Niz MX Compatable Topre Sliders

Are the Axiom 3d printed spacebar stabs the best solution to pair with MX-compatible sliders at the moment? That’s pretty much the last thing between me and buying the Niz switches :sweat_smile:

Can anyone with some calipers measure the thickness of the niz springs?

I do not have any of their springs, sorry

Oops sorry, I meant rings. Then I can determine which size deskey ring is equivalent

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They’re about 0.03" uncompressed, hover around 0.018" when compressed lightly and compress down to as low as 0.01" when I close my calipers around them completely.

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You can use Costar 6u stabilizers. You can use 2 stabs on each side to hold the wire better, so you can order from AliExpress 1 x 6u and 1x 2u, to use the plastics. Hot glued into place + lube = very nice stab, close to stock I could say.

Check out the mod pics : Costar 6u stabs on fc660c spacebar https://imgur.com/a/jJKw1Qy

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Life saving tips and comments in this thread. I just ordered a set of Niz sliders for my fc660c and together with the costar stabs it looks like it can all come together nicely. I’ll be sure to report back after trying in case it helps anyone.

I might give that a try. FWIW I’m looking at doing this on a Realforce R2 so I’ll be needing 6.25u stabs, but it shouldn’t make a difference otherwise. Thanks for the tip.

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Are there 2u stabilizers that work with the NIZ housing in a standard Topre plate? I wonder if people can create a housing-for-a-housing that has space for a Costar wire and inserts.

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Does using the NIZ sliders require any modification to the board at all? I recall some MX mods required holes to be drilled on the inside

If you are using Novatouch or the JTK/KBD 2u sliders in stock 2u housings you need to drill holes for the outboard mounts of the caps.

Other times drilling/cutting is required if you are modifying a realforce board with the single rotated housing on the left control to make it the same orientation as the rest of the board.

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I’m going to try installing my Des-rings on the Niz sliders when they get here and see how that works. Hopefully they don’t squeak like the Silence-X rings do in the stock housings. I’ve also ordered some costar stabs and have KBD sliders on hand for the other stabilized keys. I just need to summon up the courage to drill into my switch housings and pass the point of no return. :sweat_smile:

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I just ordered some of the NIZ sliders, where do I order the costar stabs? I also looke dinto BKE domes but it seems they are out of stock on the lighter versions

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Costar on AliExpress

Thx, you seem to be the authority on using these! I found the shop but there are a bunch of different options over there; plate-mount, pole-mount, etc. I have seen your posts on reddit as well. I need to make a list of all the items I’ll need to make the NIZ sliders work. Seems there is some different approaches as to whether or not any drilling needs to take place.

Costar plate mount, where the plastic clips onto the plate.

I only did the mod on a spacebar, but Niz Plum boards use Costar on 2u-s also, as described in my other replies.

Drilling is needed if you use kbdfans sliders in stock topre housing on the 2u’s. I personally recommend going like this : 1u’s keys - niz slider+ housing, 2u stabbed keys - topre drilled + KBDFans 2u lubed wire + housing + silence ring (SilenceX, Deskkeys,keyclacks whatever) and Costar 6u + 2 stab plastics each side

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Wow, I ordered the Niz sliders thinking that would be 90% of what I needed but I guess I jumped the gun. Seems pretty elaborate to make the conversion overall. Thanks for the info, I’ll tinker when the sliders arrive

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A pleasure ! Please send me some pics and tell me how it went :slight_smile:

I got the new 2019 Niz sliders recently and installed them in my fc660c.

Here are my findings:

  • Fit and Finish – The Niz sliders actually fit a little more snug in their housings than stock Topre resulting in slightly less key wobble. I found no X-Y axis gap between the housings and the plate but there is a small Z axis gap between the housing clips and the plate. Presumably this is to accommodate thicker plates as the fc660c’s is rather thin. In any case after screwing it all together the housings sit nice and flush with the PCB and the plate. The Tai-hao PBT caps i’m using to test this board fit snugly with no concern about coming off.

  • Feel / Smoothness – Equal or marginally better than stock Topre to my touch. After lubing with 50/50 krytox 103 x 205g0 they are a dream to type on. These are really really good.

  • Sound – The sound of the naked sliders is largely the same as stock Topre, perhaps very slightly deeper and fuller. Stock Topre purple silent sliders have two holes at the base whereas these are solid.

  • Silencing ring swap – Included with the Niz sliders are small rubber o-rings for silencing. I replaced these with the stock Topre silent foam rings when swapping because the sound and feel was superior. The difference is really marginal but if you have existing Topre silencing rings I would recommend this.

Overall 10/10 would buy again. If anyone would like to request pics or video I can post those later.

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Where can I find a 6u Corstar? Thanks!