ABS
Chemical name: Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene plastic
English name: Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene plastic
ABS plastic (resin) is a ternary ****polymer of acrylonitrile, butadiene, and styrene (A stands for acrylonitrile, B for B for acrylonitrile, B for butadiene, and S for styrene). It should be the most widely used material in the PC industry, chassis panels, monitor shells, keyboards and mice, etc., almost everywhere you can see its figure. It has no taste and non-toxic characteristics, can be used in very low minus 40 degrees Celsius, melting temperature of up to 217 degrees Celsius (heat distortion temperature of 93-118 degrees Celsius), the ability to withstand the impact of a strong deformation is not easy to deform, and good insulation, is not susceptible to humidity and frequency.
The ABS material keycaps are the most abundant of all materials, of course, the main reason is that the process is mature and inexpensive, from dozens of dollars of ordinary keyboards to thousands of dollars of high-end goods can be seen in the ABS material keycaps. ABS keycaps are available in a variety of colors, and can be made into a semi-transparent to adapt to the needs of the backlight, which is not available in other materials. The keycaps made of this material are relatively soft compared to other materials, not very hard and gentle to the touch, there is a certain resistance to oil, but not as good as POM and PBT.
POM
Chemical name: Polyoxymethylene
English name: Polyoxymethylene
POM material is also known as SaiGang or Trane, which can be seen in its hard texture. It can work stably at minus 40 degrees Celsius to 100 degrees Celsius between, relative to ABS is not stable enough to reach 240 degrees Celsius will decompose, but for the keyboard keycap is impossible to more than 100 degrees Celsius, don't worry about it as long as you don't take the cigarette burns.POM material is a high-density, highly crystalline linear polymer, so there is an excellent resistance to abrasion, high strength, high insulation and wear-resistant. Strong resistance to oxidation and corrosion. Resistant to hydrocarbons, alcohols, aldehydes, ethers, gasoline, lubricants and weak alkalis and other organic solvents.
The keycaps made of POM material are relatively fewer than those made of ABS, so they are most commonly seen in original keyboards. It is a durable and plain material. Whether it is durability or firmness POM is better than ABS, anti-oil ability is also exponentially increased, at least with two or three years will not appear oiling problems (oiling appears to vary from person to person). Feel between PBT and ABS.
PBT
Chemical name: polybutylene terephthalate
English name: Polybutylene terephthalate
PBT plastic is a much better material, it is compared to the POM is also hard, the whole piece of the material as a stone. High strength, fatigue resistance, should not be deformed, high temperature is not easy to change, anti-aging effect is very ideal, so it can be said that it is the most stable keycap material. Insulation is excellent.
PBT is relatively rare, but it is often mentioned in the mechanical keyboard circle, it should be the most reliable and excellent keycap material at present, whether it is the resistance to oiling, hardness is first-class, corrosion and oxidation resistance is also very good, claiming that it will never be oiled. In addition, it is easy to decompose in the presence of water under high temperature environment, it is because of this characteristic so special stores use water boiling to PBT keycap coloring, dyeing after the keycap color does not fall off naturally beautiful. Of course the price is also very expensive, a set of 37 main key area of the rainbow-colored keycaps to be sold to about one hundred dollars.
Nylon
Nylon this material in automobiles, electrical equipment, mechanical components, transportation equipment, textile, paper machinery and other aspects of a wide range of applications. The most common is stockings, whether it is a slender beauty or tough robbers are used. This material is not the mainstream of the keycap, but in the mechanical keyboard is also sold, feel warm and moist especially like jade feeling.
Keycap classification
Computers are constantly evolving and progressing. Similarly, as consumables, peripheral products and the user's relationship is also increasingly close. Especially the keyboard has become our most contact and most commonly used input devices. The structure of the keyboard has gone through a mechanical, plastic film type, no contact electrostatic capacitive type, conductive rubber type of development process, and the keyboard on the character printing method has also made great progress and improvement.
A group of U.S. enthusiasts of unmarked keyboards specifically sought out Cherry's customized product and asked Cherry not to allow it to be sold to other regions for a year. This keyboard has a fatal attraction to many knowledgeable IT media editors, but many buyers who don't know much about keyboards are baffled by the unmarked keyboard. If you know about the history of the unmarked keyboards and like the solid color feel, then he must be your best choice.
Representative: Cherry G80-3000LPCXY-2
Laser-etched
The so-called laser-etched is just a black notch burned into the keycaps using laser-engraving technology. Because of the linear nature of the marks it etches, common laser etched keyboards have hollow arrows and the like.
Numerous white keyboards on the market are basically the use of this keycap technology, mainly manufacturers look at its low cost, despite the high price of its production line, but its daily output is more than ten times that of other printing methods, and because it is burned engraved lettering, so there is no need for any other measures to have a very clear and solid lettering. Another reason for its large scale is that it is more environmentally friendly and does not produce harmful generators.
But laser etching also has several fatal flaws, which also determines that it can not be used in the production of high-grade keyboard. First of all, because the laser etching belongs to etching, without the use of ink, so can only print a single black font, so that in the high-grade keyboards often have a multi-color overprint design can not be done; Secondly, high-grade keyboards out of the appearance of the design and durability of the needs of most of the use of non-white color design, and in the keycap material added to the abrasion-resistant filler, but due to the characteristics of the laser etching of its own, so that it is in the However, due to the characteristics of laser etching itself, it is not possible to etch the ideal clear lettering on the keyboards with non-white color and other fillers; finally, the structural design and programming of the laser etching machine make it best to be used for manufacturing keyboards with standard key designs, and non-standard structures such as ergonomics are difficult to print out on ordinary laser etching machines. Because of this, laser etching is only used in low and mid-range product lines to take advantage of its fast production speed and low cost; while in high-end product lines, due to higher print quality requirements, the traditional high-cost ink printing method can only continue to be used.
Representative: Cherry L labeled keyboards and most white keyboards on the market
Pad Printing Method
Pad Printing Method is a fairly old way of printing keycaps, which has been discarded and no longer in use due to its less practicality and lower efficiency.
The pad printing method is to use a set of letters as the original mold, through the automatic machine will be brushed with ink on it, and then a set of soft rubber blocks pressed on it, so that when you lift the rubber blocks, the ink will be transferred to the rubber blocks, and then move the rubber blocks to a blank keyboard, the rubber blocks, a press, the ink will be printed on the keyboard.
Before the advent of phototypesetting, books, newspapers, magazines, etc. were printed in this way. In contrast to laser etching and screen printing, the pad printing method does not have any restrictions on printing conditions and can be used to print any kind of keyboard in any form. But the disadvantage of pad printing method is also obvious, it is extremely slow printing, the time to print one keyboard can almost make more than 10 laser-etched keyboards go down the assembly line. Therefore, in addition to those who can not afford to buy a laser etching machine of small factories have no choice but to use this kind of printing without any technical requirements, keyboard production of large factories generally only use it to print those cost-neutral high-grade products. Secondly, because of its printing process, the pad printing method of printing on the keyboard for laminating is much more difficult than screen printing, so many use the pad printing method of printing the keyboard is not laminating, but through the study of the composition of the ink to improve the printing of the degree of firmness to enhance the life of the keyboard.
Representative: Microsoft OFFICE Keyboard
Screen Printing
The principle is to cover a blank keyboard with a special screen, in which the area where there is writing is skeletonized, and then the ink is scraped over it so that the writing is printed on the skeletonized part.
Screen printing is characterized by the printing of words and then use a special screen brush on a layer of plastic, in the dry after the formation of a layer of plastic covering the printed words on the protective film, which can prevent the wear and tear of the words for a long time, which is also commonly referred to as the keyboard lamination technology. The English term for the plastic is: Coating
Compared with laser etching, screen printing can be repeated through a number of screen overprinting freedom to print out a variety of colors, and there is no restriction on the requirements of the keyboard material. However, due to the limitations of the printing method, it is still not possible to print keyboards with overly complex shapes.
Representative: DELL 81XX Series Keyboard
Imersion Printing
Imersion printing (also known as thermal sublimation) is a very different printing method from ordinary ink printing, which uses solid resin-based inks instead of the usual liquid pigment-based inks. This ink at high temperatures will sublimate into a gaseous state, in the form of gaseous molecules penetrate the permeability of the printed surface after condensation, so that the printing surface and the printing surface in the physical layer of the surface as a whole, not just like the ordinary pigment ink as "sticky" in the printing surface, so the firmness of its printing is very high. Moreover, resin ink is inherently better in terms of gloss and form.
The most common type of impregnation printing is the service of "baking" photos on ceramic mugs. Immersion printing for keyboard printing, the ink will be completely "penetrate" the keys of the PBT and ABS plastic inner layer, so it is almost impossible to be worn off, and immersion printing text is very three-dimensional and glossy. However, the immersion printing process is much more complex and costly than regular pigment ink printing, so only RealForce keyboards use this method of printing.
Representative: TopreRealforce 101
Laser filler method
Laser filler method is somewhat similar to the principle of "tattooing", tattooing is to use needles to tattoo the skin with a fine line, and then fill in the pigment, so that the color will be penetrated into the skin line, and then will not be washed away or worn off. The color will penetrate into the skin lines and will not be washed away or rubbed off later. And the same is true of laser filler technology, where the text is first printed once with laser etching (but shallower than the usual laser etching to ensure a flat surface), and then printed a second time using an ink printing method so that the cured ink will penetrate and remain in the indentation left by the laser, and thereafter it will not be easily rubbed off.
Keyboards printed using laser priming technology make up for the defects of bad laser-etched fonts and the inability to print in color because of the secondary printing with ink, and are far more robust than simple ink printing because of the laser's indentations as a foundation. Personally believe that this keycap processing method is a combination of laser etching and ink printing
Representative: LogitechELITE (BTC OEM)
Skeletonized printing method
First of all, this method in the cell phone's keyboard is almost all printed in this way. Only some of Apple's laptop keyboards have used this method of printing.
This printing method is very simple to say, is the use of transparent materials to create keys, and then opaque paint to cover the surface of the keys, in accordance with the appearance of the text will be hollowed out into the surface of the "Yinwen". If the opaque paint is applied to the inside of the key, where it does not touch the fingers, the text will naturally never wear out. In fact, the main purpose of Apple's use of this printing method is not for strong handwriting, but for aesthetic purposes. Because of this hollow out the font because it is "carved" out, so it is more clear than ink printing, and like a cell phone keyboard, hollow out the text of the keys can be installed under the backlight circuitry, so that the laptop keyboard like a cell phone keyboard with excellent backlighting effect.
But the flaws of the skeleton printing method are also very obvious, this transparent material is used in the manufacture of keyboards, its elasticity, hardness, wear-resistant are inherently less than ordinary keycap material. In fact, no transparent keycap material has ever matched the tactile qualities of traditional black-and-white ABS plastic, regardless of whether or not it was printed using openwork text.
Representative: APPLE Notebook Keyboard Logitech G15
Dichroic molding
Dichroic molding is the use of molds to combine two different colors of plastic together, using the difference in the color of the two plastics to display the font.
The advantages of dichroic molding are that the colors of the fonts are vivid, the durability is high, the fonts don't fall off easily, and the keycaps are very tactile to the touch if the manufacturing technology is good. The disadvantages are that it is difficult to show fine text, monotonous color variety, low complexity of strokes, and the fixed cost of its manufacture is expensive. As the core component of mechanical keyboards, Cherry MX mechanical shaft is only a representative of mechanical shafts, in addition to Cherry ML mechanical shaft, Cherry MY mechanical shaft, ALPS mechanical shaft, Taiwan white shaft (very rare) and other types. However, since Cherry MX shafts are widely recognized, if you don't specifically mention the type of shaft, it usually refers to Cherry MX mechanical shafts. Let's start by giving you an overview of the origins and characteristics of each of these axes.
Cherry MX mechanical shaft is recognized as the most classic mechanical keyboard switches, special feel and gold contacts multiply its quality, and MX series mechanical shaft applied to the keyboard there are mainly 4 kinds, through the shaft cap color can be identified, respectively, green, tea, black, red, white (the market has been rarely seen), the feel of the hand varies greatly, to meet the various needs of different users. From the structural point of view, the MX shaft is divided into a single column base structure and three column base structure, that is, at the bottom of the shaft, some shafts are single column structure, some shafts are three column structure. The latter can ensure more stability on the PCB circuit board. From the internal wires of the shaft to points, some shaft internal wires have diodes, while some shaft internal wires do not, such as Cherry 1965 has adopted the tea axis with secondary tube wires, this type of shaft cost is higher. And then from whether the design of LED lights can be divided into two categories of MX shaft with lights and no lights, colorful DECK light keyboard and some special keys can be lighted is the use of this mechanical shaft. After disassembling the Cherry MX mechanical shaft, you can see its structure and components, base, shaft cap (with its color to distinguish the type of shaft), shaft cap fixing card, springs, metal feet and contacts metal plate. In case of shafts with LED lights, there are also LED lights. The difference between MX mechanical shafts comes mainly from the construction of the shaft cap and the length and number of turns of the spring. The caps on the Green and Green shafts are a unique double-layer construction, which is one of the factors that gives these two shafts their most mechanical character. All of the other caps are one-piece, but the raised portion of the switch cap that contacts the metal plate is not the same, which is another major factor that affects feel in addition to the spring.
Cherry MX Series Mechanical Shaft Explained
Mechanical keyboards have a special feel, but where exactly is it special? Can you use language to describe the feel of the four common Cherry green, black, tea, white mechanical axis? In fact, the feel of the hand is originally a very subjective factor, due to the use of each person's habits, understanding of the hand, personal preference, use of experience and other factors, everyone will have a different understanding of the feel of the keyboard. The main factors affecting the feel of a mechanical keyboard include the type of mechanical shaft, the material and craftsmanship of the keycaps, and the overall workmanship of the three aspects, and the most direct factor affecting the feel is the difference in the mechanical shaft.
If you have experienced the Cherry green, black, tea, white four kinds of mechanical shaft keyboard, the difference in the feel of the hand in the paragraph feeling, trigger key range, pressure grams on the three aspects of the most easy to feel the difference, the paragraph feeling refers to the process of pressing the keys in the keyboard feedback to the user's fingers a kind of strength, similar to the feeling of pressing the automatic ballpoint pen, the trigger key range is the minimum distance required to press the key to trigger the switch, and the pressure grams is the distance between the key and the trigger switch, and the pressure grams is the distance between the key and the trigger switch. The trigger distance is the minimum distance needed to trigger the switch when pressing down on the key, while the pressure grams is the force needed to press the key. The difference between these two factors is determined by the different internal structure of the mechanical shaft and the spring, which is described in the introduction of the mechanical shaft above. So, we can describe the feel of the keyboard by the feel of the different mechanical shafts.
From the point of view of the pressure gram index, the green shaft = tea shaft & lt; black shaft & lt; white shaft, from the introduction of the mechanical axis above can be more directly through the pressure gram index to see this, so in the key feeling, tea shaft and green shaft keyboard is the most relaxing, while the black shaft keyboard keys need to be the strength is to become bigger, and the white shaft will be bigger.
CHERRY various axis press process illustration (black axis, red axis, tea axis, green axis, white axis):
Different axis application
Mechanical keyboards and membrane keyboards differences For the general public, the so-called mechanical keyboards, that is, to play will be clacking, click sound feel of the keyboard. In fact such a statement is not all right. The reason is that a keyboard that makes a lot of noise when you type is not necessarily a mechanical keyboard, and vice versa, membrane keyboards are not necessarily silent. How to feel, the size of the sound, in fact, not entirely by the principle of the keyboard to decide, is dependent on the manufacturer to do what kind of mechanism and settings, just as the downward pressure grams to be light to heavy, is also the same reason. As a practical matter, mechanical keyboards do have a huge percentage of sound, while membrane keyboards have a huge percentage of no sound. （
The reason why membrane keyboards are called membrane keyboards and mechanical keyboards are called mechanical keyboards is not because of the typing experience, but because of the Switch principle inside the keyboard. The so-called mechanical keyboard, at the bottom of the PCB board, the top is by more than 100 independent Switch to carry out the signal triggering action. The so-called membrane keyboard, switch is composed of three layers of film, and the mechanical keyboard structure is completely different.