Mechanical movement
Mechanical switches, then, are any switches
that ditch the thin, easily worn-out membrane
contact system and instead use individually
engineered switches for each key. Most of
these also ditch the rubber dome spring
system and use metal springs instead, but
there are some models that use individual
rubber dome switches.
For a start, there are the scissor switches
used in most laptops. These essentially just
change the housing and mounting system
to a very compact scissor hinge, rather than
the plunger in a plastic housing of a full-
sized keyboard, but underneath the hinge is
generally a rubber dome providing the spring.
The exact quality and type of switch can vary
greatly between laptops. Low-profile scissor
switches were also popular on desktop
keyboards for a while – SilverStone made a
particularly good model back in the day – but
they’re far less common these days, outside
of portable and cheap units.
As for other rubber dome desktop
keyboards, the most popular versions are
made by a company called Topre. These
switches use a magnet mounted in the
rubber dome to trigger a response, so the
switch doesn’t need to bottom out, as with
membrane keyboards. They also incorporate
a spring under the membrane, so the tension
in the system isn’t just managed by the
buckling of the rubber itself. They last much
longer and they’re more consistent than
normal membrane rubber dome switches –
and are quieter than many other mechanical
switches – but they remain a niche option.
The most basic Cherry MX switch (Red) has a smooth slope pushing against the switch contactA bump on the side of the Cherry MX Brown’s plunger adds tactile feedbackA second plastic piece (white) slides over the main plunger, snapping back and forth to create the click
of Cherry MX Blue keysCherry switch action