Page 3 - A Closer Look - Disassembly and Internals
The rubber edge of the YUNZII C75 MAO Cake Kitten can be propped up to reveal where the top and bottom frames separate. However, I was unable to get inside, as the plastic clips held the top and bottom shells together quite well. I had difficulty maintaining enough of a gap to pry the two pieces away from each other. This is a bit unfortunate, given how many people may want to modify their keyboard after purchasing it. While I still would not dock YUNZII for this, I can see how this may be a deterrent to potential buyers. As such, we will look at the components that make up the YUNZII C75 MAO Cake Kitten.
Starting at the top, we have PBT plastic keycaps. I like PBT as a keycap material, as it is more durable and does not shine or fade over time compared to other commonly used plastics like ABS. The thicker wall also results in a deeper sound when used. There are two sets of legends on every key, other than the space bar. The top legends and designs are dye-sublimated, which is a process where heat is applied to a solid dye, which then sublimates into a gas and permeates into the keycap material. The front legends and the ears on each keycap are double-shot injected into the keycap. This second translucent plastic material is injected into the top PBT material and allows the backlight to shine through these parts. Both legends are more durable than UV printing. My only gripe is that the font is not consistent between the front and the top. The keycaps use standard MX stems underneath and have an MOA profile on top. This profile ensures every key is the same height regardless of the row it belongs to. They are rounded on the edges and side with an indentation in the middle so users' fingers rest comfortably in each key.
Longer keys on the YUNZII C75 MAO Cake Kitten, such as the space bar and Enter key, use lubricated Cherry-style stabilizers on the sides to prevent wobbling. I did not notice any rattling on these stabilizers, which shows they are properly lubricated. These are plate-mounted stabilizers, rather than screw-in, which means it can develop a rattle over time due to greater tolerances. Thankfully, there is no rattle at the time of testing. You can also see in between the gaps, there is a silicone layer to help in reducing vibrations and further tune the keyboard in terms of its sound.
From this view, the top plate is exposed and made of a translucent polycarbonate. Under the plate, there are five layers of padding inside the YUNZII C75 MAO Cake Kitten. In between the plate and the PCB, there is a sandwich foam, switch sound pad, and a sound-enhancement pad. Under the PCB, there is another switch foam and a bottom silicone pad to fill in the shell. These many layers are what gives the keyboard a satisfying typing feel and sound. The whole board is gasket-mounted and held between the top and bottom frame.
One main selling point of the YUNZII C75 MAO Cake Kitten is its switch technology. Mechanical switches consist of a top house, base, stem, and spring, with varying levels of tactile and audible feedback. More specifically, these are YUNZII's Candy Linear. As the name implies, they are linear in travel with an actuation force of 45g and a bottoming out force of 51g. They actuate at 2.0mm and travel a total of 3.3mm. The expected lifespan is fifty million keystrokes. These have five pins underneath and connect to the PCB with hot swap sockets. The sockets support both three-pin and five-pin mechanical switches. As such, if an individual one fails or you want to change any of them out, you can easily do so without needing a soldering iron.
After taking apart the Candy Linear switch, you can see it has an opaque white top and bottom. The pink stem in the middle is held up by a 19mm stainless steel spring. The switch stem has minimal lateral movement inside the housing to ensure the actuation feels stable and does not wobble about. The stem has an MX middle. The switches are factory lubricated for a smoother typing feel and sound. The stem is made from LY-UPE, which is a lower-friction ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene for a smooth travel. The upper and bottom casing is POM, or polyoxymethylene.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. A Closer Look - Hardware and Software
3. A Closer Look - Disassembly and Internals
4. Conclusion
