Orange's Little Science Part 7: How to choose the shaft body of the mechanical keyboard?

When there were few switches in the past, it was relatively easy for mechanical keyboards to distinguish the characteristics of the switches by color, but now there are almost all colors on the market, and gradually, it becomes difficult to distinguish by color. So the axis of these colors you mentioned, and the answer below, are mainly aimed at the CherryMX axis, but I try to make the content "universal". Anyway, after understanding the principle, the rest is to look at the parameters given by the manufacturer + get started by yourself.

In fact, all changes remain the same. The current switch body, or the core of the mechanical keyboard, cannot be separated from these three points:

Then according to the difference of these 3 items, it was initially divided into:

No paragraph sense + high pressure (60cN) + 2.0mm trigger = black axis

No paragraph sense + small pressure (45cN) + 2.0mm trigger = red axis

Weak paragraph sense + moderate pressure (55cN) + 2.0mm trigger = brown shaft

Strong paragraph sense + moderate pressure (60cN) + 2.2mm trigger = green axis

Because of the difference between pressure and key travel, the shaft body also has a key travel/pressure curve. For example, the above-mentioned green shaft, when the trigger (operating position) is at 2.2mm, you can see that the paragraph feeling is around 1.8mm. To (tactile position). And at the position of about 1.6mm, it reaches its rebound position (reset position). These graphs can intuitively reflect the general triggering idea of ​​an axis, which can be found on Cherry's official website.

This is how these four basic axes come, and their total key travel is 4.0mm. Then change the key travel, pressure, and feel on the basis of them to get other various shafts.

silver axis The birth is mainly for e-sports, that is, the fast rebound straight up and down without any paragraph, the trigger key travel is 1.2mm (the above four axes are all around 2mm), and the 45g is slightly heavier than the red axis, but

Jade axis It is the evolution of the white axis. The white axis is actually a bit like the black axis with paragraphs. It requires a lot of pressure and is very laborious to use. So on the basis of it, the jade axis has been improved, with less pressure and a smoother body. (It is said that it was modified by the white axis, but from the actual effect, I feel more like it was modified by the green axis...)

powder shaft It is the sister switch of the red switch, which can be regarded as a silent red switch, but because of the addition of rubber mute pads, the feel becomes more fleshy, which is a sacrifice for silence.

Red and pink shafts

In fact, Cherry's MX series also has gray, green, and milk axes. The gray and tit switches are heavier versions of the black and blue switches respectively. The green switch is the "short trigger stroke version" of the milk switch.

As for dwarf axis , The structure is slightly different, so CherryMX does not have short green shafts and brown shafts, only short red shafts and short silver shafts. Their total keystrokes have been reduced from 4mm and 3.4mm to 3.2mm respectively, while the actuation has been reduced from 2mm to 1.2mm (red switch), and 1.2mm to 1mm (silver switch).

red shaft and short red shaft

Generally speaking, the lighter, non-segmented red switch is more suitable, because the transition from the membrane keyboard is completely stress-free and there will be no particularly abrupt feeling. But the red switch is also complained about not being able to experience the joy of a real mechanical keyboard. Therefore, in addition to the red shaft, the tea shaft with a sense of paragraph is also recommended. Code words and playing games are also priority for these two axes (in addition, if you are a student party, it is extremely not recommended to use the green axis in the dormitory). Is the veteran suitable for the heavy axis? No, the veteran just knows which one he likes.

They are all the same original axles, for example, they all use CherryMX axles, and the axles themselves are the same. So the price is usually in other parts of the keyboard. However, the shafts of different manufacturers are mainly determined by the complexity of the shaft body and the difficulty of manufacturing. A better shaft will be smoother and feel better, but pay attention to the above-mentioned heavy/light, with/without paragraphs, etc. These are based on the individual, and there is no one that is more advanced.

At present, apart from CherryMX, China-made Kaihua, Jiadalong, and TTC are the three giants, all of which have their own factories and their own axes. There are also shafts from second-, third-, and fourth-tier manufacturers whose names have already surpassed the color...

The switch body is only a part of the mechanical keyboard. Although it is one of the most important links, such as keycap material, keyboard material, support for several modes, what about the Bluetooth chip for Bluetooth, and what about the 2.4G chip for 2.4G? Lighting, the complexity of the effects if there are lighting effects, and software support, etc. In most cases, the shaft is really the key to cost.

Due to its principle and characteristics, the range of silence of mechanical keyboards is limited, so mechanical keyboards are only divided into loud noises and louder noises. It is normal for a "silent mechanical keyboard" to be more noisy than an ordinary membrane keyboard. If you are looking for silence, you should look at electrostatic capacitor keyboard + mute shaft or consider a more high-end membrane keyboard.

Today's domestic shafts are already very strong. It is no longer the era when Cherry was the king. It's just that there are too many types of shafts on the market, so that it is difficult for everyone to get familiar with them one by one. Therefore, Cherry's is the most impressive one. A few basic shafts, but the self-owned shafts of the above giants are doing well now. If you are interested, you can try it. Anyway, according to the parameters in the front of the article, you can roughly judge the characteristics of those shafts.

In the end, the feel of the keyboard is actually extremely personal and subjective. The weight in grams on paper, whether there is a sense of paragraph, etc., are actually very abstract. If you are really entangled and want to choose a mid-range one in one step If you have a mechanical keyboard, then I suggest you buy a tester, which is not expensive, and you can try it out for 20 yuan for 9 axes. It’s just that this also has flaws, that is, there is no way to test the real effect of full palm typing, but it is far better than imagining it.