Chiclet keyboard: how do they differ from membrane ones?

Being objective, roughly the membrane keyboard and the chiclet type are two drops of water on the paper. The reality is that both models are twins on paper, although there are subtle differences between them. Do you want to know them? Stay with us.

Index of contents

Chiclet vs membrane keyboard mount

Making an introduction to the operation of its mechanisms and the division of each of the parts of this type of keyboard is going to be our starting point when establishing the fundamental differences

Membrane keyboard

The alternative to the mechanical keyboard, extremely popular for its cheap price and quieter keystrokes. The structure of these keyboard models have three main parts:

1. Rubber domes: the famous rubber domes, located immediately below the cover and the keycaps in a silicone sheet. Cover: a flexible sheet made of polyester or polycarbonate. It is joined to the circuit by means of a double-sided adhesive Circuit: engraved on polyester film with a special electrically conductive ink, the colors are on the reverse side.

When a key is pressed, the keykap pushes the rubber dome and it closes the electrical circuit, thus generating contact in the lower layers. This contact allows the passage of electricity from one to the other, thus activating the key press signal.

A variant of the conventional membrane is the scissor keyboard, in which the rubber dome is integrated inside a plastic mechanism in the form of a scissor that allows the keys to sink linearly and return them to the original position with greater speed. It is the finest format and has the lowest profile switches. Corsair K83 Wireless - Entertainment Keyboard (White LED backlight, Aluminum design) Black - Spanish QWERTY 119.00 EUR Logitech K400 Plus Wireless Keyboard with Touchpad for Televisions Connected to PC, Special Multi-Media Keys, Windows, Android, Computer / Tablet, Spanish QWERTY layout, Black color 24.99 EUR Corsair K55 RGB - Gaming Keyboard (RGB multi-color backlight, QWERTY), black Dynamic three-zone RGB backlight; Spanish QWERTY 59, 90 EUR

Chiclet keyboard

The keyboard popularly known as gum, gum, or gum type refers to the activation mechanism hidden under the keys. In this model, the layers are distributed in a very similar way as they do on membrane keyboards, although with some differences. It is possible to find two different formats:

• Below the buttons there is a layer of rubber keys that in turn press on the lower membrane and thus complete the circuit mechanism.Alternatively, on the bottom cover of the keycaps we can find the conductor that makes contact when pressing with the located circuit. below to activate it.

In both cases, the tactile sensation generated by this mechanism is more tender and fluffy than in conventional membrane models.

BLUETOOTH UNIVERSAL WHITE KEYBOARD Universal Wireless BT 3.0 keyboard, range up to 10 meters.; Dimensions: 285 x 120 x 6 mm. 20, 57 EUR VicTsing USB Cable Keyboard, Keyboard (Spanish QWERTY) Chiclet Keys for Windows 98 / XP / 7/8/10 / Vista, Mac (Cable Keyboard) 19, 49 EUR VicTsing Pack Wireless Keyboard and Mouse 2.4 GHz, QWERTY Spanish Chiclet Keyboard, Wireless Keyboard Portable Silent Mouse, Long Battery Life 23.99 EUR

Common features

As you can see, both systems are quite similar given that we found an activation system based on the contact of components by closing circuits with a silicone template or mold. We can summarize their common points in:

• Thickness between 0.8 and 1.5 mm. Low price due to low production cost. Liquid and dust resistance. Very quiet pulsations. Mechanical life of key with silicone dome: 3 × 10 ⁷ uses. mechanical key life with metal or plastic dome: 5 × 10 ⁶ uses.

Conclusions about the chiclet keyboard

Due to the possibility of reducing the number of layers present in the keyboard structure, in general the chiclet model is more used in laptop keyboards than the conventional mechanic. His direct opponent would be in any case the scissor format.

We recommend reading: Best keyboards for PC.

The advantage of the chiclet compared to the standard membrane lies mainly in the touch of its pulsation, which is smoother and more homogeneous due to the replacement of the domes by full silicone keys. And having exposed all of the above, what do you think? Do you have any preference between chiclet keyboard and membrane? Tell us your impressions in the comments.