allow me to swap spacebars without fully desoldering, and was also thinking about doing the same on some of the other stabilized keys.

My main worry is burning out the traces and damaging the pcb from constant soldering.

[jdcarpe]

I'm not quite following. Why do you have to desolder the entire board to use a different spacebar switch? Are these different plates?

[E3E]

I'm not quite following. Why do you have to desolder the entire board to use a different spacebar switch? Are these different plates?

It's typically because of the way space bar stabilizer wire is placed under the plate when using Cherry stabs, especially in Korean custom boards, but certainly not limited to them. If you have got some small tools, you can finagle the wire out by desoldering the row directly above the wire to gain a little bit off access, but it's really not that easy or fun to do. 

This makes it hard to replace the wire with a shorter or longer length. The area between the mounting area for the stabs and the switches is usually separated.

Personally, I'd say you could take a dremel to it and it'd still work fine and be just as stable.

[trenzafeeds]

I'm not quite following. Why do you have to desolder the entire board to use a different spacebar switch? Are these different plates?

stabs

Edit: **** you E

[Jixr]

yeah, sorry, the spacebar stabilizers are the issue, while my plate allows for opening switch tops and multiple layouts, changing any of the stabilized switches requires a  full desolder if I want to change that key to something else ( like ansi to iso enter ) etc.

[jdcarpe]

Ah yeah, the stabilizer wire. I usually just try to snap it out of the inserts and work it out. Then pop out the inserts from the PCB, and get the wire out from between the plate and PCB. Then do the same in reverse to install the new ones. As E3E said, it's a huge PITA, but better than desoldering every switch.

[Jixr]

I really prefer to just run plateless, but the pcb is so floppy and the case sucks and has way too much flex in it.

[E3E]

I really prefer to just run plateless, but the pcb is so floppy and the case sucks and has way too much flex in it.

Wouldn't it be interesting if there was a way of putting a "bottom plate" that could stabilize the PCB from the underside so that a top side plate wouldn't be necessary?

If that'd be possible, it'd be pretty amazing. Maybe with a few screws to anchor it to the PCB. I think that might actually do it.

[trenzafeeds]

I really prefer to just run plateless, but the pcb is so floppy and the case sucks and has way too much flex in it.

Wouldn't it be interesting if there was a way of putting a "bottom plate" that could stabilize the PCB from the underside so that a top side plate wouldn't be necessary?

If that'd be possible, it'd be pretty amazing.

switches would need to be built differently. The point of current plates is that they hold the body of the switch.

[E3E]

I really prefer to just run plateless, but the pcb is so floppy and the case sucks and has way too much flex in it.

Wouldn't it be interesting if there was a way of putting a "bottom plate" that could stabilize the PCB from the underside so that a top side plate wouldn't be necessary?

If that'd be possible, it'd be pretty amazing.

switches would need to be built differently. The point of current plates is that they hold the body of the switch.

Yes, but Cherry MX has PCB-mounted switches for a reason.

[trenzafeeds]

I really prefer to just run plateless, but the pcb is so floppy and the case sucks and has way too much flex in it.

Wouldn't it be interesting if there was a way of putting a "bottom plate" that could stabilize the PCB from the underside so that a top side plate wouldn't be necessary?

If that'd be possible, it'd be pretty amazing.

switches would need to be built differently. The point of current plates is that they hold the body of the switch.

Yes, but Cherry MX has PCB-mounted switches for a reason.

those are still little flimsy things sticking off the bottom of the plate holding it on instead of the actual body. What would be rad is a switch with contacts on the sides of the body, so you could have a PCB that held the switches at the sides of the body. This would require a lot of reworking in terms of design, but if it worked would allow for combo pcb-plates that would be rad. If the contacts clipped in somehow, you could even do hotswappable. Only problem would be leds.

[E3E]

I really prefer to just run plateless, but the pcb is so floppy and the case sucks and has way too much flex in it.

Wouldn't it be interesting if there was a way of putting a "bottom plate" that could stabilize the PCB from the underside so that a top side plate wouldn't be necessary?

If that'd be possible, it'd be pretty amazing.

switches would need to be built differently. The point of current plates is that they hold the body of the switch.

Yes, but Cherry MX has PCB-mounted switches for a reason.

those are still little flimsy things sticking off the bottom of the plate holding it on instead of the actual body. What would be rad is a switch with contacts on the sides of the body, so you could have a PCB that held the switches at the sides of the body. This would require a lot of reworking in terms of design, but if it worked would allow for combo pcb-plates that would be rad. If the contacts clipped in somehow, you could even do hotswappable. Only problem would be leds.

Haha, yeah. Cherry MX is such an old design, but it's a very loved design, so I don't think we'll be seeing any replacements any time soon. Your ideas are crazy, but I dig em! Actually, you know, when a switch is soldered in with LEDs, it actually becomes very stable with the LEDs acting as a pretty good anchor together with two switch pins anchoring the back down. Add the PCB mount legs to that, and I think it'd be pretty solid!

I'm definitely curious about the GMK QMX clips that are supposed to really dampen the sound of Cherry switches, but they only work on PCB-mounted switches.

[Jixr]

yeah, honestly it wouldn't be too difficult to make a pcb mount 'plate' just make a normal plate, make sure the stablizer's have space, and bolt it down so the pcb is sandwiched between the plate and case. the pcb ( redscarf ) is so then its about as plyable as thick card stock.

I have two of the boards, one with a plate, the one without i had to stuff the under side of the pcb with material to help keep out the flex, but that ruins the underside LED lighting feature.