I Think My Switch Is Stuck! - The Tale of Cherry MX Locks
Over the years of collecting mechanical keyboard switches, I’ve been lucky enough to have encountered dozens upon dozens of rare and unique ones that have stuck in my mind to this day. Prototypes, factory errors, and even a few switches so rare that there is literally zero documentation about them anywhere in the world all fill that personal list from top to bottom. However, I realize that talking about switches so far outside of most people’s reaches, and even sometimes my own grasp, doesn’t make for the most exciting of articles about switches. To this newest generation of keyboard enthusiasts, though, there is one pretty rare MX-style switch which has made its way to the top of everyone’s “must try” lists – Cherry MX Locks. These often undiscussed and even more rarely seen switches are something that few people have seen and even fewer have had the chance to try at a meetup before. However, the list of people who really know how these unique Cherry switches work is even shorter...
Jul 23, 2024
Basic Overview: Designing a keycap set from start to finish Creating a keycap set may sem deceptively simple, but there is actually quite a bit of nuance that goes into creating a successful set. To kick things off I want to provide a basic overview of the entire process, and I’ll be going further into detail on each aspect in subsequent posts. In these subsequent posts I will be concentrating exclusively on the requirements for creating a GMK keycap set, but in this introductory post I will speak in broader terms. I think it is important to understand all the choices you have when designing a keycap set.
Novelty Keys At the same time the IC ins happening, you should also be working on any novelty keys, new fonts, or special keys you want to add to the set. Not every set will need special keys (my old set GMK Honeywell was awarded the Deskthority “Set of the Year” for example, and it included no special keys or novelties). When designing novelties, be aware of any protected materials, especially if you are designing a set based off of an existing work (like a movie, book, show, etc). When designing new legends you need to keep in mind a few important details – most important what the specific manufacturing tolerances are for the caps you are using. For example, if you are creating a doubleshot keycap set, you can’t have novelties with more than 2 colors, or shading. Colors The final consideration for this stage is selecting the colors that will be used. This is often a deceptively hard part of the process. When selecting colors it is best practice to use either RAL or Pantone, with RAL being preferred as it is intended to be used for plastic manufacturing. When working with colors there are a few things you should be aware of. First – make sure you calibrate your monitor, and always check your work on as many different screens as possible. If you are using a “gaming mode” or some high contrast mode, turn it off. Colors on the screen never translate perfectly to how colors will look in real life, which is why I always suggest getting sample plastic chips if possible. Anytime I use pantone colors I always get the samples. These allow me to look at the colors and contrast between the colors in a variety of lighting. Buyers will always want to know the specific colors used in any set – so having this information readily available is quite important.
Packaging Now that the design process is wrapping up all that is left to do is design the packaging and get the required files to the vendor so that they can place the order. Different manufacturers each have their own packaging, but templates should be readily available. Mod Edit: Formatting