The metal dome keyboard stands out among many keyboard types with its unique advantages. It not only has excellent feel, high durability and stable performance, but also has a personalized appearance design, with obvious key segmentation and crisp trigger sound. When pressing the key, you can feel the elastic feedback of the dome, which brings a pleasant operating experience.
What is a dome keyboard?
The dome keyboard is a keyboard that uses a mechanical axis as a key trigger mechanism. Its core components include the bottom shell, dome, spring and axis.
The working principle of the dome keyboard mainly depends on the mechanical axis. The mechanical axis consists of a bottom shell, dome, spring and axis. When the key is pressed, the two metal feet of the axis (i.e. dome) contact each other, causing the circuit to be connected, thereby triggering the key. Factors such as the hardness of the dome and the strength of the spring will affect the feel and feedback of the key.
Is a rubber dome keyboard good?
The rubber dome keyboard is a more practical switch. Its advantages are obvious. From the operating experience, it has a soft and comfortable touch. The user needs less force when pressing it, and it will not produce strong reaction force, which makes the fingers feel comfortable when using it.
And it has low noise when working, which can create a quiet environment. Whether you are working quietly in the office or using electronic devices in the bedroom, it will not cause interference.
In terms of protection performance, it can effectively block dust and water vapor from entering the interior, and play a good role in protecting internal components, which makes it play a role in many scenarios such as outdoor equipment and medical equipment.
In addition, it has low cost, simple structure, uncomplicated production process, convenient assembly and subsequent maintenance, and high cost performance.
However, rubber dome switches also have some disadvantages. In terms of durability, rubber materials are prone to aging and reduced elasticity over time and frequent use, which will greatly shorten the service life of the switch.
What is the difference between mechanical and rubber dome keyboards?
There are differences between mechanical keyboards and rubber dome keyboards in many aspects:
1. Trigger principle
Mechanical keyboard: Each key has an independent mechanical axis, and the physical switch under it is triggered by pressing the mechanical axis to transmit the signal.
Rubber dome keyboard: Its keys are pressed by rubber domes to make the conductive part of the rubber domes contact the contacts on the circuit board, thereby realizing signal transmission.
2. Service life:
Mechanical keyboard: Long service life. The service life of general mechanical keyboard keys can reach tens of millions of times or even higher, especially for some high-quality mechanical keyboards.
Rubber dome keyboard: Relatively short service life. After long-term and frequent use, rubber domes are prone to aging, elasticity reduction and other problems, resulting in poor key feel and even key failure.
3. Hand feel feedback:
Mechanical keyboard: The hand feel is rich and varied, different shafts provide different hand feel experiences, and the key rebound force of mechanical keyboards is strong, which brings clear feedback to users and helps improve typing accuracy and efficiency.
Rubber dome keyboard: The hand feel is relatively single, the overall feeling is relatively soft, the key travel is short, and there is no obvious sense of paragraph.
4. Customizability:
Mechanical keyboard: The degree of customization is high. Users can replace keycaps and shafts according to their needs, and even assemble the keyboard themselves.
Rubber dome keyboard: poor customizability, its structure is relatively simple, it is difficult for general users to deeply customize it, and they can only choose different keyboard appearances and colors to a certain extent.
5. Applicable scenarios:
Mechanical keyboard: suitable for users who have high requirements for keyboard feel and service life. In the game scene, the fast response and good feel of the mechanical keyboard can improve the player’s operation accuracy and reaction speed;
Rubber dome keyboard: suitable for noise-sensitive environments. Its quiet key sound will not affect people around, and it can also meet general office and daily use needs.
Which switches are the quietest?
The quietest switch type is the silent touch switch. The silent touch switch does not produce a “click” sound during operation, realizing silent operation, providing users with a quieter and more comfortable use environment, especially in occasions where silence is required.
Are rubber dome switches loud?
The sound of rubber dome switches is relatively small. Rubber dome switches usually do not make too much noise when operating, because their working principle is to realize the on and off of the circuit through the deformation of rubber, rather than producing a crisp “ticking” sound like metal contacts. The operating sound of this type of switch is usually relatively small, which is suitable for occasions that require silent operation.
Working principle and characteristics of rubber dome switches
Large contact resistance: The conductivity of rubber domes is not as good as that of metal contacts, so the contact resistance is relatively large.
Low operating sound: Since there is no direct contact with metal contacts during operation, the operating sound is relatively small.
Press-resistant: The rubber material has certain elasticity and wear resistance, which is suitable for frequent operation.
Are rubber dome switches tactile?
Rubber dome switches have a sense of touch. The rubber dome switch realizes the function of the switch through the elastic deformation of the rubber material. When the switch is pressed, the rubber dome will deform and produce tactile feedback. This sense of touch allows the user to clearly feel the state change of the switch during operation, thereby providing a better user experience.
Are rubber dome switches good for gaming?
Rubber dome switches are not very suitable for playing games, mainly for the following reasons:
1. Feel:
Insufficient paragraph sense: Gamers usually like keyboards with obvious paragraph sense on the keys. The rubber dome switch has a relatively soft feel, a short key stroke, and lacks a clear sense of paragraphs, making it difficult to provide players with strong operational feedback.
Insufficient rebound force: The rebound force of the rubber dome switch is relatively weak. Compared with the spring structure of the mechanical keyboard, the key may not rebound in time during fast operation, affecting the continuity and smoothness of the operation.
2. Response speed:
Slow trigger speed: The rubber dome switch requires a certain amount of pressure to deform the dome and contact the contact point when triggered. This process will have a certain delay compared to the shaft trigger of the mechanical keyboard.
3. Durability:
Easy to age and wear: Long-term game operation will cause the keyboard keys to be frequently pressed. After a large number of presses, the rubber material of the rubber dome switch is prone to aging and elasticity reduction. In contrast, the mechanical keyboard has a longer service life and can withstand high-intensity game use.
In summary, although the rubber dome switch has the advantages of low cost and low noise, it is not suitable for gamers with high operational requirements in terms of feel, response speed and durability.
The metal dome keyboard has become the best dome keyboard in the minds of many users with its excellent feel, high durability, stable performance and personalized appearance. When choosing a metal dome keyboard, users can choose a suitable product according to their needs and budget.
