Page 3 - A Closer Look - Disassembly and Internals
The disassembly process of the Epomaker Shadow-S is quite simple. I started by taking off all of the keycaps and the knob. While taking all of them off is not completely necessary, it is easier to inspect the Epomaker Shadow-S's internals closer. On the back of the keyboard, there are four screws that can simply be removed using a screwdriver. I found the 1mm head to fit well in these screws. Upon removing the screws, I pulled off the top bezel. I will add, I used a spacer to help gently unclip the top frame, as I believe it would snap otherwise. I found it easier to pull apart the sides before unclipping the top and bottom. After disassembly, you should be left with the view below.
With all components in full view, we have twelve 40mm gaskets all around the plate. The top and bottom gasket is about 5mm thick. This is a more than adequate thickness in providing a softer typing experience in theory. Epomaker has a good usage of gaskets. Additionally, inside exists a silicon pad layered with another layer of foam. You can tell the manufacturer was trying for a softer typing experience given the flex cuts in the plate, and I believe they have done a satisfactory job. The Epomaker Shadow-S uses a daughterboard, so there is still some further potential when you consider modding the keyboard. In the Shadow-S, we have one that supports the toggling of 2.4GHz, Bluetooth, and wired, which is an excellent addition. The PCB connects to the battery and the daughterboard using two JST cables.
Under the PCB, you will notice the aforementioned silicon pad, alongside a layer of foam that is used to optimize the sound profile of the Epomaker Shadow-S. Inside, we find the 3000mAh battery. Furthermore, if you remove a switch, you will notice there is also a thin layer of foam between the switches and the PCB, alongside some plate foam. This usage of foam was popularized by the Jelly Epoch keyboard, as it was found to offer a more premium sound to the keyboards that use it. Some people call it a cheat code to premium sound, but if it gets the job done, then I cannot complain. Generally speaking, I appreciate the thought put into optimizing the sound of the keyboard. Epomaker has done a wonderful job in improving the gasket performance with a solid feel and sound that speaks for itself.
Upon closer inspection of the Epomaker Mulan switches, I hope to provide you with more detail in the makeup of the switch. For the Mulan switches, the top housing is polycarbonate, the bottom housing is nylon, and the stem is polyoxymethylene, or POM for short. POM is known for its high stiffness, low friction, and excellent strength. Specifically, this material has a coefficient of friction of around 0.25 to 0.3, which is low when you consider this is measured on a 0 to 1 scale. As such, you can see why you would want a switch stem to be made out of POM. This stem would be considered a regular pole stem, which typically results in a standard bottom out distance. As for the top housing, polycarbonate is a very commonly used thermoplastic in mechanical keyboards. It is commonly used for translucent switches, which is important for light to shine through. The bottom housing uses nylon, which is also quite smooth with a coefficient of friction of about 0.26. I do find nylon offers a deeper pitched sound when it comes to bottoming out. The spring is an average length at 15mm. The operating force needed to actuate the switch is about 47g.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. A Closer Look - Hardware and Software
3. A Closer Look - Disassembly and Internals
4. Conclusion
