In recent years, there has been a trend of customization among mechanical keyboards. Among them, 60%, led by GH60, are the most popular, making many custom shells flourish. Undoubtedly, it is a dream of many people to weld by themselves, customize the key position, select the shaft body and key cap in various patterns, and create a completely self owned one. Today, I will bring you a group of pictures of GH60 and FMJ.
As a mechanical keyboard enthusiast, customizing a keyboard seems to be the ultimate goal. I had planned to make a Korean KMAC before, but I learned that FMJ was the last batch of production, so I started. The above figure shows FMJ Scheme II and GH60 as a whole, and the key cap is iKBC white through key cap.
FMJ can be said to be the best metal shell in China. It uses 7075T aviation aluminum material, which is much better than the ordinary 6065. The surface is hard anode, and the coloring and process are quite good. FMJ has two schemes, of which the figure above is Scheme II, and Scheme I has four bronze counterweights at the bottom.
Compared with the simple and serious plan I, FMJ plan II adds a lot of line design and bending, making the whole relatively more youthful and lively. FMJ has many colors through hard anode, and the actual effect is very good. At the same time, the hard anode will not fade even if the key and other hard objects are scratched.
The side design is more modern and fashionable than most mechanical keyboards.
The hole at the bottom is designed for the reset button on 60% of the keyboard. FMJ supports most 60% mainboards, including GH60, FaceU, Thumb, etc.
Two more internal hard anodes. There are no common stiffeners and support ribs for mass production keyboards inside the FMJ, and only certain protruding and relevant screw positions are set at the edges, which is very suitable for experiencing Cherry's steel plate free feel.
Since GH60 was open sourced abroad, different authors have launched GH60 PCB versions in different colors, which are more exaggerated than the original version in terms of firmware, process and assembly.
When customizing the keyboard, it is necessary to pay attention to the steel plate. Since the steel plate also serves as a positioning function, the five foot shaft is required for no steel plate, otherwise it will be prone to skew during welding. The welding shaft can be said to be the most interesting part of the customized keyboard. As I do, I can weld a keyboard in 2 hours. However, the amount of solder, temperature control, welding process, etc. cannot be learned in a few hours.
The key cap used is iKBC white through key cap. The overall hand feel is quite good, but it is not resistant to dirt. You should take care of it when using it. In terms of hand feel, although the GH60 is not equipped with steel plates this time, the PCB thickness is 1.6mm, and even if there is no steel plate, there will not be much PCB flexibility. Compared with Cherry, the hand feel is still a little firmer.
Although there are many options for customized keyboards, such as PCB, housing, shaft body, key cap and other customizations, there are also cool replacement places such as lubricating oil, paper between shafts, LED lights, shaft covers and so on. However, customization is not so perfect. Customized keyboards still have a certain threshold for welding process requirements. Don't be confused by various customizations, or you will be a pile of parts.
Of course, the more important thing about customized keyboards is the requirement of money. One FMJ metal shell costs about 1500 yuan, one PCB costs about 150 yuan, and the shaft body key cap and other miscellaneous items cost more than 2000 yuan in the article. Although it can reduce related costs, customized keyboards still consume too much money and time compared with mass production keyboards.
