3 ms·

https://plot.ly/~haata/377 https://plot.ly/~haata/377 Most tactile mechanical switches have what I call 'slack' at the top before the increase in force: follow

by CarVac 7y ago

https://plot.ly/~haata/377 https://plot.ly/~haata/377 Most tactile mechanical switches have what I call 'slack' at the top before the increase in force: following is my daily driver keyboard's switches, the Novelkeys/Kailh Box Navy. https://plot.ly/~haata/415 https://plot.ly/~haata/415 The Holy Pandas have the bump begin at the very top of the travel, which lends to a firmer feel at the top and a smoother-feeling tactility.

falcolas 7y ago
I thought I had replied earlier, but it appears it was eaten. Thank you for posting those, that picture is worth a bunch of words. That said, it doesn't seem like a mechanical switch I'd want to use. The lack of correlation between the tactile feedback and the activation point would drive me nuts. To me, the value of the tactile feedback is to indicate when the switch has been activated, so I can type without having to bottom out the switches.
- CarVac 7y ago
  There are in my opinion two sorts of tactile switches: the ones where the tactility exists so you can be reminded to not bottom out (like Cherry Brown), and ones where the tactility induces you to bottom out, like rubber domes (including topre) and Box Navy. These have the heaviest point before the tactile 'collapse', so once you clear the bump it's mostly smooth sailing all the way to the bottom, but there's enough resistance to eat up most of the energy before impact. This is of the latter sort.
  - falcolas 7y ago
    That's fair. But bottoming out is hard enough on finger joints that I typically consider them to be a hard pass. And, having used Topres, they don't really remove much of the energy you had to use to bypass the peak. It's still a fairly hard impact at the bottom.
    - CarVac 7y ago
      Bottoming out depends on a lot of things. Topre offers a little padding on the bottom as you squish the rubber. Plastic plates or PCB-mounted switches offer a little give. Personally, my daily driver has thick steel plates, but it's a small board and I type on my lap, so my thighs cushion the blow. And regardless of what keyboard I use, I bottom out, really heavily. Box Navy switches are considered rather heavy, but I bottom them out with no trouble.

by CarVac 7y ago

falcolas 7y ago

I thought I had replied earlier, but it appears it was eaten. Thank you for posting those, that picture is worth a bunch of words. That said, it doesn't seem like a mechanical switch I'd want to use. The lack of correlation between the tactile feedback and the activation point would drive me nuts. To me, the value of the tactile feedback is to indicate when the switch has been activated, so I can type without having to bottom out the switches.

CarVac 7y ago
There are in my opinion two sorts of tactile switches: the ones where the tactility exists so you can be reminded to not bottom out (like Cherry Brown), and ones where the tactility induces you to bottom out, like rubber domes (including topre) and Box Navy. These have the heaviest point before the tactile 'collapse', so once you clear the bump it's mostly smooth sailing all the way to the bottom, but there's enough resistance to eat up most of the energy before impact. This is of the latter sort.
- falcolas 7y ago
  That's fair. But bottoming out is hard enough on finger joints that I typically consider them to be a hard pass. And, having used Topres, they don't really remove much of the energy you had to use to bypass the peak. It's still a fairly hard impact at the bottom.
  - CarVac 7y ago
    Bottoming out depends on a lot of things. Topre offers a little padding on the bottom as you squish the rubber. Plastic plates or PCB-mounted switches offer a little give. Personally, my daily driver has thick steel plates, but it's a small board and I type on my lap, so my thighs cushion the blow. And regardless of what keyboard I use, I bottom out, really heavily. Box Navy switches are considered rather heavy, but I bottom them out with no trouble.