DCX vs DCD vs DCL - Drop’s Keycap Profiles Explained
We’ve covered the basics of keycap profiles before—spherical/cylindrical, sculpted/uniform, etc. One thing that has come up more and more over the years as we’ve expanded our portfolio of offerings here at Drop is the distinction between some of our similar profiles. Specifically, what is the actual difference between DCX, DCD, and DCL? Cylindrical Profiles To recap the previous article on the topic, one of the most basic ways to separate various keycap profiles is by shape (cylindrical, spherical, or flat). DCX, DCD, and DCL are all cylindrical profiles. The most famous cylindrical profile is Cherry profile, as defined by the original manufacturer of the keycaps—Cherry. GMK now owns those tools, and as such, only they can technically claim to produce “Cherry” profile keycaps. Similar keycap profiles are often called Cherry profile colloquially, but are in actuality slightly different. For the sake of not splitting hairs, all of the cylindrical profiles discussed here are...
Apr 9, 2024
Figure 1: Not quite the monster movie that goes with 'frankenswitch', but ol' Dracula and his frankenswitches just fit the vibe too well to be left out of this article. Image credit to @o2_designs Even though I haven’t quite had a chance to cover frankenswitches much in writing, many people still like to ask me if I care about them, collect them, or even make them for my own keyboards. As to the first two questions, the answer is most certainly yes, though only ones of historical value and community-wide interest. Switches such as Holy Pandas, Ergo Clears, Gatistotles, Zykos, etc. are all inarguably important frankenswitches that have had an impact on the modern keyboard hobby and should absolutely be tried by any and all people who build a custom keyboard. Regarding the latter question, though, I don’t frankenswitch nearly as much as I used to back when I first joined the hobby. However, in the interest of providing a starting point for new people to look into making their own frankenswitches, here’s some components I would start out exploring, given all my switch knowledge that I have now, that might lead to some interesting results with enough messing around… Top Housings
After having officially narrowed down the effectively infinite list of frankenswitches out there to a few dozen potential combinations for you to start out with, I now officially push the onus on you to go out and explore. While it’s not likely that you’ll stumble across the next community-altering combination in switch components, there’s a very realistic chance you’ll come across a patchwork style switch which is not only unique to you and your tastes, but just may be your true endgame switch. However, if you’re still a bit interested in learning more about switches prior to dropping some money on frankenswitch components, consider checking out my other switch articles here on Drop such as ‘The Who’s Who of Switch Manufacturers’ or ‘Switch Marketing Terms: What to Know and What to Ignore’.