A mechanical keyboard is essential if you are a gamer or a coder, or someone who is looking for unending modifications. But how about building it by yourself? Yes, that’s possible, you can build your mechanical keyboard by buying separate components and that too of your choice.
Also, it’s way easier to build a mechanical keyboard by yourself and doesn’t require any rocket science. However, you should be familiar with its components and what you will need for making one. If you are already searching for it, you are in the right place.
Here we have the answer for your what do I need to build a mechanical keyboard. And that too in a detail so go further and get something to note down the components that will be essential if you ever think of making a mechanical keyboard on your own.
Do I need to make a mechanical keyboard?
It’s not a compulsion to make a mechanical keyboard by yourself, as there are many high-end mechanical keyboards available with different features. However, it will take too long to find the perfect one for you, or you may even get to know that it doesn’t exist.
That’s when you can think of making a mechanical keyboard on your own. There are a lot of benefits of making a keyboard by yourself, some of which are listed below.
Advantages of making a customized mechanical keyboard
- Unlimited modifications
Unlike store-bought mechanical keyboards, a customized one gives you the freedom to modify and rebuild the keyboard several times. You can use your favourite components of different brands that you prefer and build a mechanical keyboard that fulfils all your needs.
- Cheaper price
If you buy the keyboard components separately, chances are that you can get them at a lower price as compared to a store-bought keyboard. So, if you are keen on saving some bucks, think of making a mechanical keyboard on your own.
- Satisfaction
The last advantage of making a customized mechanical keyboard is that you get immense satisfaction. It cannot match buying a readymade keyboard. The results you get after putting a lot of effort and time into it give you a lot of satisfaction.
Requirements for making a mechanical keyboard
To make a mechanical keyboard, you should know its requirements. It’s important because you should know what options you will have with you and choose the best out of them for making a fully customized mechanical keyboard.
Keyboard case and Keycaps
The keyboard cases are available in different sizes starting from a full-sized one including 108 keys, tenkeyless, which excludes the Numpad, and a much smaller one named 40% keyboard having only the 40 to 49 keys. So get one according to your size requirements and space restrictions.
Also, the keyboard case should be strong enough to endure falls so check for the build material. Talking about the keycaps, they are available in different colors and themes but make sure they are sturdy and most probably made of PBT or ABS.
Mechanical switches
A mechanical switch is what we call the base of a mechanical keyboard because your typing speed, keyboard noise, and responsiveness will depend on these switches. They are available in different color options and depending on the color; they have their properties such as blue ones are the loudest of all while the red and brown switches are smooth and tactile.
Also, the higher the price, the longer their lifespan so we would recommend you to go for pricy switches.
Printed Circuit Board
The printed circuit board aka PCB is the second most important part after the switches because that’s where these switches lie and it makes them work. These PCBs are available in different sizes, so get one according to the size of your keyboard case.
Moreover, PCBs have a lot of customizable options such as hot-swappable and backlighting, so read the PCB’s specifications before buying it.
Mounting plate
The mounting plate is a case made of rubber, copper or any material that keeps the switches from wobbling. Similar to the PCB, you need to buy the mounting plate of the keyboard cases size.
Stabilizers
As you know, keyboards have bigger than normal keys such as space and enter yet they use only one switch which cannot keep them stable and that’s when stabilizers come to our rescue. As their name suggests, they stabilize the bigger keys.
Other requirements
The other minimal requirements include a tweezer, screwdriver, soldering iron and solder, etc which will be used for testing and assembling the keyboard.
Conclusion
So now that you know what it requires to build a mechanical keyboard, you are free to gather all these components.
Also, do not forget to search for a good deal as it will help in lowering the cost of the keyboard. Lastly, you can also refer to our other article on how to make a customized keyboard where we have given a detailed explanation.
