DCX vs DCD vs DCL - Drop’s Keycap Profiles Explained
We’ve covered the basics of keycap profiles before—spherical/cylindrical, sculpted/uniform, etc. One thing that has come up more and more over the years as we’ve expanded our portfolio of offerings here at Drop is the distinction between some of our similar profiles. Specifically, what is the actual difference between DCX, DCD, and DCL? Cylindrical Profiles To recap the previous article on the topic, one of the most basic ways to separate various keycap profiles is by shape (cylindrical, spherical, or flat). DCX, DCD, and DCL are all cylindrical profiles. The most famous cylindrical profile is Cherry profile, as defined by the original manufacturer of the keycaps—Cherry. GMK now owns those tools, and as such, only they can technically claim to produce “Cherry” profile keycaps. Similar keycap profiles are often called Cherry profile colloquially, but are in actuality slightly different. For the sake of not splitting hairs, all of the cylindrical profiles discussed here are...
Apr 9, 2024
1. Bottom case
2. PCB
3. Switch plate
4. Switches
5. O-rings
6. Keycaps
Explanation:
Videos on how to put it together:
Other terms to know:
- Ortholinear layout: the keys are in a square grid rather than staggered. Look at the picture of the switch plate from the beginning of this post to the switch plate in the video thumbnail right above, the first is staggered, the bottom one is ortholinear. Some claim it helps them touch type. But it also helps with the next term: layers.
- Planck keyboard layers: just read the following blog post. You can assign some keys to switch layers, where every key has multiple duties, it can be the letter Q in the base layer, number 1 in layer 2, and ! mark in layer 3. https://noahfrederick.com/log/the-planck-keyboard
- Knobs: Yup you can have a knob on your keyboard, making it control volume, cycle through windows, tabs, etc. This requires special hardware that isn't as common and available, or just a premade.
Here is one premade mechanical keyboard by IKCB:Custom made with knob (https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/jevk9y/maybe_endgame_is_real/):