HELP needed: Pulling keys on Micro-Switch Keyboards

[Slom]

Hello,

I need some help pulling the keys on my Micro-Switch Keyboard, and thought you guys might have some good Ideas.

My switch type is 4A3A:

IMAG0681 (2).jpg (290.95 KiB) Viewed 3934 times

The Problem is that my Caps are really tight on the switches, like they are molten onto the sliders: you can even see the imprint of the sliders on the keycaps (marked in red):

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IMAG0686-marked.jpg (581.17 KiB) Viewed 3934 times

So what happens when I pull the keys straight up is that the slider is (sometimes, twice out of 8 keys) pulled as well When I tried to pull into the direction of the little tab that holds the slider in the switch housing I managed to break the top of the housing. I'm not to happy right now :

IMAG0680-marked.jpg (714.71 KiB) Viewed 3934 times

Also Ideas about how to repair the damage are welcome as well

Unedited images:

Spoiler:

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IMAG0680.jpg (577.95 KiB) Viewed 3934 times

[XMIT]

Oh I remember this board

I also remember, all to well, that it looked like someone had spilled acetone on it at some point. Many of the keys are bubbly from clear chemical damage.

Your best bet with the switch housing is what we call Krazy Glue in the US, a cyanoacrylate adhesive. If you want, you can test to see if the switch housings themselves are acetone soluble (a sign that something is likely ABS plastic), and if so, use a *tiny* amount of acetone to "weld" the pieces back together. By tiny I mean use the tip of a wooden toothpick to measure tiny drops.

At this rate I might desolder the whole thing to prevent further switch damage.

Can you post a larger photo of the whole keyboard to be sure?

[Slom]

Yeah, it's that same keyboard. I really thought that pulling and cleaning the keycaps was the easy warmup O_o.

[Chyros]

Just to be clear; when you pull out the slider too, does the switch get damaged?

[Slom]

Not always. When the switch got damaged, I pulled a little to the left as well. But with the amount of force needed, I would not be surprised of the same happened even when I pull straight up.

The first image shows a switch where the slider also separated, I put it in again, but forgot the spring underneath. Now that I look at the picture again I think it is also slight warped.

Are the sliders supposed to come out through the top of the switches?

[terrycherry]

Try to use this 3M Scotch jellie super glue 7005 to fix the broken slider.(I don't know the true English name)
The glue is transparent when dried.

It works perfect I used: fixed the thick keyboard front and back case; keycaps; slider; metal
It just an advice. Good luck:lol:
http://solutions.3m.com.tw/wps/portal/! ... w!!/#main2

[XMIT]

That glue looks like the Japanese version of exactly what I recommended earlier: cyanoacrylate.

[terrycherry]

Asia selling the Japanese version only.
Euro version maybe this one? Scotch-Weld Surface Insensitive Cyanoacrylate SI GEL
http://solutions.3m.co.uk/wps/portal/3M ... oacrylate/

[Slom]

The canonical German version might be this one: http://www.uhu-profi.de/produkte/sekund ... e=1&step=0

[Slom]

Status Update: I could pull out the PCB with the Hall-Effect ICs from underneath the switches ... not need to solder. Now I can easily remove single switches from the plate.

But now I'm stuck again: seems the only way to get the sliders out is through the top At the bottom there is only a small slit for the IC plate.

[terrycherry]

I advice you use the jellie super glue not liquid one.
You meant you want to assemble the switch,right? That's not the easy way to do that without damage.

[Slom]

Thank you all for your thoughts so far

I advice you use the jellie super glue not liquid one.

Because it's easier to handle?

You meant you want to assemble the switch,right?

I want to remove the keycaps from the slider, and then the slider from the switch. Some of the switches are really dirty inside, so I want to clean the inside of the housing and the slider.

That's not the easy way to do that without damage.

What would you recommend?