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Several mechanical keyboard models are equipped with a weight integrated into the keyboard's enclosure. This is most commonly seen on keyboards made of aluminum. The weight itself is often made of a different metal, such as brass, copper, or stainless steel. One might think that the weight has mostly aesthetic purposes, and that is partly true. However, there are a few more reasons to equip keyboards with a weight.
Primarily, a weight can be added for 3 reasons:
Increased stability
By adding extra weight to the keyboard, it becomes heavier and thus more stable on your desk. This can be especially important for gamers and people who want a keyboard that doesn't easily move around as you type.
Sound profile
Since aluminum has a relatively low density, pure aluminum cases will often produce a fairly high-frequency (bright) sound profile when you type on it. In addition, cabinets made of aluminium, which are not damped in other ways, can produce a lot of resonance/reverberation (that's including what often are referred to as ping).
By adding a weight made of a more dense metal (e.g., brass or copper), the frequency of the sound waves changes, and the reverberation decreases. A keyboard with a brass or copper weight can thus provide a deeper, more subdued soundprofile (less reverberation and ping). And the larger (more massive) the weight are, the greater impact on the sound profile.
Aesthetic appeal
There is no doubt that extra weight increases the impression of quality. In instances where both the keybord's enclosure and weight's material are identical (e.g. aluminum), the weight's purpose will only be aesthetical reasons, since neither the sound profile nor the total weight will be significantly affected.
If the weight is mounted internally in the case (and is not visible when the keyboard is fully assembled), one can assume that the designer's main objective is to contribute to increased weight and a deeper sound profile. Whereas if the weight is mounted externally, or through the entire enclosure, it can be assumed that the designer wants both changed sound profile, increased weight and increased aesthetic appeal.