Yeah… so not a "silent’ switch, but a “dampened” switch. It would have similar sound profile to lubed switches. The idea is to keep the thock, but not the clack. I h ave several new switches that are good and smooth, but sound too loud for me (alpacas, tangerines v2, T1s, tealios) For me, this design would eliminate the need for lubrication at last!
I would think one of the current manufacturers of silent swithces could R&D a softer plastic or harder silicon material to add to already existing silent stem designs in place of the current silent bumpers. Whatcha think? Think we could talk Durok into it?
I’d be interested in this, as almost all MX silenced switches I have tried I have hated. MX Zilents are the only ones I can roll with, but feel & sound wise I’d prefer most any decent performing regular linear switch over them. I do hear you on some switches being a little to loud though & I think using a softer plastic sounds like a decent way to go about making a damped yet not completely silenced switch. I’m not sure what it is about the silicone/rubber used for silent MX switches, but IME it makes them sound scratchy & can add drag or stick, so I’d view that route as a last resort to get a damped MX switch.
Anyways, definitely an ideal I’d get behind & as much as I don’t like seeing them blow up not knowing what really went down with the Stealios, Durock probably would be the company to talk to about something like this.
what about a stem make with LDPE plastic? Or ever MDPE? I assume they can be molded just like HDPE.
BRB, need to buy a plastics company for research.
I’m going to guess that the risk is that the softer you go, the more likely the stem will not hold up to long-term/heavy use. Harsh impacts would cause the stem to deform over time.
PTFE sounds interesting since that has been used as dry lube, I wonder if it would be possible to use it to make stems. I know nothing about plastic manufacturing, but I think you may have just sent me down the rabbit hole as well LOL! I’ll definitely post back if i find anything interesting out!
If it’s loudness we want to dampen, i don’t even know if you have to change the actual material of housing all that much. Seems like there would be enough space to stick a dampening material in the switch itself that does not get in the way of the stem/leaf that can absorb some of the energy of the sound waves made on a bottom out.
I could try and cut out tiny bits of foam and use some double sided tape as proof of concept lmao.
Totally agree with this idea. Dampened Cream Alps switches are one of my favorite switches because they’re not totally silent. Also why I prefer V1 Zilents to V2s.
I understand what you’re talking about is slightly different, but they’re in the ballpark of being low noise but not silent. I like a little clack. There’s definitely room for innovation in this area of switch design.
What would be cool is if manufactures could put the dampening material of silent switches on the housings instead of the stem to reduce the drag/friction that is currently produced with the current implementation. I’m sure that it either isn’t possible, or is cost prohibitive.
I suspect that drag is more due to bad manufacturing tolerances than anything. I don’t notice additional friction in Healios compared to Tealios, for example.
I’ve never noticed drag either. The tricky thing about silent switches is that it exposes all of the other switch imperfections such as pingy/crunchy springs, loose tops, and rough stems/housings. Even with the quietest of quiet (lubed mx zilents) I can sometimes start to get annoyed by the sound of the contact leaf.
Again, one of the good reasons for not completely silencing the switch, but simply reducing the overall clack.
If you’d like to experiment with different dampening materials, I recommend getting a bag of Outemu Silent Sky stems. Unlike most of the others I’ve seen, the “silencing” material is a straight section of silicone band that can easily be removed and replaced with something else. I have a post with some close-up photos for reference. If you want some of these, give a shout to u/hbheroinbob on Reddit.
There exists a damping lubricant which is sticky but allows movement. It’s used in binoculars, camera lenses and luxury cars.
A very very tiny bit of this stuff, possibly diluted with a solvent, could be used to dampen switches. it would require some experimentation to get it right, if it even works at all.
As regards the clicking of the gold plated electrical contact points within the switch, one possibility might be to coat them with Deoxit Gold G100. This is a contact enhancer and lubricant, and it might slightly reduce the sound of the leaves clicking against each other.
I sell both of the above products at good prices within Australia,
You know what? I’m going to say no to a manufactured dampened switch. And this is mainly because I don’t trust/believe that it is achievable to a similar feel that we want in terms of a dampened switch.
I like lubing my switches via the “huey classic” which includes 3204 on the base of the switch around the pole. Through normal movement of my brush spreading it around, some ends on the ‘floor’ of the switch bottom which helps greatly with a dampened less plasticcy sound. I don’t think this can be reliably achieved based on how we currently make our switches. Maybe I’m wrong, but I just don’t see it happening.
Unless you’re talking about contact-less switches like Hall effect, etc I think lubing will always be a necessity for those looking for smoothness.
In terms of dampening, IMO lubing to reduce sound seems like an inelegant solution to a problem that could be solved with less work and more consistency by using different plastics/materials in the slider design. I think it’s achievable.
This man is speaking my language here. I made this thread b/c I realized 99% of the reason I’m spending time lubing switches is just for sound. Seems wrong.
Even Hall effect switches have sliding parts and springs. Although they are perfectly good when they leave the factory, a bit of lube might add smoothness.
But as always, it’s nothing more than a personal preference.
No doubt…
Have you seen Thomas’ review of the Apex Pro? He claims it’s up there with some of the smoothest linear switches. I haven’t tried one myself but his reviews are fairly solid IMO.
