No matter what posture you play or what platform you play on, "input" is an important part of the gaming experience. Whether it is ABXY on the handle or WASD on the keyboard, even in the smartphone industry, which is difficult to install physical keys due to size, various manufacturers have made various attempts to improve the player experience.
When it comes to improving the input experience, mechanical keyboards are a topic that cannot be avoided. Compared with the cheap membrane keyboard with integrated conductive film, each key of the mechanical keyboard is controlled by an independent hardware switch, so even the cheapest mechanical keyboard can have better customizability, while the input feel far exceeds most membrane keyboards. Whether you're a gamer or a working fighter, a good mechanical keyboard is a power multiplier.
In the world of mechanical keyboards, there is a company with a very loud name: CHERRY. If you have ever bought a mechanical keyboard, you must have heard of the five shaft bodies of black, white, green and red, and they all come from the company CHERRY. EVEN IF YOU DON'T USE THESE FIVE AXES ON THE KEYBOARD, THEIR DIMENSIONS ARE THE SAME AS THE CHERRY AXIS, OR VARIATIONS BASED ON THESE SHAFT BODIES. IT CAN BE SAID THAT WITHOUT CHERRY, THERE WOULD BE NO CURRENT MECHANICAL KEYBOARD MARKET.
The origin of everything: CHERRY M series keyboard axes
CHERRY's first patent for mechanical keyboard shaft body was registered in the United States on February 6, 1973, patent number US4467160A. THIS PATENT LAID THE FOUNDATION FOR CHERRY'S ENTRY INTO THE KEYBOARD MARKET AND WAS MANUFACTURED AT CHERRY FACILITIES IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES, INCLUDING THE M5 AND M6 SERIES MADE IN THE UNITED STATES AND JAPAN AND THE M7 SERIES MADE IN GERMANY. Interestingly, the commercial promotion of this shaft body and corresponding keyboard and key modules by CHERRY began at least December 1971, which means that the actual production and development time can even be traced back to the 1960s, which is a long history. Because these series of products are different in shape and size and packaging between different countries, the customizability is basically zero for end users like you and me. Nevertheless, it is easy for readers to see that these products are very close in form to the legendary MX series shaft body. That's right, the MX shaft body is its direct heir.
One of the features of the M series shaft body is that it encapsulates the movable part (that is, the part where the keycap is actually pressed down) in the shaft body, which not only prevents the movable part from shifting due to accumulated wear and tear and cannot be triggered, but also prevents dust from entering the shaft body and effectively prolongs the service life. IN ADDITION TO CHERRY'S OWN KEY MODULES AND KEYBOARDS (SUCH AS THE CLASSIC CHERRY G80, YES, THE G80 KEYBOARD IS EVEN OLDER THAN THE MX AXIS), THIS SERIES OF SHAFTS IS ALSO USED IN CLASSIC MODELS LIKE THE HP 9830A.
CHERRY MX: The Way of ZTE
On August 6, 1982, with the official approval of the German federal patent DE3229465A1, the era of mechanical keyboards as we know them today officially began.
The earliest MX shaft is a shaft body without obvious paragraph sense and resistance, according to the current classification system, it is a black axis, and its use experience is similar to the previous M series shaft body, but the reliability has been further improved to 20 million times. However, the basic design principles of the MX shaft body as we know it are all present.
In principle, the principle of the CHERRY MX axis is very simple. The movable module is connected to the spring, and when the user presses, the two gold-plated metal plates are closed to form a loop, so the keyboard PCB can send the corresponding key signal to the computer; The spring rebounds, the movable module rises, the two metal plates cannot be closed, there is no signal. Very simple, very reliable, and full of space for all kinds of specialization and magic modification, it is no wonder that it has become the de facto industry standard in the mechanical keyboard industry.
Since we are talking about specialization and magic modification, then we have to mention various shaft bodies. Technically, there are essentially only three differences between different shaft bodies:
- The amount of pressure required
- Whether there is a sense of paragraph
- Whether there is a noticeable rebound sound
The strength can be started from the shaft weight, key travel, etc., the paragraph sense can also be achieved by the double shaft cap, and the rebound sound can be controlled by lubrication. Simple control variables bring more than ten completely different axis body variables, and users can choose the most suitable axis body according to their own needs and usage habits. For example, the "black, white, green and red color" we mentioned earlier, these five colors represent five different button styles. Moreover, the biggest feature of CHERRY MX is that it completely unifies the size of different shaft bodies while providing a variety of shaft bodies with different feelings, which means that players and manufacturers finally have the ability to easily provide more keyboard options by changing axes on a PCB, and due to the unified shape size and cross contact surface, mass production of universal replaceable keycaps is also possible, allowing users to further personalize their keyboards. At the same time, with the advancement of technology, MX axis can also provide independent LED backlight, tilt angle and other additional functions and features, further expanding its market range.
Of course, only one shaft body cannot be used. With the trend of IBM PC compatible machines and Apple Macintosh machines in homes, businesses, schools and governments in the 80s, the G80 keyboard equipped with CHERRY MX black axis was launched in 1984, and the G80-3000 released in 1988 was an evergreen tree in the keyboard industry. It is still produced and sold today. In addition to the addition of two new Windows keys and a more modern color scheme, the keyboard you buy in 2023 can be said to be exactly the same thing as the keyboard of nearly fifty years ago, and it can only be said that a classic is a classic and will never go out of style.
Fast forward to the new century, and although membrane keyboards dominate the entry-level market, mechanical keyboards still occupy a place in the mid-to-high-end market with excellent input experience. At the same time, with the development of video games, especially large-scale MMORPGs and esports, players are also beginning to pursue better input experiences. In 2005, Sailui launched the 6G gaming mechanical keyboard using CHERRY MX black axis, which is also the world's first mechanical keyboard developed for gamers, such as Corsair, Razer and other peripheral manufacturers have also steadily followed, so that the game mechanical keyboard based on the CHERRY MX axis body instantly burned all over the world, and almost all players who have requirements for the game experience quickly replaced the mechanical keyboard.
RGB, Low Profile & Ultra Low Profile: The future is here
As the two main patents of MX keyboard axes (US4467160 registered in the United States and the German patent DE3229465A1 mentioned above) gradually expire, the self-developed shaft bodies of various keyboard manufacturers have sprung up, which is really a scene of vitality and all things. The competition in the market will bring technological progress, and for CHERRY, which occupies the position of the king of the mechanical keyboard market, how to innovate in the next step in the already mature MX axis technology is naturally a very exciting problem.
CHERRY'S FIRST AXE WAS THE RGB SHAFT SPLIT IN 2014, WHICH WAS FIRST RELEASED ON THE CORSAIR K70 RGB EDITION keyboard. Although the CHERRY MX shaft body has long supported the use of LED backlights, this in-line backlight not only illuminates unevenly and can only illuminate part of the area, but also has limited color. Naturally enough for everyday work, but still tastes like chewing wax for gamers.
Compared with the ordinary CHERRY MX axis, the biggest feature of the RGB version is that the shaft body adopts a partially translucent design, with additional light-emitting diodes, to achieve an independently programmable 16.8 million color RGB experience, allowing players to set the lighting to their most desired appearance in the supporting software, improving the sense of substitution during the game.
The second axe is the Low Profile, which was launched in 2018, that is, the low-size shaft body. The MX axis feels good in the hand, but the thickness of nearly 20mm plus the PCB and support structure means that the height of the mechanical keyboard is difficult to control. For most people, it is naturally not a big problem, but there are also many consumers who want the keyboard to be more thin and portable. Hence the CHERRY MX Low Profile.
It can be seen from the schematic diagram that the size of the Low Profile shaft body has been cut from the original 18.5mm to less than 11.9mm, and with shorter keycaps, it can effectively control the overall height of the keyboard and improve the speed of key triggering.
Taking the Corsair K70 RGB Mk.2 Low Profile keyboard equipped with this shaft body as an example, with a highly optimized aluminum frame and keycaps, the overall height of the keyboard is controlled to less than 29mm, which is a significant improvement compared with the height of about 40mm of general mechanical keyboards, which is a very practical update for those users who have portable needs.
This final axe is the Ultra Low Profile shaft body. The 11.9mm thick Low Profile shaft body is naturally enough for a desktop keyboard, but in recent years, with the development of laptops, many consumers have begun to use laptops as their only work devices, and of course they will also demand a better input experience.
Of course, laptops with mechanical keyboards, although not common, have not never existed. For example, heavy-duty brick games such as MSI's GT83 Titan have been launched with a full CHERRY MX shaft body, but at the cost, the thickness of the whole machine has reached about 60mm, which is obviously not suitable in this market environment with increasingly high requirements for the thickness of the whole machine. Considering the necessary PCB and support height, the advantages of the Low Profile shaft body can only be said to be better than nothing.
Thus, the Ultra Low Profile shaft body came into being. IN ORDER TO PRESS THE SHAFT THICKNESS TO AN ASTONISHING 3.5MM, CHERRY'S TEAM HAD TO SOLVE A NUMBER OF ENGINEERING PROBLEMS, SUCH AS HOW TO ENSURE A SENSE OF PASSAGE AND REBOUND UNIQUE TO MECHANICAL KEYBOARDS.
In the end, the team decided to completely reinvent the entire design and adopt a supercar-like gullwing door design, while retaining the unique precision and tactile feel of mechanical keyboards, while making the overall size suitable for the design of modern laptops, and the result was this CHERRY MX Ultra Low Profile shaft body.
The first time this set of shaft bodies was met with consumers was in the 2021 Alien M15/M17 R4 model, which surprised the audience with its excellent feel. Since then, Alien, as well as this year's mainstream game, the G series, have begun to offer optional CHERRY MX mechanical keyboard options.
IN ADDITION TO THE SHAPE OF THE KEYBOARD, THE DIVERSITY OF THE SHAFT BODY IS ALSO ANOTHER POINT OF FORCE FOR CHERRY. For example, the MX ERGO Clear and MX BLACK Clear Top two new shaft bodies released in November 2022 were named Jade Shaft and Ink Shaft respectively by the player community. The features of this set of shafts are not only the localized naming with a bookish and antique atmosphere, but also the characteristic feel brought by its mixing and matching on the classic five axes. The jade shaft is delicate and warm, and the ink shaft is smooth but flexible, which is quite competitive in the market as a new shaft body for the enthusiast community. CHERRY MX2.0, 3.0 and other classic keyboards equipped with jade shafts will also be launched in the near future on CHERRY's 70th anniversary, bringing more choices to players.
summary
From a garage enterprise in Illinois to a multinational manufacturer with offices around the world, CHERRY's 70 years are not only 70 years of immersion in basic technology, but also 70 years of deep binding with the wave of computers and informatization. The small keyboard carries the continuous search for the feel of input from generations of engineers and enthusiasts. Even if the continuous advancement of technology and the continuous change of consumer needs put forward more requirements under the theme of keyboard, I believe that CHERRY can stand firm with its sufficient historical accumulation in this field and bring more surprises and innovations to generations of users.