For the happily obsessed mechanical keyboard enthusiast, no detail is too small on the journey to the perfect switch. Perfect keyfeel is worth rummaging through switch specs or even connecting parts from one mechanical switch to another to create the ideal Franken switch, as they’re called. One particular mod has attracted so much attention since it was shared on a forum 11 years ago that Cherry turned it into a real product.
Cherry, the inventor of mechanical switches, announced the Cherry MX Ergo Clear this week, describing it as a landing between tactile Brown and Clear switches. All three switches have a total stroke of 4mm and activate at 2mm, but the Ergo Clears require about 55g of force to activate, with that required force dropping to about 40g at the switch’s operating point. Clears, on the other hand, need 65g before dropping to 55g, while Browns need about 55g and 45g respectively.
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Cherry’s MX Ergo Clear power curve.
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The original MX Clear (pictured) is stiffer.
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The Ergo Clear and Brown (pictured) require the same amount of force to operate.
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The original enthusiast Ergo Clear mod used the spring of a black switch (shown).
The idea for the Ergo Clear came from a post on the mechanical keyboard forum Geekhack. One user named “mtl” said that Clears felt too heavy for him, “especially on the outer edge keys” of the keyboard. Mtl decided to come up with their own switch by combining the spring of a lighter (60g actuating force) linear switch, the Cherry MX Black, with the stem of a Clear, creating a “switch that is easier to press than a Cherry Clear.” , and more tactile than a Cherry Brown,” MTL said at the time.
A spokesperson for Cherry told Ars Technica that the spring in the MX Ergo Clears is “similar” to the spring on the MX Black switch, but has “an updated design.”
Cherry’s announcement didn’t say whether the MX Ergo Clear uses the same switch as Cherry’s Black switch (we’ve reached out for comment and will let you know if we hear anything). However, the end result should be of the same spirit.
Cherry even pre-lubricated the MX Ergo Clear switches with reference to the spray-on, PTFE dry lube that mtl said they dipped the springs and switches of their Franken switches in to reduce scratches.
However, Cherry chose a general purpose lubricant from Krytox called GPL 205 GRADE 0 Grease, a common mechanical switch lubricant especially for linear switches. Cherry’s so-called “high-precision automated process” is probably more efficient than the dipping process mtl used 11 years ago. Furthermore, Cherry claims the process helps to ensure the sustainability claim of the 50 million press switch. Self-hacked Frankenswitches have no such sustainability claims.
The RGB-friendly version (front) has a translucent upper housing with a dark lower half.
Cherry has announced RGB and non-RGB versions of 3- and 5-pin MX Ergo Clears (four versions in total).
Power of the enthusiastic community
Cherry said it launched the MX Ergo Clear primarily “to appeal to the DIY community”. The German company called the new switches the “first community switch special edition of Cherry MX,” leaving the door open for new designs to emerge from the creative minds of the mechanical keyboard community.
As with products like the Holy Panda (a Franken switch invented by an enthusiast known as Quakemz who now sells Drop as a product and is the inspiration for Glorious’ Panda switches), the launch of MX Ergo Clears underscores the power of the community when it comes to enthusiastic high-level product launches. A post from years ago claims nearly 6,000 reads and spawned other Geekhack threads with thousands of commands, plus countless conversations in the mechanical keyboard community and, as of this week, an offering from the original mechanical switch maker.
MX Ergo Clears have a gold crosspoint contact system which, according to Cherry, allows for a bounce time of less than 1ms.
Cherry is not the first supplier to make an “official” switch, inspired by the design of mtl. As noted by The Verge, Zeal PC, who says it “comes from Geekhack”, originally sold the design as the Zealio V1 and now as the Zealio V1 Redux. And there are plenty of hobbyists who have made their way to the Ergo Clear without the help of a company.
But now that Cherry is introducing the Switch as an official design, we can reportedly expect it in pre-built keyboards (Cherry hasn’t specified models or brands) and from official distributors backed by Cherry-level build quality and durability.
