Disassembly

Given the hot-swappable nature of the switches, it only made sense that I take one of the Akko CS Ocean Blue switches apart for this page. This is a 3-pin mechanical switch employing the Cherry MX stem design, meaning we have the usual construction with the top, a crosspoint stem/slider, spring, and housing that also has the metal leaf for the actuation mechanism. The switch does not come lubed, and quite interestingly, the stem itself has the bump for tactile feedback right at the bottom of its contact surface to where tactile feedback will happen earlier than is usually the case. Actuation happens after this, with the larger bump pushing the metal leaf, which then touches its folded end and triggers actuation through the two metal pins probing into the PCB itself.


Springs are often neglected when it comes to mechanical switches, and a recent experience with some excellent springs in the Gateron Ink switches showed me how important they are. Akko is making a big deal about using progressive springs, as opposed to regular coiled ones that have a packed cluster at either end and wider gaps between the coils in the middle. The render on the product page wasn't the best for a realistic look, especially compared to the actual spring alongside. Akko sent me a better photo of the two spring types that illustrates the difference better. This does result in a linear resistance from the spring as you press down, making for a smoother experience, especially for linear switches.


Akko is using a typical two-piece plastic case construction, so only take this keyboard apart if you have no other recourse since you may well scratch or further damage the case. This process requires carefully prying apart the interlocking tabs; start at the bottom and work your way around the sides, after which it will get easier on the fourth side. To remove the bottom panel, you need to remove some specific keycaps to access eight Phillips head screws, which is considerably more than the two screws used on the Akko 3108 keyboards, but pleasantly so given the more uniform and secure fit here.


Once done, the plate/PCB piece lifts upwards and away from the bottom panel. An internal USB cable extends from a daughter PCB on the case, which houses the Type-C connector. The daughter PCB is screwed in securely, and there's little else to see on the case. Both case panels are made out of ABS plastic, and the middle piece has a steel plate with the black PCB secured to it for structural integrity. The plate is also black to match the theme better, which no doubt is just a happy coincidence since plates tend to generally be black anyway.


Solder quality is very good for all the components, including some larger capacitors inside cutouts on the PCB. It is also at this point that we see the use of Gateron hot-swap switch sockets on the PCB, which is funny considering they are 3-pin sockets and the popular Gateron switches are 5-pin. No doubt, you can get either kind from the company, and Akko went with the one suiting their switches, which should also cost slightly less. We also see that Akko has the PCB set up for users to mod-in LEDs should they desire. Powering the keyboard is a Vision VS11K15A 32-bit ARM Cortex-M0 USB microcontroller, which has been used in some other keyboards we have covered before, including the Akko ones. The MCU actually supports basic backlighting, including RGB LEDs to an extent, so Akko could have added single color LEDs to all 108 keys if it wanted to. All the components, including the switches, LEDs, and capacitors, are soldered to a multi-layered PCB, and we see another addition the older Akko keyboards did not get. The company added a 3-mm-thick foam sheet, cut into individually shaped pieces to better fit the gaps between the plate and PCB. This will absorb some of the noise with switch downstrokes, but I was surprised to see the foam here rather than between the PCB and bottom case panel to reduce the reverb in the hollow case.

Before we move on, be advised that disassembly may void the warranty and that TechPowerUp is not liable for any damages incurred if you decide to go ahead and do so anyway.