Awekeys Fullmetal Keycaps and Cerakey ceramic keycaps compared to ABS/PBT keycaps

The keycaps you may imagine are probably made of “plastic resin.

Did you know that keycaps made of “different materials” other than plastic have recently become a hot topic?

A prime example is Cerakey, a ceramic keycap that was crowdfunded in Japan in January 2023.

The keycaps are made of “ceramics,” a traditional Chinese cultural material, and have become popular not only for their silky texture and mirror-like luster, but also for their hard hitting sound, attracting support of approximately 8.5 million yen.

And one that is becoming a hot topic in 2024 is Fullmetal Keycaps, which Awekeys plans to begin crowdfunding in July 2024.

All the keys are made of metal, and in addition to the shiny look characteristic of metal, their heavier weight than ceramic produces a very hard and distinctive keystroke sound.

In this issue, we would like to compare these two “different material” keycaps with existing resin keycaps as milestones and look at their characteristics from various aspects.

Types and Features of Key Caps

The most common “keycaps” are made of plastic resin.

The most popular keycap material is probably “ABS.

Because they are easy to process and inexpensive, many ABS keycaps are still available today.

However, the light sound of the keystroke and the tendency for the keys to become shiny over time have been cited as disadvantages.

This is why keycaps made of PBT have appeared in recent years.

It is superior in oil resistance and abrasion resistance, and has become widespread because it is easier to produce a “thumping” sound than ABS material.

In the past, the “double-shot” method of creating key legends in different colors was considered difficult with PBT materials, but the technique is now widely used and is feasible for a variety of keycap manufacturers.

The evolution of the material continues unabated, with the introduction of hybrid materials such as ABS and PBT.

These characteristics are also seen in the cutouts of ceramic and metal keycaps.

	Ceramic	metal	PBT	ABS
keystroke sound	bass-leaning	high pitch	bass-leaning	high pitch
touch	velvety	gritty	gritty	gritty /滑らか
appearance	Glossy	No gloss	No gloss	No gloss /光沢あり
abrasion resistance	strong	unknown	strong	weak
Chemical resistant	strong	strong	strong	weak
heat-resisting property	strong	strong	strong	weak
keytop printing method	heat baking	laser engraving	Sublimation printing (Dye-Sub) double-shot laser printing	double-shot laser printing pad printing thermal wax transfer printing
Price	expensive	high	usually	inexpensive

The following four types of keycaps were used as examples.

keystroke sound

We have evaluated the keystroke sound factor from the following three perspectives.

The results of the evaluation from these perspectives are shown below.

	Sound quality (tone)	Tightness	Sound Tendencies (Types)
metal	High	Tight	Thocky.
Ceramic	Low	Tight	Thocky.
PBT	Low	soft	Thocky.
ABS	High	soft	Clacky.

For actual keystroke sounds, please see the comparison video.

• Keyboard: Deadline Studio TPS40
• Switch: Gateron Pro Ultra Groly Yellow

As expected, the weight of the keystroke sound is different when comparing keycaps made of plastic resin material with those made of metal or ceramic material.

Perhaps due to the use of hard materials, the keystroke sound was very hard and tight.

However, the sound quality was different, with the ceramic characterized by a muffled bass sound, while the metal keycaps stood out for their heavier highs that seemed to escape.

On the other hand, for resin keycaps, regardless of the thickness of the material, PBT has a softer sound with an emphasis on bass notes, while ABS has a softer, starting keystroke sound with an emphasis on treble notes.

Feel and look

A very important factor in selecting keycaps is the “feel” of the keycaps.

Choose one that “feels right” after typing for a long time.

Also, in terms of “look and feel = aesthetics”, “looks” are very important.

Significant differences exist among the four materials, ranging from glossiness to texture.

With regard to resin materials, “ABS resin” is probably the one with the most variations in looks.

Various looks can be created, from matte looks to half-matte, half-shine, and shine.

In terms of texture, there are many variations, ranging from rough and grainy to smooth and smooth.

On the other hand, a glossy finish is difficult to achieve for PBT materials, and in the majority of cases, many keycaps have a matte texture and rough surface.

As with the PBT material, the metal keycaps have a matte texture, while the ceramic keycaps are limited to a smooth, sleek texture and have fewer variations.

Abrasion resistance, chemical resistance, heat resistance

With regard to these characteristics, they are specifically related to the following situations.

• Abrasion resistance: Whether the keycap will not become shiny after long use
• Chemical resistance: Whether whitening or discoloration is prevented by alcohol, etc.
• Heat resistance: Whether the keycap can be printed with heat

	abrasion resistance	Chemical resistant	heat-resisting property
metal	strong	strong	strong
Ceramic	strong	strong	strong
PBT	strong	strong	strong
ABS	weak	weak	weak

In this way, we can see that ABS is “weak” in all three categories.

Especially with regard to low “abrasion resistance,” it is not suitable for heavy use because it causes “shine” as shown below.

It is also a material that requires great care when cleaning, as it will “whiten” (discolor) when cleaned with alcohol.

In addition, because it is heat sensitive, it is not compatible with “sublimation printing,” a dye method in which heat is applied to soak the ink into the resin so that it does not fade away.

However, since it is less expensive than other materials, it is still widely distributed. (Prices are discussed below.)

As for PBT, it covers almost all the weaknesses of ABS and is easy to use.

In an interview with Awekeys JAPAN, a metal keycap manufacturer, the company responded that “there are no reports of shining at present, but it is possible that shining may occur with continued use due to the soft matte finish” regarding wear resistance.

As for Ceramic, we contacted Cerakey and were told that it is fired with multiple layers of glaze.

Since the product has only been on the market for a short time, its durability is likely to be verified in the future, but at this point I would rate it as “highly abrasion resistant.

Difficulty in erasing the print on the key tops

The “top” of the keycap is usually “engraved” to identify which key is which.

In fact, there are cases in which the engraving can disappear depending on the engraving method.

The table below shows the four materials, their corresponding printing methods, and the degree of print fading.

	fade resistance	metal	Ceramic	PBT	ABS
thermal wax transfer printing	fade easily	–	–	–	○
pad printing	fade easily	–	–	–	○
laser printing	fade easily	–	–	○	○
silk printing	fade easily	–	–	○	○
Sublimation printing (Dye-Sub)	indelible	–	–	○	×
Double Shot	indelible	–	–	○	○
Laser engraving laser engraving	indelible	○	–	–	–
heat baking	indelible	–	○	–	–

First, classified as “indelible” are laser engraving and double-shot.

Laser engraving is physically “engraved” with a laser, so if it is dug into the metal, it is unlikely to disappear under normal use.

As for the double shot, the text portion is made from a different part, so the text will not disappear even if it is shaved off to some extent.

As for sublimation printing (Dye-Sub), it is also difficult to disappear because the paint is impregnated with heat.

However, there have been cases reported of characters blurring when the printing technology is not yet mature, so it is necessary to confirm this in advance.

As for ceramics, the answer was that the legend is baked on the top layer (surface) of the glaze in the process of layering and firing the glaze.

For other printing methods, the print is only “placed” on the surface of the keycap, so it may disappear if rubbed.

If you want to use the same appearance for a long period of time, you should at least choose one that is “indelible”.

Price

The final deciding factor would be “price”.

Prices vary considerably, but the trend is still toward plastic keycaps, which are less expensive.

On the other hand, keycaps made of different materials tend to be more expensive.

	market price	Example
metal	From $300.00 From 45,000 yen	Awekeys Fullmetal Keycaps → Click here to purchase ▷▷▷.
Ceramic	From $140.00 From ¥21,000	Cerakey → Click here to purchase ▷▷▷.
PBT	30.00 – 150.00 4,500 – 22,500 yen	KAT Operator → Click here to purchase ▷▷▷.
ABS	From $20.00 From 3,000 yen	Signal Test → Click here to purchase ▷▷▷.

Summary｜Select the keycap of your choice!

The above explanation has focused on metal keycaps and ceramic keycaps, and the differences between them and resin keycaps, which are generally the major type of keycaps.

	Ceramic	metal	PBT	ABS
keystroke sound	bass-leaning	high pitch	bass-leaning	high pitch
touch	velvety	gritty	gritty	gritty /滑らか
appearance	Glossy	No gloss	No gloss	No gloss /光沢あり
abrasion resistance	unknown	unknown	strong	weak
Chemical resistant	strong	strong	strong	weak
heat-resisting property	strong	strong	strong	weak
keytop printing method	unknown	laser engraving	Sublimation printing (Dye-Sub) double-shot laser printing	double-shot laser printing pad printing thermal wax transfer printing
Price	expensive	high	usually	inexpensive

I personally believe that the final deciding factor is the “feel of the keystroke”.

If you are not purchasing the product for aesthetic purposes, but for practical use, choose the product with emphasis on the “feel of touch,” “feedback to the fingertips when typing,” and “sound when typing.

The next most important factor is looks.

Especially when it comes to metal keycaps, they have a unique look that satisfies the “desire to own”.

We hope this article will help you find a good keycap for you.