|
|
|
|
|
|
by braindeath
2363 days ago
|
|
|
> However, those keyswitches are quite heavy by modern standards and you may find your fingers getting tired. I find fatigue to be a bigger problem on most rubber dome keyboards. I know the peak force for a Model M is a bit high, but how does the total work compare? Seems to me what would matter more. |
|
|
All the work that makes rubber dome keys feel tiring is done after the switch has activated, and so how much work you do on the switch is going to depend on your own technique. (Before activation, they look a lot like Topre switches, which is a very "rounded" tactile bump. It's just that the actual activation happens at the very bottom of the travel, so you can't activate the switch without a movement that applies force but moves the key ~0mm, which obviously increases total work very very quickly because of that close-to-0 denominator. But it's not strictly necessary to apply any force after the key activates.)
A lot of people using mechanical switches, especially light ones, also bottom out, so they are prone to this "infinite work" effect. So if a 90g spring saves you from bottoming out, it can reduce fatigue if you were just going to slam into the PCB at the bottom. But if you can also be trained to not bottom out with a 45g switch, you'll be doing a lot less work, which may translate to less fatigue.
I know a lot of people that type very lightly on rubber dome keyboards, so it can be done. The theory is that a good tactile bump or audible click is going to help train you from bottoming out, which gives you a very clear maximum on the total work done. But it is all about technique; the switches don't have infinite travel (which would be interesting, actually) and can't STOP you from bottoming out, all they can do is give you tools to help train yourself to spend as small amount of time compressing something that can't compress. Bumps, clicks, extreme care... all helpful, but it is up to the individual to figure out what works. There are plenty of people that do not bottom out on linear keys; and that is just about training your fingers to press the key 3mm instead of 3.5mm. Meanwhile, there are no doubt people typing on model Ms that slam the key to the bottom of the travel and get no benefit from the tactile and clicky nature of the mechanism.
Individual typing technique is always going to be crucial; tactile/clicky add-ons just help hone the technique. Rubber domes come with no training wheels and no margin of error, and thus 99% of people probably do more work than necessary to activate them. That's my theory anyway.