20:
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90:, with the markings molded into each keycap in a different color of plastic. This eventually fell out of favor, as it was more expensive (particularly in tooling costs), and tended to produce keycaps more durable than the equipment on which they were mounted. Modern keycaps are usually labelled by stamping or
109:
Keycaps are sold in printed and unprinted varieties. The unprinted variety, known as "Blank
Keycaps," is said to promote touch typing and help build muscle memory because the user is forced to rely on motion rather than visuals. However, within the modern mechanical keyboard community, unprinted caps
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As its name suggests, the easiest way to compare key profiles is to look at them from the side. The keyboard profile refers to the profile shapes of each row of keycaps. With different profiles, keys can vary in size, shape, and thickness. When (most) modern key sets vary in profile from row to row,
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The most expensive and durable process: each outer keycap has its legend physically moulded into it, and the legend is then created by injecting a different piece of plastic into the keycap from the inside. This means that there is no chance of the legend ever fading or getting removed, even as the
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Better known by the brand name "Delrin", it is an abrasion-resistant, solvent-resistant and low-friction material. However, it is expensive and not common. Found use in older black Cherry G80 keycaps and the discontinued Nopoo
Chocolate keyboards. Keycool used to use with their keyboards but is now
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PBT is a harder long-wearing material with a "sandier" feel and should not yellow as much as ABS over time. The downside is the brittle nature of PBT and expense, so most keyboard manufacturers do not use this for either keyboard cases or keys. Exceptions are some Cherry/Poker/Leopold keys and
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phasing it out. Currently, Vortex is using POM as the lettering infill on their
Backlit Doubleshot PBT/POM Keys. Cherry MX key casings are made of POM Chemical Testing, as are the stems Cherry Labeling on MY steB.
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MX-style stems. Custom sets are bought and sold within the enthusiast communities, and artisan keycaps can be purchased individually. Some artisan keycaps are cast into unique shapes such as LEGO
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casings are made of ABS and IBM Model Ms are as well. Filco and Das keys are made of ABS as are most keys that ship with the keyboard purchased. It has a bit of a "slick" feeling. For example,
149:(curving to the top, bottom and sides as if a large sphere was resting on it). The modern preference is for cylinder-shaped keycaps rather than spherical ones, but laptop keys are often flat.
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This is commonly used for keyboard casings and keys. It is a comparatively soft material compared to some modern plastics but is tough and resistant to breakage.
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Keycaps can be bought in replacement sets for a keyboard. Notably, replacement sets are frequently sold for keyboards that use
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94:. However, two-shot molding ("doubleshot") keycaps are still available today, known for their feel and general durability.
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Keycaps materials vary among the brands and provide different feels, durability, damage resistance, and other properties.
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Printing of numbers, letters, and symbols on the keycaps is done using pad printing, laser etching, or dye sublimation.
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character they correspond to. Early keyboards were manufactured with the keyswitch and keycap integrated in
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are typically chosen for their visual appeal. There are many designs a user may choose: from
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368:, Larson, Carlyn F., "Cap cover for keyboard keys", issued 16 March 1993
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Tough clear plastic. Used for translucent keys like this
Signature Plastic keyset.
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Dye sublimation is more expensive and only done by a few companies such as
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from the switch were introduced to facilitate the production of different
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is a small cover of plastic, metal, or other material placed over the
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141:(curving to the sides as if a fat cylinder was resting on it),
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Typical keycaps in the 1970s and 1980s were produced using
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A strong laser is used to print characters onto keycaps.
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section). The top of most keycaps may be described as
397:"Here's how letters get printed on your keyboard"
54:. Keycaps are often illustrated to indicate the
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419:: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
459:"What are the different keyboard keycaps?"
313:Mechanical Keyboard Profiles illustrated.
16:Cover placed over a computer keyboard key
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251:This is the cheapest and most common.
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306:this is called a sculpted profile.
121:The most common plastics used are
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395:Mueller, Jacob Shamsian, Carl.
118:-based to custom-made keycaps.
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35:Swappable keycaps of a French
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435:"DCS ABS Double Shot Sets"
682:"Keycap Profile Guide"
463:Wooting developer blog
366:US Utility 5193924
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228:Printing of characters
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294:keycap wears down.
200:IBM/Unicomp keys.
736:Computer keyboards
640:"Translucent Keys"
512:KaydensKeycaps.com
488:KaydensKeycaps.com
439:Pimpmykeyboard.com
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189:is made of ABS.
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37:Model M keyboard
25:injection molded
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713:. Retrieved
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539:. Retrieved
536:Keycapcustom
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467:. Retrieved
465:. 2015-11-20
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442:. Retrieved
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404:. Retrieved
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247:Pad printing
241:Description
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171:Description
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153:Construction
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60:alphanumeric
56:key function
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612:"Cherry MX"
301:Key profile
289:Double shot
715:2023-11-05
691:2021-08-05
541:2023-10-03
517:2023-03-10
493:2023-03-10
469:2017-02-14
444:2017-02-14
406:2021-02-22
379:References
116:video game
706:"Keycaps"
584:"Keycool"
158:Materials
147:spherical
135:materials
133:(see the
72:keyboard
48:keyswitch
23:Two-shot
730:Category
654:"Reddit"
626:"Reddit"
598:"Vortex"
415:cite web
168:Material
68:separate
710:Keycaps
327:Tai Hao
271:Unicomp
82:History
27:keycaps
372:
321:Cherry
238:Method
104:Cherry
74:layout
44:keycap
570:"PBT"
556:"ABS"
333:Laser
324:Apple
263:Topre
183:Topre
112:anime
50:of a
421:link
342:SA-P
330:Alps
187:Lego
143:flat
129:and
354:MT3
351:XDA
348:HSA
345:DSA
336:DCS
318:OEM
206:POM
195:PBT
177:ABS
145:or
131:POM
127:PBT
123:ABS
64:one
58:or
732::
708:.
684:.
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510:.
486:.
461:.
437:.
417:}}
413:{{
399:.
387:^
339:SA
273:.
265:,
217:PC
125:,
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76:s
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
