Keyboard construction

We won’t go too much into the construction of a keyboard, but we do want to take a quick detour here, and it’s something we intend to cover in much more detail in the future. In fact we’ll be bringing you a series of guides on how to build your own custom keyboard later on this year.

Most custom and prebuilt keyboards use very similar components, certainly until you delve into the world of DIY componentry – which let’s just say we’ll stay away from for now. Purists often buy parts according to their preference on size, materials, and how well noise will resonate through them. Tinny, horriblesounding switches are frowned upon, and when used even with a wellconstructed keyboard can leave you with a hollow experience. So choosing the right parts is critical. If you’re after a satisfying clunk, that perfect tactile component, and an almost-silent typing board, then a linear setup is the way to go. So what parts are there, and where do you begin?

Case

The main part of the keyboard is the case or housing that will hold all the componentry. These are usually plastic, especially when you buy an off-the-shelf keyboard from mainstream brands, although in the custom market metal is starting to become more common.

For custom boards, resin, wood, and 3D-printed cases are also added to the mix. Basically anything that can be used as a case will be used as a case – even Lego. The case simply keeps the internals protected and enables you to create an incline if you so wish.

PCB

The PCB or Printed Circuit Board forms the electronics side of things. A PCB keeps everything neat and tidy and enables switches to be soldered to it easily. For off-the-shelf and most custom boards there is no real difference here. For component-level DIY boards, however, you can use remarkably simple PCBs or even do away with them entirely and wire everything by hand. Keyboards are not as complicated as they seem, and with a mini Arduino (or similar board), some diodes, a few resistors, plenty of switches, LEDs, and wires, you’re basically good to go.

Plates

Plates are not seen in all keyboards but they exist in most, one way or another. There are many different types of plate, from top-mount to drop-in plates, but essentially all you need to know is that they are there to help with mounting the switches to the PCB, and also giving the keyboard some additional strength, noise dampening, and a desired level of flex. You might be incredibly surprised how different keyboard parts can completely change the noise levels and pitch of the switches that are installed, and a plate is one of those parts.

Stabilisers

There are also stabilisers, and as the name suggests, these stabilise the keycaps so that they press down smoothly. These are only needed on large switches, such as the Spacebar, Shift key, and Backspace. There are a few different types of stabiliser, but the main two are Cherry style and Costar style. Unless you’re building your own keyboard or you’re thinking about modding a keyboard, it really doesn’t matter which stabilisers are in your keyboard. If you do get a choice, though, try and stick with Cherry style as they are far easier to work with.