DSA keycaps vs. Cherry MX o-ring dampeners

[Sigmoid]

Hey,

I've read a few forum posts around the net that DSA keycaps are slightly "deeper" than regular Cherry MX keys, and the switch itself will bottom out before even a .4mm rubber o-ring makes contact with the housing (while two of these are too much).

Could someone who has access to both regular Cherry MX keycaps and DSAs, take measurements of the stem lengths of both with a digital micrometer? Using washers seems like a good idea, but we'd need to know how thick exactly the washers need be.

[Findecanor]

Most keycaps have struts/walls in-between the keycap wall and the stem that O-rings sit on. Signature Plastics' keycaps don't have those. SP offers several different types of stems: Alps, Cherry MX-compatible, etc. for each profile and that wouldn't be as easy if the stems and walls were connected.
With some cheap digital calipers, I measure the stems of a couple of DSA-keys in PBT to be about 5.4 ± 0.2 mm long, but I still think that you would be best to experiment yourself with how thick/many O-rings that both works and which also feels good for you.

An alternative to using O-rings would be the "Trampoline Mod", where you would open the switch and put a small piece of rubber inside a hole at the bottom of the switch. Some people have used tiny silicone balls as shock-absorbers, where those have the same size. The mod would be different for clicky MX switches because those have longer stems.

[Sigmoid]

Most keycaps have struts/walls in-between the keycap wall and the stem that O-rings sit on. Signature Plastics' keycaps don't have those. SP offers several different types of stems: Alps, Cherry MX-compatible, etc. for each profile and that wouldn't be as easy if the stems and walls were connected.

Yea... What I'm curious about is the length measured from the tip of the stem to the cross struts in regular Cherry MX caps. The DSA keycaps themselves are significantly shallower than standard cylindrical keycaps.

An alternative to using O-rings would be the "Trampoline Mod", where you would open the switch and put a small piece of rubber inside a hole at the bottom of the switch. Some people have used tiny silicone balls as shock-absorbers, where those have the same size. The mod would be different for clicky MX switches because those have longer stems.

Lol. I'm not one to shun some manual labor, but this sounds like the sort of job the evil stepmother would make Cinderella do, or something.

[Findecanor]

What I'm curious about is the length measured from the tip of the stem to the cross struts in regular Cherry MX caps.

That depends on your definition of "regular Cherry MX caps" ...

Cherry's own keycaps ("Cherry profile") have a shorter length than most keycaps in "OEM profile". With Cherry Profile you are better off by using "orthodontic rubber bands" (3/16") because they are smaller than the O-rings sold by keyboard stores. With for instance WASD Keyboards' O-rings and Cherry-profile keycaps, the travel is noticeably shorter than with WASD Keyboards' own keycaps (that are in OEM profile).

Lol. I'm not one to shun some manual labor, but this sounds like the sort of job the evil stepmother would make Cinderella do, or something.

Sure, but many enthusiasts do other mods at the same time: lubrication for smoother action and a sticker between top and bottom to hold them firmer to reduce prevent wiggle.

[Lpwl]

I'm simply using some thicker O-rings with DSA keycaps and it's working really well.

You can either :
- double them up (1.5mm + 2.5mm) like this :
or
- use some really thick ones (3.0mm).

Sadly "soft" O-rings are difficult to find in that thickness.

You should be able to find those little guys in my sale thread - in a week or two - during ROUND 4