Deskthority Spacebar sizes

[2moons]

Hello,

It seems there is a page on Deskthority that has dimensions of spacebar sizes. One of these sizes is a 4.5u which has specific dimensions. It says the dimensions and includes SA profile as an example. There is also a Cherry PDF linked as the source but this link is broken. The pdf is titled Tastenmodule_MX_S67_S70_S71.pdf. I would very much like to view the information that might be contained in this pdf. Also it seems that spacebar dimensions may or may not be correct. Can the dimensions be verified? Thank you for your time.

Regards,

Nick
Basekeys.jp

[Findecanor]

If the profile is SA, then it would be Signature Plastics that has that size.

I've got a document called "Keymodule_MX_S67_S70_S71.pdf", which might be the same document but in English.
It lists only stabilisers for 2.0/2.25/2.75u, 3u and 8u unfortunately, but mentions that Cherry also supported 7u, 9u and 10u.

AFAIK about standard Cherry stabilisers is that:
• 2.0u, 2.25u and 2.75u keys all use the same stabilisers.
• 3u, 6u, 6.25, 7u and 8u use stabilisers placed 0.5u from the left and right edge. (Example: 6.25u spacebar ⇒ (6.25 - 1) × 19.05 = 100.2 mm between stems)
• Space bars wider than 8u used stabilisers for 8u.

Anything else is an odd size that would be difficult to get a keycap or stabiliser bar for. Some odd 6.25u and some 6.5u seem to be a little more common though.

[Bjerrk]

Yeah, that particular document seems to have vanished off the internet.
But take a look at e.g. https://tvsss.co.in/uploads/product/201 ... 036861.pdf
This also gives the standard spacing of 19mm. If you compare with the Deskthority wiki article you mention ( wiki/Space_bar_dimensions#10_units_.281 ... m_apart.29 ) you can see that it gives the width of a 10U spacebar as 190mm.

[2moons]

If the profile is SA, then it would be Signature Plastics that has that size.

I've got a document called "Keymodule_MX_S67_S70_S71.pdf", which might be the same document but in English.
It lists only stabilisers for 2.0/2.25/2.75u, 3u and 8u unfortunately, but mentions that Cherry also supported 7u, 9u and 10u.

AFAIK about standard Cherry stabilisers is that:
• 2.0u, 2.25u and 2.75u keys all use the same stabilisers.
• 3u, 6u, 6.25, 7u and 8u use stabilisers placed 0.5u from the left and right edge. (Example: 6.25u spacebar ⇒ (6.25 - 1) × 19.05 = 100.2 mm between stems)
• Space bars wider than 8u used stabilisers for 8u.

Anything else is an odd size that would be difficult to get a keycap or stabiliser bar for. Some odd 6.25u and some 6.5u seem to be a little more common though.

Thanks for this information. 4.5u spacebars are common in Japan and Asia in general. Since GMK is making their tooling for a 4.5u spacebar it is highly important to have the exact dimensions rather than relying on strictly the Deskthority page for dimensions, which may or may not be correct. In fact, compared to FILCOs and even the measurements sent to me by Signature Plastics come up short from 85mm. If the source for the information on Deskthorities website was acertained it could be compared with current 4.5u spacebars that are being manufactured. This is important because GMK tooling is amazingly expensive to create. If none such source can be acquired, the only thing that can be done is to provide GMK with examples of 4.5u spacebars that currently exist.

You may think stabilizers for 4.5u are rare but they are easy to obtain from Aliexperss. The bar width is indeed 100% correct to Filco and XDA. So there must be something that indicates the standard.

[Findecanor]

I'm sorry. As "standard", I was referring to what Cherry GMBH itself had offered, and then I suppose that the "de-facto" standard for any other space bar size of size 3u and up is the rule of having each stabiliser at 1/2 unit from each end (of the enclosing rectangle, see below) and the switch in the absolute centre.
I suppose you'd have to measure the keys of the keyboards you want to support, compare and go from there.

There are lots of variations of measurements, and some that don't follow that rule. Hence, why there's a need for a wiki page about space bar measurements. Please do add to the Wiki article if you have measurements for any space bar type that you think is missing.

This also gives the standard spacing of 19mm.

BTW. Be careful that the standard unit spacing is 3/4 inches = 19.05 mm. When you sum the length of a space bar, the fractional digits can add up to get outside of tolerances.
Another pitfall when counting with units is that a unit is a square that the keys are fitted into. Every keycap is a about 1/2 mm smaller on each side than the rectangle the keys is fitted for.

[kbdfr]

While always on the search for a nice-looking replacement 4u (!) spacebar for my Tipro keyboard,
I regularly stumble upon keyboards with 4.5u spacebars like this:
https://www.ebay.de/itm/185354307446