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Oof..the bent pins, my sympathies! Get a foam case with custom cut-outs asap imo.

Is ur plate not holding them tightly? For me its a PAIN to get a switch out even tho theyre hotswap. But my plates are the same material as the pcb not acrylic

That's the mt3 dev/tty ... But those coloured modifiers are from a different set, right?

Its got absolutely nothing to do with being hot-swap, and all to do with your choice of plate.

An acrylic top plate is not 1.6mm thick which is what the switches are designed to grip, but 2mm or 3mm instead. So you aren't locking the switches in place as designed, but simply have them stuck in there as 'press fit'.

All on you for making a choice of aesthetic over function.

I have had a pretty good track record of traveling with my preonic. Though I also have a case for it, which certainly helps.

isnt acrylic plates available in different thicknessses?

did you carry it in your jeans pockets?

When I designed this case and poured the molten acrylic into the mud holes, I must’ve mismeasured the holes or used cm instead of inches.

Backpack eats keyboards.

What style of keycaps are these. They look like XVX style, but more aggressive curvature.

I’m not sure. Must be something else from Massdrop.

MT3 from drop.com. I love them.

Sure, but a 1.6mm acrylic plate is very unusual since it’s thin enough that it simply cracks.

Sure, I’ll believe that… 😉

Not in any way saying an acrylic plate is a bad choice. It’s just a known issue that the switches isn’t locking. So for a keyboard you move around a lot it might not be the obvious choice.

You can get around it by machining cutouts for the locking tabs into a 3mm acrylic. I tried that once. Only once, and it was a major PITA.

It does not hold. It pushes them. It edges them.

To be fair, I just built an Iris, and they don't warn you about using thick plates and hotswap boards. (Luckily, I went with acrylic and solder PCB.) Splitkb does if you use their Composer tool, but I didn't see anything about it anywhere else. If this is your first build, it's an easy mistake to make.

I have the same keys as you do. I think it might be a problem with the keycaps. When I use any other keycap set, it comes off without the switch being pulled with it. Might just be too tight in the stem.

I don’t think it’s the keycaps. These switches just pop right out.

Hmm… might be the plate then. I’ve seen some others suggest that

how about a 3d printed "container"?

I have MT3's. I love how my fingers fit perfectly in the curvature. It's definitely an enjoyable typing experience.

5 pin switches are better traveling companions

the same thing happens to mine when I knock it off the desk

Did you throw your backpack in a rock-tumbler?

This is a problem with the switch plate, not the switches or keycaps. The tolerance on the cutouts needs to be a bit tighter, and it'll hold them in place better. Some modifications to the source svg that was used to cut it should do the trick.

How long do theise types of keyboards take to get used to

Not long, I’d say. I love the thumb keys. More thumb keys. It might induce a little analysis paralysis at first when you’re choosing your layout. You’re probably in for about a little less than a week of suboptimal typing.