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Updated 02.11.24
It's often touted that mechanical keyboards have higher quality and longer durability than "regular" membrane (rubber dome) keyboards. In most cases, this is a correct statement, but what's the explanation?
The mechanical switches are the main difference between a mechanical keyboard and a membrane one (hence the name). When it comes to the durability of the switch mechanism, it's usually stated in terms of clicks - how many times you can press a key/switch before it gives up and stops working.
Keyboard with mechanical switches.
For membrane keyboards, the estimated lifespan per key is usually around 5 million clicks.
For mechanical switches, determining the lifespan per switch is a bit trickier because it varies among different switches, and there are countless types of switches on the market. To give you an idea, Cherry, one of the leading manufacturers, suggests that their best-selling switches have an estimated lifespan of up to 50 million clicks. But they also offer switches that can handle 100 million clicks.
This implies that membrane keyboards possess less than 10% of the lifespan of a mechanical switch. Moreover, should a mechanical switch wear out, it is both simple and economical to replace. A single switch can be purchased for between $0.50 and $1.50. Conversely, once the first key fails, most membrane keyboards are discarded.
Keyboard with rubber-dome membrane (you can tell by the height of the keycaps and the board).
To contextualize the numbers 50-100 million, let's convert them into years using the spacebar as a reference. The spacebar is pressed once for each word typed. Writing a text of 5000 words daily (about 12-14 A4 pages), it would take 10,000 days to accumulate 50 million keystrokes. That's 27 years. To reach 100 million keystrokes, it would take twice as long, nearly 55 years.
Not everyone types that much on their keyboard, though. And there will likely be significant differences in the workload on different switches. A key like [Caps Lock] will probably last much longer than [Space] and [Enter].
Considering a fun thought experiment: calculating the time it would take to reach 50 million clicks on a switch. If one manages to click at a rate of 5 times per second, this results in 300 clicks per minute, 18,000 clicks per hour, and 432,000 clicks per day. To hit the 50 million mark, one would need to type non-stop for 116 days, which is nearly four months!
Plastic is undoubtedly the most commonly used material in keyboard construction. ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) is usually preferred because it's inexpensive, easy to mold, lightweight, strong, and easy to finish (can be painted, glued, and given different textures). However, ABS also has some disadvantages. It has low resistance to UV radiation and can yellow, fade, and become brittle with prolonged exposure. The surface can also wear away over time, becoming smooth and slippery.
There are actually quite a few alternatives to plastic, but few are commonly seen in keyboards, mainly due to price and manageability. The most common alternative is aluminum. But there are also keyboards made of acrylic, titanium, brass, wood, and cork. And probably several other materials, too.