Anatomy of a Custom Mechanical Keyboard

so you probably have a mechanical keyboard of some kind or you're looking to pick one up but how many of you have actually opened up a keyboard i mean do you guys know what's inside [Music] hello hello i'm teja and in today's video i'm going to be showing you guys the components that make up a mechanical keyboard before learning to build something you got to know what parts you need right we won't be going super in-depth into each aspect yet that'll be covered in future separate videos and for the sake of keeping this video introductory i may generalize terms or concepts all right a mechanical keyboard in general consists of the keyboard case pcb plate stabilizers switches and keycaps my keyboard case hopefully is almost self-explanatory it's what encases the internals and electronics of the keyboard custom keyboard cases tend to be made primarily out of metals such as aluminum brass and stainless steel but you'll also have other materials such as various plastics wood carbon fiber you name it when trying to purchase a custom mechanical keyboard i generally recommend most people to start out with the case as it determines the form factor for your keyboard and therefore some of the other components that you may need to purchase form factor refers to the physical size of the keyboard and you'll hear it referenced in terms of a percentage relative to a full-sized keyboard otherwise known as a 100 keyboard common form factors include tkl or 10k less or 80 75 65 and 60 percent but you could even go smaller with a 40 or 27 percent if you're a masochist the biggest mistake that i see newcomers make is thinking that a x percent size keyboard requires x switches as easy as that will make life unfortunately that isn't the case as a 75 keyboard for example requires around 84 switches and depending on which layout you prefer for each form factor it may require more or less so make sure you always purchase a couple more switches than you think you may need next we have the printed circuit board or more commonly just called the pcb you've probably seen one they're quite common and not unique to justice hobby but when it comes to a mechanical keyboard the pcb essentially acts as the brain it interprets and transmits the proper signals to your respective terminal device whenever you press a switch as well as manage other functions such as rgb lighting or bluetooth capabilities additionally most pcbs that come with mechanical keyboards store information such as layout and layer mappings on board so that you don't need to worry about reprogramming your keyboards every time you switch devices when it comes to pcbs they'll usually come in one of two flavors hot swap and solderable hotspot pcbs have become rather popular nowadays as there's no need to solder any components and you simply install your switches by pushing them into whatever form of hotspot mechanism the pcb comes with the most common one being kale hot swap sockets hotspot pcbs are highly recommended if you're new as it allows you to easily try out the vast amount of switches out there without having to worry about committing to one or soldering which brings us to the other type of pcbs where you actually need to solder components now the range of what components you need to solder yourself varies from pcb to pcb but usually solderable pcbs have most of the major components already handled and you just need to take care of soldering the switch pins you can technically forego the pcb in the sense of not physically printing a circuit board and directly connecting your electronic components onto the switch pins with wires and this is what is known as a hand wired build usually covering the pcb from above rests what is known as the plate while you can build some keyboards without plates the vast majority of mechanical keyboards out there come with a plate of some shape or form and material common materials that plates are made of include aluminum stainless steel brass carbon fiber polycarbonate acrylic and palm now why you choose one material over the other and how it changes the keyboard is outside the scope of this video but the plate serves several functions one it helps secure switches onto the pcb and keep them straight two it provides an avenue to secure and mount the pcb and switches to the case in interesting and unique solutions three it allows for changes in the feel of the typing experience and four it allows for changes in the acoustics of the final build next we have stabilizers oftentimes referred to as stabs for short stabilizers are used to stabilize any of the longer keycaps from wobbling or see-sawing like they would otherwise without them as well as to ensure that the switches underneath these longer keycaps are minimally affected by off-center presses specifically any keycap that is to you or longer now keycap sizing and their respective numbers are something i highly encourage you to learn as early as you can as it is something that's referenced regularly in keyboard discussion to give you a quick rundown however the alphanumeric keys have a size of one u u standing for unit and is the reference that we use to size larger keycaps and amsi enter keycap for example has a size of 2.25 u as it is 2.25 times as large as a single alphanumeric key now going back to what i said earlier any keycap that is 2u or longer will require a stab stabilizers come in a variety of designs with the two main ones being cherry and costar style and are either mounted to the pcb or the plate which stabilizers you'll need to purchase for your keyboard build will be dictated by what your plate and pcb support as the cutouts on your hardware need to be compatible with your stabilizers probably the most well-known aspect about keyboards relative to anything else mentioned in this video at least are switches and their types linear switches have a linear travel when pressed meaning they require a uniform increase in force to depress the switch there is no bump or click to the switch to let you know when the switch is actuated tactile switches follow a non-linear travel usually requiring a buildup of force to overcome a tactile event generally in the form of a bump around the point of actuation clicky switches are switches that have a clicker mechanism of some sorts that generates an audible click noise additionally you'll hear the term pcb mounted versus plate mounted associated with switches or five and three pin respectively some custom keyboard builds don't have a plate and in these instances the two additional pins of a pcb mounted switch are crucial in ensuring switches are straight and as rigid as possible you can easily convert five pin switches to three pin switches however by simply snipping the two additional plastic pins but it goes without saying it doesn't work the other way i highly recommend everyone to explore switch options cherry mx switches are what most people are familiar with but there are so many other options out there that in all honesty are much better just take a look at the tons of switch options available from some of my sponsors who are linked in the description box down below finally we have keycaps the final dressing to a keyboard abs and pbt are the two most common materials keycaps are made of now there's this common misconception and almost brainwashing that's occurred probably due to the gaming industry that keyboard enthusiasts are tired of addressing pbt keycaps aren't necessarily better than abs not all pbt keycaps are equal and likewise neither are all abs keycaps and just because the keycap set is made of abs doesn't make it automatically inferior to pvt keycaps pbt keycaps are praised for their ability to withstand shine and yes abs does shine quicker than pbt but pbt does too with enough use and beyond shine there are other important qualities to keycaps such as straightness and legending which pbt sets tend to lack as a newcomer you'll most likely notice enthusiasts use keycaps prefixed by gmk gmk is a keycap manufacturer in germany and gmk sets are the most prevalent keycap sets in the enthusiast scene despite being made of abs they currently have a monopoly when it comes to high quality thick abs keycap sets due to their ability to color match and crisp legending capabilities that are still pretty much second to none often times the manufacturers or brands involved with the production of keycaps are referenced with acronyms with popular ones being gmk as mentioned before signature plastics or sp crp and epbt just to name a few you really need to know your acronyms when it comes to keycaps as keycap profiles how keycaps are shaped are also denoted with acronyms common profiles are cherry sa mt3 cat dsa etc once again i'll have links down in the description box below that provide visualizations to the differences between these keycap profiles now sometimes you'll find additional components and keyboards in an attempt to control certain acoustic properties such as pinging you may find acoustic dampening material such as foam being placed in various areas inside a keyboard but above all one of the hallmark components of a custom mechanical keyboard is lube yes lube this channel will be a place where lubricants will be talked about freely and without judgment and quite regularly lubing your switches and stabilizers are two of the greatest things you can do to a keyboard and i'll definitely be covering them in future videos so make sure you're subscribed hit that notification bell to be notified of when those tutorials are released but yeah there you have it we've pretty much covered the basics of what makes a mechanical keyboard hopefully this serves as a guide to some of the jargon surrounding the hobby as well as inform your decisions for purchasing keyboard parts i'll have a couple informative sources linked in the description box down below including a giant spreadsheet that details tons of terminology and basic information you definitely want to know if you're starting out created by the members of the type discord server so yeah with that stay tuned for the next video where we might go into some tutorials or maybe purchasing decisions and until then see you nerds

Channel: Taeha Types

Views: 395,864

Rating: 4.9671817 out of 5

Keywords: 타건음, 타건영상, 기계식, 키보드, 커스텀 키보드, 커스텀, 커스텀키보드, 기계식키보드, nathan, kim, taeha, type, types, twitch, tv, custom, mechanical, keyboards, keycaps, typing, sounds, tests, asmr, whats inside, what makes up a mechanical keyboard, mechanical keyboard parts, parts you need, best gaming keyboard, best mechanical keyboard, how to build a mechanical keyboard, anatomy of a mechanical keyboard, building your own mechanical keyboard, beginners guide, keyboard plates, linear switches, tactile switches, clicky switches

Id: 1NpNygIrnaQ

Length: 10min 59sec (659 seconds)

Published: Mon Oct 12 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/Lukeski14]

This should be the first video every newcomer to the hobby watches. It condenses a lot of information into just the right level of detail and I appreciate the fact that Taeha doesn't pass judgement onto any element that is ultimately preferential. The animated diagrams are top-notch and clearly get the point across. The amount of production that went into this video doesn't go unnoticed. 10/10.

[u/Teedacus]

Or a 27% (if you're a masochist)

One step ahead of ya

[u/joshualy8]

Always love to see some Taeha content

[u/bryang831]

Next video idea: CUTTING $2000 KEYCULT IN HALF

[u/Arnold_Schwarzenegro]

I stumbled across you on twitch and your streams and videos are what sent me down the rabbit hole. Thanks for the awesome content and introducing me to my favorite obsession!

[u/Funkii_]

These animations are amazing! Super high quality. Keep it up.

[u/the_rybread]

So it’s not a cake? );

[u/stove_io]

I thought it would be cake :(

[u/supercitron]

Thanks for posting these beginner friendly videos. Just ordered my first keyboard and I would have loved to find this video months ago!