In order to make it easier for everyone to choose customized keyboard accessories, this article will provide basic answers and recommendations for you who are overwhelmed by various choices. The content is very basic and is only suitable for you who want to have a preliminary understanding of custom keyboards.

The First Step of Customizing the Keyboard – Determine the Budget of Your Own Keyboard

First of all, the customized keyboard is different from the finished keyboard. The fun lies in the free choice or even customization of every detail, and every detail can be stamped with your own brand. To know that as long as the word “customization” is stained on anything, it may be far from the “price of cabbage”. After all, at the professional level in any field, the quality of your stuff is directly proportional to the price. So understand this clearly, as a classmate who has just come into contact with customization, if you want to set up your first keyboard, before purchasing accessories, we suggest you to determine the total amount you want to spend. Generally speaking, most of the cost of a customized keyboard mainly lies in the shell, shaft and keycaps. The full set of accessories is divided into three levels according to the price: basic version, advanced version, and high-end version.

The Second Step of Customizing the Keyboard – Select the Arrangement (Size + PCB Board + Positioning board)

After you have determined your approximate budget, you will come to the stage of choosing the arrangement. You may be confused when you hear this term for the first time. What is arrangement? To put it simply, the arrangement is the combination of keys on your keyboard. You can decide whether the keyboard has a numeric keypad or not. It is as small as changing the order and arrangement of each function key. It is almost a completely arbitrary control. step. For example, the leader of my family thinks that the small keyboard is indispensable, so they will make a small keyboard arrangement when they group 68 keyboards.

Here, if you are still at a loss, we solemnly recommend beginners to choose from the following 3 popular configurations.

1. Left Shift 64 (60% keyboard arrangement)

This is also the arrangement that I have created the most recently. The advantage of this arrangement is that it contains all the commonly used keys in the smallest size, including the arrow keys and the Delete key, and is suitable for most 60 keyboard shells, suitable for most people who want to use a small size man with keyboard. The disadvantage is that it does not fit the full-size keyboard wildcard keycaps (this configuration requires 2xShift and 1xShift).

2. 96 Arrangement (100% keyboard arrangement)

On the basis of retaining most of the keys, try to compress the size of the arrangement. The advantage is that the keys are complete, the layout is compact, and it contains a full-size keypad area, which is suitable for users who need to use the keypad frequently. The disadvantage is also that it does not adapt to the full-size keyboard wildcard keycap (this configuration requires 1.75xShift).

3. 87 Arrangement (80% keyboard arrangement)

It is equivalent to a full-size keyboard with the keypad area cut off, leaving all the remaining keys intact. It can adapt to various keycaps, and there are many choices of shells, and it has its place in various customized shell manufacturers.

After deciding which arrangement to use, you can use the model to search for the corresponding PCB (ie circuit board) and positioning board!

The Third Step of Customizing the Keyboard – Choose the Shell

After selecting the layout, we can choose the preferred casing according to the selected layout. When choosing, pay attention to the screw holes of the casing to match the PCB board and positioning board you purchased. Please pay attention to Ah~

The price of the shell is mainly related to the material. At present, the mainstream matching shell materials for customized keyboards are as follows:

1. Plastic Case

The most common, the advantage is that there are many colors, the price is relatively cheap, the disadvantage is that the style is relatively common and the texture is poor.

2. Wooden Shell

The wooden shells are mostly made of wood and directly shaped and polished. The advantage is that the materials are environmentally friendly, and the keyboards that are matched with them have a natural and warm feeling. However, because the wooden shells are mostly hand-made, they are not at the level of industrial products, and the construction period is sometimes long. , handmade traces are more obvious. And wood needs regular maintenance to look better.

3. Metal Shell

Depending on the process, the metal shell will have differences such as anode and electrophoresis. Different processes, sizes, and even the price gap between manufacturers will be relatively large. The advantage of the metal shell is that it has a certain sense of weight, exquisite workmanship, rich colors, and a strong mechanical sense; the disadvantage is that it is expensive and is afraid of bumps and scratches. .

To sum up, if you just want to try customization for the first time and your budget is very low, we recommend you choose a plastic case with a good-looking keycap. If you have a high budget, you can choose an cnc anodized aluminum case. That looming high-end feel.

The Fourth Step of Customizing the Keyboard – Select Keycaps

Keycaps are the most straightforward part of the keyboard’s personality. There are many keycap styles produced by various manufacturers, and there are some group-purchasing futures keycaps whose prices soared after the group was cut off. We recommend allocating the last remaining portion to keycaps when allocating your budget, as it comes in an amazing price range like a high-end metal case.

When choosing a keycap, there are two attributes that many novices are not familiar with. The material and height are briefly described here.

1. About the Material

Common materials are PBT and ABS. The main differences between these two materials are as follows:

The advantage of PBT is that it is not easy to oil, the sublimation process is not easy to fade, and the price ceiling is relatively low. The disadvantage is that the pattern is not as delicate as ABS. The best and worst materials in the keycaps are ABS. The high-end ABS keycaps have beautiful patterns and delicate textures. They have two-color molding technology and never fade. ) and expensive.

2. About Height

Did you see SA, DSA, OEM or something dumb when picking keycaps? In fact, the height of each row of keycaps on the keyboard is designed to meet the comfort of people when using them. There are some specific standards, SA, etc. are the standards, and R1~R4 are the 4 different heights in this standard.

The Fifth Step of Customizing the Keyboard – Select the Axis

In a mechanical keyboard, the shaft is as important as the keycap. It can be said that one is visual enjoyment, and the other is auditory and tactile enjoyment. Depending on the shaft, the feel and sound of hitting the keyboard will also be different. In order to meet people’s different preferences, major manufacturers will introduce various types of shafts. There is too much to say about the axis body. The most basic one is divided into two types: linear axis and paragraph axis. The most intuitive difference between these two axis bodies is whether the resistance your fingers feel when you press it has a sense of paragraph, or straight up and down (no obvious jam resistance). Further subdivision will be divided into heavier (higher resistance), lighter (less resistance), the sound is also different.

The Sixth Step of Customizing the Keyboard – Personalized Configuration (Light Beads+ Personalized Keycaps)

After completing the above five steps, your keyboard is ready to start construction, but it still lacks a little personality. At this time, you can consider installing LED lights, or even RGB lights, for the keyboard. Personalized keycaps are another key point of personalization. You can change any key to a style you like, depending on your imagination. However, exquisitely crafted personalized keycaps are also expensive, and they are basically group purchases for a limited time.

So far, a basic customized keyboard accessories selection process ends here. There are still many things that can be played in the customization of mechanical keyboards. It is the first time to set up a keyboard, and it is best for you to choose according to your own economic situation in terms of budget. Although it is worth every penny, it must be done according to one’s ability. But don’t feel that customization is out of reach, after all, we’ve also made anodized aluminum keyboards with a full set of accessories that add up to just $40 to use.