Page 3 - A Closer Look - Disassembly and Internals
The disassembly process was quite simple. I started by taking off all of the keycaps and knob. While taking all of them off is not completely necessary, it is easier to inspect the Epomaker Shadow-X's internals closer. On the back of the keyboard, there are eight screws that can simply be removed using a hex screwdriver. I found the 2mm head to fit well in these screws. Upon removing the screws, I simply pulled off the top bezel. I personally found it easiest to unclip the sides before pulling the top and bottom off. After disassembly, you should be left with the view below.
With all components in full view, we have eight 25mm gaskets all around the plate. The top and bottom gasket is about 2mm thick. This is an adequate thickness in providing a softer typing experience in theory. Epomaker has a good usage of gaskets, but the issue arises when considering the silicon pad. While this pad is good for dampening noise, its size defeats the purpose of the softer typing experience. You can tell Epomaker was trying for a softer typing experience given the flex cuts in the plate, but the usage of foam makes the typing experience awfully stiff. The Epomaker Shadow-X uses a daughterboard, so there is still some potential when you consider modding the keyboard. In the Shadow-X, we have one that supports the toggling of 2.4 GHz, Bluetooth, and wired, which is an excellent addition. It connects to the battery and the daughterboard using two JST cables.
Under the PCB, you will notice the aforementioned silicon pad that is used to optimize the sound profile of the Epomaker Shadow-X. 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, but it can still be refined by using a thinner layer of dampening in the case. Epomaker has some work in its gasket usage, but the usage of foam serves to benefit sound well. I do think that the internals could be improved to better fit the gasket design. That being said, there is a good amount of modding potential to fit your own preference.
Upon closer inspection of the Gateron Yellow switches, I hope to provide you with more detail in the makeup of the switch. It is important to note Gateron has many offerings of Yellow switches. Our specific model seems to be the KS-9 model, otherwise known as Pro Yellows. This differentiation is important, as the material makeups are different between models. For our model, 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 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 quite average at 15mm. The operating force required to actuate the switch is about 50g.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. A Closer Look - Hardware and Software
3. A Closer Look - Disassembly and Internals
4. Conclusion
