Mechanical Keyboards

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Bent switch contacts [solved] (mander.xyz)

submitted 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Edit: thanks everyone, I’ve installed them and everything is fine!

Hey community!

I got some switches with bent contacts. I can easily bend them back into shape, but I’m afraid of them possibly snapping off inside the keyboard and running it. Am I overthinking it?

The backstory is I’be got a 3x 10 unit Outemu switch bags in the mail from AliExpress to try different varieties. They were not packed well so some of them came with bent contacts. So I’m also gauging whether buying a full set would be worth it.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 4 months ago

I have Outemu switches, and I haven't had problems bending pins back. And as someone who majored in metalsmithing in college, as long as it's not obviously cracked or loose-feeling before you install, you shouldn't have to worry about it breaking inside the keyboard.

Just try to keep the corrective adjustment to a minimum (i.e. don't go back and forth), and you shouldn't have to worry about work-hardening the pin to the point of breaking.

Use a set of flat-jawed pliers, if you have them, try not to crush the pin, and you should be fine. If you do decide to order a full set, iirc they often come with a few extra switches to cover any bad ones.