A general overview of MX style switches

MX style switches are often called Cherry MX after the company that first developed the design in 1983. The first were designed and marketed in 1983 and have been in production ever since. The patent held by Cherry ensured their exclusivity for MX style switches aside from a licensing agreement with Hirose in Japan. However, that exclusivity ended in 2013 leading to an veritable explosion in clone switches on the market since.

With these clone switches has also come a dramatic upturn in innovation due to the very competitive nature of the rapidly expanding mechanical keyboard market. Whilst MX switches aren’t the only mechanical switches on the market, even from Cherry, they are the most varied and voluminous option with major makers being Cherry, Gateron, Kai-Hua (Kailh), and Outemu being some of the most prolific and well known in early 2020. Gateron and Kai-Hua are both regularly contracted to produce custom designs with various mechanical keyboard enthusiast groups such as Novel Keys, Zeal PC, and KBDFans. 

These switches vary greatly in color, materials, hardware, and even design. Initial designs by Cherry were offered in three types, linear, tactile, and clicky. Linear are as the name suggests, no tactile bump and no mechanism to make a clicking noise leaving the sounds made purely from the physical switch actuation. Tactile switches have a bump built into the switch itself such that there is an increase in force needed around the point of actuation. Finally, clicky switches have a tactile bump as well as a mechanical means of producing an audible “click” around the point of actuation.

Firstly, linear switches are the simplest design for key switches. As there is no mechanical means for a click, they are also inherently the quietest type of switch as well as the smoothest. Cherry began with Red and Black switches, named for the stem colors. Red had a lighter actuation, meaning less force was needed to activate the switch and Black is heavier. A more recent innovation is the advent of the “silent” switch which use small soft pads to dampen switches both with bottoming out (fully depressing switches) as well as for return of the switch to the resting position. This innovation has also been implemented with tactile switches as well, though not through Cherry switches but through Kailh and Gateron produced instead. Said switches are also made to different standards and with different lubrication compared to Cherry produced switches. This leads to more options as well as quieter, and tactile, switches. Examples would be Zilents, Healios, and Aliaz switches designed by Zeal PC.

The second type, tactile, with the bump on the stem of the switch. Cherry’s initial design with their Brown switches and Clear. Enthusiasts for mechanical keyboards found these too subtle and have designed stronger tactile bumps through increasing the proudness of the bump on the stem. Increasing the bump size increases the resistance felt through the switch meaning the difference in force between initial actuation and the actuation itself is greater leading to a heavy tactility. An example of these more heavily tactile switches is the Box Royal by Kailh. 

The final type, clicky, use mechanical means to produce an audible “click” noise during actuation. The design by Cherry, with their Blue and Green switches for example, is a click jacket wherein a separate plastic jacket on the stem which causes the clicking. Kailh, however, has developed a new method using a click-bar. With the click-bar there is a small springing arm which acts as both the tactile bump and the method for clicking. This results in a sharper tactility, meaning a very steep and strong bump rather than the smoother and more gradual bump found with click jackets. This leads to a more pronounced tactility and a doubling of the clicking sound. While a click jacket only makes a sound with the downward stroke, a click-bar clicks on both the downward and return strokes. It also changes the sound profile, with a click-bar being far more metallic sounding and a click jacket being scratchier as it is all plastic. The click-bars are also offered in varied thicknesses with that corresponding to the force needed to actuate the mechanism. As the switch spring stiffens with increasing thickness of the click-bar the tactility increases proportionately.

Since the expiration of the MX patent, the innovation of MX-style switches has been dramatic. The invention of the click-bar is one of the most widely known innovations, there have been many since 2013 and the patent’s expiration. The aforementioned silent switches for instance were released after the patent expired. Another innovation has been the introduction of so-called “speed” switches. They are marketed to gamers as they have a shorter actuation and a shorter total travel distance. For instance, Kailh speed switches (aside from Gold) have an actuation point of 1.1mm (versus 2.0mm for most others) and a total travel of 3.5mm rather than 4.0mm. 

Another recent popular expansion is in the realm of choices for switch materials. Materials with lower frictional resistance are a popular line for experimentation. Examples would be Gateron Ink switches which are mechanically the same as their same color counterparts (aside from Yellow which has a shorter actuation and total throw) as well as the Kailh produced Cream switches and C³ Tangerine switches. All of those are described as being smoother and less “scratchy” than more traditional switch options, as well as having a distinct sound profile due to the change in material. Even changes in the coatings and plating of the springs as well as factory lubrication are being experimented with by the community via group buys and through the various MX switch manufacturers, again predominantly Kailh and Gateron.

When it comes to the ongoing innovation in the mechanical keyboard world, and the continued evolution of MX switches in particular, there’s an ongoing process to both produce superior products for the mainstream as well as to continue to fill ever diverse niches within the enthusiast community in particular. The process of group buys by the community for every part for the keyboards from PCBs, to cases, to keycaps, to switches is quite commonplace to allow for this experimentation. This allows likeminded individuals and designers to group together to be able to produce runs with companies for custom parts and meet their minimum order quantity guidelines. This sort of purchasing power results in far faster evolution within the market and also allows both enthusiasts and the switch manufacturers to “test the waters” so to speak with relatively little risk as well as see what products end up being successful enough to warrant mainstream production.

It is a fascinating time for MX switches, and for mechanical keyboards in general. While so much has transitioned to digital forms, input devices maintain a growth and evolution because they are so crucial as tools for how we, as humans, interact with our computers. The physical interaction, the tactility, are so much of what makes the human experience it only makes sense that rather than disappearing, keyboards and physical input devices will gain importance as we continue to interact more and more with our technology. Touch is the key sense for us to interact with the world and having a world of different switches for the vast and varied tastes of humanity makes sense.