Box Cream Switches!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CHF9BMlHwSz/?igshid=1n8bzx8tomgef

I’m happy to see Mike hasn’t abandoned the box switch ecosystem. New them design is interesting

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Stem design is similar to the BOX Silent variants. It’s like a 2.0 BOX stem.

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Also, it would be nice to have some regular BOX Browns (non-silent) with the new stems, which don’t seem to break keycaps.

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I thought only really old BOX switches stretched/broke keycaps?

Quite interested to see how these turn out. I thought NK Creams felt really nice, though they sounded a bit high-pitched for my taste.

The new BOX 2.0 design looks and feels great. I just hope these actually have PCB mount pins on the bottom, unlike most older BOX switches.

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Yeah, afaik, only really old box switches stretched and broke keycaps. All of the newly produced ones now should be fine, but what we don’t know is if vendors kept track of their inventory and whether or not they have mixed old and new box switches. I know for a little while KBDfans had an issue with that, but box switches should be okay nowadays.

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We should have a more formal announcement soon on these. But I specifically made the X axis even smaller on these switches. Normal BOX switches are 1.3 ±.02mm. BOX Creams are 1.28 ±.02mm. Old BOX switches were 1.32 ±.02mm.

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I always thought box switches had a more solid bottom out, too. So these might sound and feel really nice. Cool.

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Good choice, going with the more tapered new housing. Definitely interested to see what else is going on with them.

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Nice, silent & smooth box, I enjoy all the R&D and mx improvements. 2 years ago I couldn’t find anything nicer than topre in terms of feel but all these new switches man…they bring the game to a new level :slight_smile:

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Thanks for the info. I had a question about the new housings. I understand that they are more tapered?

Does this make the new housings resemble the ART Box switches? The ART Box switches are tapered down so that they can be used upside-down without impacting Cherry-profile keycaps.

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Interesting, not that regular creams had any wobble issues AFIK or IME, but I’m always down for a more solid switch!

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Interesting… Does this mean they’ll be smoother stock, but not really lube-able?

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I’d say almost certainly, unless they invested in totally new molds. They have the cylinder-shrouded stem that the Silent Box switches have, and all of those have the same housing shape as the Art Box switches, just with a circular hole for the stem instead of a square one.

Speculation on my part: Archon commissioned Kailh to make the Art Box switches with some kind of exclusivity agreement. Kailh later realized the benefits of the new shape and made further modifications so as to technically keep that agreement while still reaping said benefits.

I wouldn’t be surprised if more (or all) new Box switches moving forward don’t use the tapered housing and cylinder stem - another benefit for them is visual distinction from that first run of Box switches that were messing up keycaps. (The issue is long-solved, but people still ask about it regularly - so I imagine the different appearance will only help there.)

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I agree with your general assessment. Incidentally, that’s why I like the idea of BOX Browns using the new stem / housing.

We know that the retooled BOX Brown supposedly don’t break keycaps anymore, but it’s hard to distinguish them from the pre-retooled. That problem wouldn’t exist anymore with a 2.0 BOX Brown.

Also, I have tested the BOX Silent Brown, and while they seem okay, they are more tactile and sharper than BOX Brown, and seem to have shorter travel. So a regular BOX Brown using the new components would be a nice switch to have available.

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Don’t really like box brown because they eventually turn clicky over time

If these switches are somewhat smooth and are reasonably priced I’ll pick some up because I sold my vintage blacks.

The tactile turning into a small click is a horrible design flaw. Do they still all do that eventually? I had it on my Hakko Clear switches a long time ago and had to desolder them.

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If these are like Creams but without the top creak, they’re going to be awesome.

That’s a good point too. They could very likely have the creaky tops. And I don’t think there are films for box switches to fix that issue. We’ll see.

I think the click is a result of the pusher between the stem and contacts. I thought lubing might help but so far it just seems to bring it out.

The tactile strength mostly comes from the leaf - putting the bottom from a regular box brown with the top of a silent one makes for tactility more like the original.

Necro necro! These will be in stock SOON.

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