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Angled stem keycaps vs straight keycaps
Posted: 20 May 2020, 02:22
by PlacaFromHell
What's the point behind the angled keycaps? Do they improve the keyboards in some way?
Straight
Angled
Re: Angled stem keycaps vs straight keycaps
Posted: 20 May 2020, 02:48
by Findecanor
It isn't the keycaps that are angled, but the stems on the switches.
I would speculate that it is probably just one of those conventions inherited from mechanical typewriters.
Re: Angled stem keycaps vs straight keycaps
Posted: 22 May 2020, 03:35
by PlacaFromHell
Findecanor wrote: 20 May 2020, 02:48
It isn't the keycaps that are angled, but the stems on the switches.
I would speculate that it is probably just one of those conventions inherited from mechanical typewriters.
So, there is no point behind it and is more related to the standards from the typewriters or so?
Re: Angled stem keycaps vs straight keycaps
Posted: 22 May 2020, 10:34
by AJM
If you would try both versions, you would probably notice, that it makes ergonomic sense to have the rows above the home row sit higher and the lower ones lower. For typewriters this was more important, because you had to hit the keys so much harder compared to computer keyboards. But still - human hands haven't changed so much in the last 40 years, so the version with the angled stems would still be better to use.
Because straight plates with straight switches are easier to produce, most sculpted keycap profiles imitate that angled arrangement through the shape of the caps (like Cherry and MT3).
SA does not and therefore doesn't really "make sense" in the straight arrangement.
Re: Angled stem keycaps vs straight keycaps
Posted: 22 May 2020, 10:43
by PlacaFromHell
AJM wrote: 22 May 2020, 10:34
If you would try both versions, you would probably notice, that it makes ergonomic sense to have the rows above the home row sit higher and the lower ones lower. For typewriters this was more important, because you had to hit the keys so much harder compared to computer keyboards. But still - human hands haven't changed so much in the last 40 years, so the version with the angled stems would still be better to use.
Because straight plates with straight switches are easier to produce, most sculpted keycap profiles imitate that angled arrangement through the shape of the caps (like Cherry and MT3).
SA does not and therefore doesn't really "make sense" in the straight arrangement.
Thanks dude. I'm just making blueprints for my possible endgame keyboard, so in order to make it better I'll correct the angle situation with the sliders themselves or modifying the keycaps' stems. While using my beamspring I can tell the keyboard feels better than anything else, but find how determinating is the situation going in the profile is quite hard as I don't have two keyboards with the same switches and the two types of keycap management. I guess I will only take the angle from the beamsprings' and replicate it.
Re: Angled stem keycaps vs straight keycaps
Posted: 22 May 2020, 11:05
by AJM
Oh and one thing, I hadn't mentioned is key travel. On (mechanical) typewriters key travel was a lot longer, so the staggered arrangement was also necessary to give the fingers enough space for that long travel without hitting the keys in the next lower row. That is obviously not such an issue with electronic keyboards and limits my last argument to a certain extent.