Cherry mx footprint ... which one?

Hi,

I want to design a cherry mx macro keyboard

when I check the available footprints, there are a lot of them

which one do I choose ? 1.00 1.25 1.50 … what are these ?

the switches I bought : https://www.reichelt.com/de/en/cherry-mx-blue-rgb-keyswitch-cherry-mx1a-e1na-p258096.html

thanks for helping me

Reichelt is a decent european store, and they should have direct links to datasheets, or enough information to get the manufacturer & type number of your switches, and the datasheet should have all the info you need.

What sort of steps have you taken in that direction?

I am just asking what are these values…I did not see anything related to that on their web site
I also dont see any datasheet link on that page

also, all the mx switches I’ve seen out there have the same dimensions and pin positions, so I really dont get this

The values indicate the size (width) of keycap you intend to put on the switches. If you plan to buy standard square keycaps (like for example the alphanumerical keys on keyboards usually use) then 1.00 is the right size. Shift, Tab, Caps Lock, Return and Spacebar for example usually use wider keycaps. The only difference in the footprint should be the area the footprint takes up and probably the silk screening such that you can easily tell that you left enough space for the keycaps. The actual electrical layout should be the same for all sizes.

ok, I indeed waited for the key caps to be delivered to figure the distance between each switch

hmmm, I tried to add the folder to the libraries manager and kikad crashed :slight_smile:

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