As a peripheral that everyone needs to use in daily codewords and game entertainment, the keyboard is one of the peripherals we usually contact with the most frequently. In fact, the role it plays can be large or small, some players may feel that buying a keyboard for dozens of dollars can be saved, and some players need to buy a mechanical keyboard with hundreds of thousands to meet the demand.
But this is not the end, the development of the domestic keyboard circle makes many players more and more demanding on the keyboard, and even need a full range of mechanical keyboards suitable for themselves. How can I fit myself in every way? So there is a customized keyboard, then what is a customized mechanical keyboard, customized interpretation is "customization", equivalent to "customization", can also be said to be the DIY of the keyboard.
Kit housing
A keyboard is composed of a keyboard kit (shell + PCB board + positioning board, etc.), key axes and keycaps, the most important of which is the shell and PCB board, the shell as the façade of the mechanical keyboard, but also determines the value of your customized keyboard. However, it also needs to be paired with keycaps to make the shape look better. In general, the white shell is suitable for matching light-colored keycaps, while the black shell is suitable for matching dark keycaps, and the colored keycaps are suitable for matching keycaps of the same color. However, in terms of design like this, it is still a matter of opinion, because the most beautiful design style in the minds of each player is definitely different.
PCB board
PcB board, also known as circuit board, is the core of the entire keyboard exchange data, such as we often say hot plug function, that is, the keyboard shaft body can be directly inserted into the PCB board. PCB board is also connected to the external computer parts, generally can be divided into wired connection and wireless connection (Bluetooth connection + 2.4G wireless receiver), PCB board is also responsible for the keyboard RGB lighting effect, the cheap kits on the market are not supported RGB lighting effects, and slightly better or slightly more expensive kits will be welded on the PCB board RGB lamp beads, more expensive can also be through the linkage with the driver software to achieve custom adjustment of lighting effects.
In addition, the kit will also have positioning plates, sound insulation cotton and other components, the former role is to stabilize the shaft body, so that the shaft body will not produce a sense of shaking during use, but also protect the PCB board. The effect of the latter is to prevent noise such as hollow tones inside the kit, preventing further impact on the feel of percussion.
array
When purchasing the kit, we will also choose the number of keys of the keyboard according to the needs, that is, the keyboard's matching problem, which refers to the assembly sequence (layout design) of the keyboard, which can also be said to be the number of keys and the completeness of the function.
There are generally two ways to describe the keyboard's matching column, one is to define it by the number of keys, that is, how many keys the keyboard has, what name it is called, such as the common 87 keys, 104 keys, 108 keys and so on. The second way is to name it in the form of numbers + percentages, which is defined according to the number of function keys of the keyboard that can reach the full size of the mechanical keyboard, and this full size refers to the 104 keys, in addition to 80% keyboard, 75% keyboard, 60% keyboard and so on.
Whether it is an office office or home entertainment, the most common should be the traditional 104-key layout, which we also call the full-size American layout keyboard. It is fully functional, divided into four areas - the primary key area, the function key area, the edit key area and the number key area, because it has all the functions that most people are used to, so 104 keys have become one of the most mainstream keyboards at present. The keyboard with 108 keys is based on this, adding several functional keys, for example, this IKBC F108 uses 108 keys, which are all 100% equipped keyboards.
Can increase the number of keys, that must also reduce the number of keys, after the reduction of 80% of the keyboard with the row, the common is the 87-key keyboard, it is also a keyboard that we often contact, especially for e-sports players, it can maintain the core function of the key situation, to avoid contact with the mouse, resulting in the occurrence of operation deformation. Compared with the previous 104 keys, in fact, the difference is not big, but the 17 keys of the independent number area have been cut, while the other function keys have been retained. There are many of its masterpieces, such as AiShi's FE87 hundred yuan cost-effective keyboard.
What if I subtract it again? While retaining the primary key position, there can also be a more compact keyboard configuration, so there is 75% of the keyboard with columns, common 84 keys, can also be said to be a simplified version of the 87 columns, removing the control key area that is not often used, but it can still achieve the function of 87 keys with the Fn key. To speak of representatives, the hundred-dollar level logitech K835 must be mentioned, using domestic TTC axis, games, offices are very suitable.
So what if the Fn area is also cut off? That's 65% of the 68-key keyboard and 60% of the 61-key keyboard, which eliminates the need for a keypad and F-zone, and becomes more concise, compact, and portable. Most of its function keys need to be completed using key combinations, and if you only use code words, this kind of keyboard with a row layout is still very suitable for you, and there are many more common 65% of the row keyboards, such as Razer's Black Widow Spider V3 Mini Unlimited Keyboard, Amilo MA68, Tarantula (AULA) 3068 and so on.
The above are some common mechanical keyboard configurations.
Shaft body
The shaft body is the core of the customization of the entire mechanical keyboard, because it determines the feel of a keyboard, the single shaft body currently on the market is very much, not to mention there are hundreds of kinds, the price, a few cents to a few dollars are there, here is still recommended to buy 0.8 yuan / more than the key shaft is better. The feel of the shaft body can be roughly divided into a sense of paragraph and a sense of linearity, but the specific details are still gaps, and if you want to understand the content of this aspect, you can refer to the super energy classroom content we made before: 1, "Super energy classroom (299): Domestic mechanical keyboard shaft body is full of flowers, which is more suitable for you? 2. "Super Classroom (239): How leafy the domestic mechanical axis that was single-handed in the past is now"
Keycaps
As the saying goes, people rely on clothing. The mechanical keyboard has to rely on the "hat" to install, it is the same as the kit, the same affects the appearance of the whole mechanical keyboard, but also the feel, because it is in contact with your fingers. In terms of affecting the feel of typing, keycaps should be regarded as second only to the keyboard shaft body. In addition, the keycaps are also printed with characters, I believe that many people still have the habit of watching characters type, right? The content involved in keycaps is also quite complex, generally can be understood from four aspects: material, character process, keycap height and keycap size.
Keycap material
First look at the material, the current mainstream keycap materials are ABS, PBT, POM, resin, metal, etc., there are different advantages and disadvantages between different materials, the most common is undoubtedly ABS, PBT these two.
Among them, ABS is styrene plastic, which is what we often call engineering thermoplastics, its advantages are crisp, light, heat-resistant, tough, and smooth surface, very delicate to the touch, and can obviously feel its smoothness when in contact with fingers. The disadvantage is that it is not wear-resistant and easy to hit the oil. It should be noted that the oil finger here is not the oil stain on your hand on the keycap, but the frosted surface of the ABS keycap is almost polished and has become very light oily.
PBT material is a polyester series, the advantage is high hardness, not easy to wear, not easy to hit the oil, which is the opposite of ABS material. In addition, its surface has a strong sense of grain, bringing a matte touch. Disadvantages, PBT keycaps are more easily deformed, and the color is not as bright as ABS keycaps.
In other aspects, POM keycaps are thermoplastic crystalline polymers, which have the advantage of high density, no oil, and self-lubricating properties, which can bring a smooth and silky feel to the hand. Disadvantages, its color is single (black mostly). Processing is difficult, so the production cost is very high, few manufacturers will do it, generally only appear on cheery's black keyboard. As for the rest, they are all personality keycaps belonging to special materials, which are either very expensive or difficult to buy, and its greater role is to decorate personalities or be used for collection.
Keycap character craft
If the material is the basis of the keycap, then the character process printed on it is the façade of the keycap, and the most common character process is radium carving, two-color molding, and sublimation process. Among them, the laser engraving process uses laser engraving characters, which is characterized by low cost, uneven surface touch, long-term use of the character will be worn off, many relatively low-end manufacturers will use this process, but now it is not common.
Two-color molding, together with two-color injection molding, is called the two-color process, which is simply a process that combines the processing of characters and keycaps. The difference is that two-color injection molding is mainly under a mold, the two colors are done together, the production cost is low, also known as false two-color. The two-color molding is more advanced, its production to use two sets of molds, first of all, a plastic raw material as the bottom, and then to another mold to add a second plastic raw material, forming 2 different characters. The characters formed in this way are basically impossible to grind off, but its production cost is very high, so the price will be more expensive.
Finally, let's talk about the very common dye sublimation process, in simple terms, that is, at high temperatures, the solid resin ink is sublimated into a gaseous mode, and then this gaseous ink penetrates into the surface of the keycap, and finally cools and condenses to form a complete keycap, but only the PBT material can be de-sublimated, and ABS These are not resistant to high temperature cannot be sublimated. Its advantage is that it makes the characters more shiny and not easy to be worn off. The disadvantage is that some high-sublimated keycaps are also prone to bending and deformation. PBT dye sublimation is still used more, because its cost is not particularly high, the advantages are also obvious: wear-resistant is not easy to hit the oil, do not drop the word, the appearance pattern is still very good-
Keycap height
As for the height of the keycaps, it can not only affect the feel, but also affect the look and feel and use experience. At present, there are many keycap height categories on the market, the most representative of which are original height, OEM height, SA high ball cap and DSA short ball cap. The original factory height here refers to the German Cherry, this kind of keycap refers to the height of the keycap and the keycap used by Cherry is the same, in fact, the height of the keycap of this gradient is very comfortable to press, restoring the feel of various shafts.
OEM height, one of the OEM is the abbreviation of the foundry, it refers to the oem keycaps that are one level higher than the original production of keycaps, these foundries have many, well-known IKBC, AKKO, Gauss and so on.
SA high ball cap, its side will have a large curvature, good look, round, the overall value is very high, the disadvantage is to sacrifice the contact area, resulting in typing discomfort, so if you use SA high ball cap, due to the height is very high, generally use the hand rest. The DSA keycaps are much shorter, and because all the keycaps are at the same height, they are also called flat-breasted keycaps. In short, the keycaps from different manufacturers bring different heights and engineering designs.
It is worth mentioning that the height of each keycap in a keyboard is also different (except for the DSA flat-breasted keycap). Take the full-size 104-key mechanical keyboard as an example, from the left side of the keyboard, it is divided from short to high into R1-R4 (see figure below), R1 is the height of the bottom two rows of the keyboard, R2 is the height of the uppercase key row, R3 is the height of the Tab row, and R4 refers to the height of the top two rows. If you look at it from the side, you can clearly see that the height of each row of keycaps, the slope of the keycap surface, and even the tilt direction are different, and such a design is not chaotic, but an ergonomic design, so that users can type more comfortably.
Keycap size
Finally, let's talk about the size (size) of the keycaps, according to the normal layout of the keyboard, such as 87 keys, 104 keys keyboard, the length of the keycaps is based on the size of the keys in the letter area, the size is 1U, the remaining keys are calculated in multiples of the width of 1U, such as the Ctrl key, Alt key, etc. that we commonly use are 1.25U length, the Tab key is 1.5U length, the Shift key is 2.25U length, and the spacebar is 6.25U. Like this specification of the keycaps, we can basically brainless, like what you want to buy.
But there are many custom keyboards for personalization, comfortable operation, will be made into a compact layout, such as 68 key matching, 64 key matching, if you buy this matching kit, then you can not follow the above described conventional situation to buy keycaps, this compact layout of individual keycaps in length is not the same, such as its arrow keys next to the Shift key size is obviously different from the full-size keyboard Shift key size, with 2.25U length of the keycap is not able to fit in. Therefore, for the convenience of users, many stores on the Internet directly sell a full set of keycaps, which are about 140 universal full set of keycaps, which can provide additional keycaps that adapt to some compact matches, such as a Shift key has several size versions to meet the ultimate customization needs of players.
So if you want to use a compact keyboard, when buying a compact matching kit, the optional keycaps are best to pick a small set of keycaps to buy, and the general merchants will mark which ones are suitable for 64 keys, which are suitable for 68 keys, and can be purchased on demand. Or you can directly buy keycaps that support a variety of configurations, which is convenient for customizing other keyboards in the future.
Write at the end
Finally, talk about the price of customized keyboards, in fact, it is not that custom keyboards are necessarily expensive, it is actually according to your actual needs and desired effects, from the kit, shaft body and keycaps to buy, and then install. The price can be high or low, starting from the cost performance, three hundred yuan can assemble a set of customized keyboards that you are satisfied with, and the price will go up to four digits if you pursue the ultimate. I don't know what you think or experience about the custom keyboard? You can communicate together in the comments section.