Tipro SMK-style
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This article requires additional photographic illustration — disassembly |
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| Manufacturer | Tipro |
|---|---|
| Switch type | Linear |
| Sense method | Metal contact |
| Keycap mount | Fits SMK J-M0404 keycaps |
| Switch mount | Plate mount |
Tipro SMK-style refers to an old switch series from Tipro. No information on these switches appears to still exist at Tipro, hence the provisional name.
Description
Tipro SMK-style switches internally use SMK J-M0404 series-style contacts, while the shell design is a hybrid of J-M0404 and Cherry gold crosspoint.
Full travel is somewhere in the region of 3.2 mm. Actuation force is light, somewhere around 40–45 cN, being perhaps a touch lighter than (and smoother than) Cherry MX Red.
Total height of the shell is 15.1 mm. The switch body is around 14.2 mm square, and requires a mounting hole around 14.8 mm square. Total height (shell and slider together) is somewhere around 21.6 mm for the short keystem version, and around 25.2 mm for the tall keystem version.
The shells and sliders are reversible; this can be see in the images, as the grey switch's obscured Tipro logo appears in opposite corners on each switch. The black switch depicted does not have a fully reversible base (one leg hole is missing) while the grey switch has all four leg holes. This design would also permit DPST if desired.
The examples shown on this page are de-branded: the Tipro branding has been obscured by cutting a rectangle into the mould where the logo used to be. This rectangle is around 0.2 mm too short (the "O" overhangs it slightly) and with the black switch, the word "TIPRO" can be made out faintly. The base of the switch also has details removed: the TIPRO logo has again been incompletely obscured, with "TIP" visible on the black switch. The strange shape of the raised area on the base suggests that additional writing was removed at the same time as the branding.
Variants
Tall and short keystem variants exist. Both types accept J-M0404 keycaps, despite the different keystem widths.
The switches depicted below are old parts obtained from Tipro in November 2017. The documentation for them is believed to have been lost in an office move 20 years prior.
The reason for the different colours is not known, but it may be due to plastic recycling rather than for differentiation, considering when and where these were likely made.
| Keystem height | Keystem width | |
|---|---|---|
 |
2.6 mm | 4.1 mm |
 |
5.7 mm | 5.0 mm |
Keyboards
None to date.
External links
- Deskthority — Tipro switches (limited disassembly illustrations)
