Disassembly: Part 2

This page basically describes the disassembly of an optical switch keyboard and begins with a look inside one of the switches. Getting to the switch took a while, though, which is why this is the second part of the disassembly coverage with the ROG Claymore II. Once you have the switch in your hands, taking it apart is quite simple—just separate the interlocking tabs keeping the translucent top in place over the black housing. Note also that the stem clips into place on the red (or blue, if you have the ROG RX Blue switches) stabilizers, so carefully separate it. The spring just pops out, so keep an eye on that roller, too. The best way I can describe the ROG RX Red is as an Omron mechanical switch that loved a scissor switch very much and decided to turn to the light. Elements from many different switches have been put together and refined here. Take the stem, which is square to mate nicely with the top and clips onto the scissor-style stabilizers. The long finger in the stem is what eventually interrupts the light signal of the two diodes on each switch, which in turn triggers keystroke actuation. The X/scissor-style stabilizers slide up and down the housing and are part of the mechanical facet of this optical-mechanical switch.


With the top removed and looking in from the side, we get a closer look at the switch-travel mechanism. As the stem goes down, the stabilizers glide through a cutout on either side, with the spring providing the travel resistance. This means the gliding action will make or break the switches, and some lube would have helped with a couple of the switches I had. The vast majority were quite smooth though, so take that for what you will. The two side pins in the black housing are only for stability on the PCB, with the third pin having a cutout for the actuation mechanism, and the stem finger to slide into.


Now on to the TKL unit of the ROG Claymore II itself, which will be a much simpler affair as I am only interested in what makes it tick now that we have already examined the switches. There are no hidden screws on the back this time. We instead have 11 Phillips head screws that are accessible after removing specific keycaps as seen above. Once done, the aluminium frame can be lifted off, but not completely separated.


As expected, two short cables on the side go to the PCB for the hot-swappable numpad. I suppose in the absence of hot-swappable switches, having the same with the numpad will do! Interestingly, there are no other cables to worry about. So how does the keyboard get power in wireless mode? Let's take a closer look at the bottom case panel to find out, which we can now indeed confirm is made out of ABS plastic. There is a metal-shielded compartment with the top screwed in place on either side, and lifting it off reveals the 3820 mAh battery inside. ASUS rates the battery at 4000 mAh, which is close enough, at least practically. A wire goes from the battery to the daughter PCB with the wired I/O section on the bottom panel. So now we have to figure out where the internal USB connection from this daughter PCB is taken to the primary one, along with the battery power itself. A connector jutting out vertically on the daughter PCB sheds some light on this.


Ah, and the mating connector on the primary PCB solves that problem. These two get around the need for separate wires and help keep things tidy inside. The primary PCB, also green, is basically a larger version of the smaller one used for the numpad. There is not much soldering here, either, with the switches just slotted in place in the aluminium frame, and there is even a spare bare pad. It is also funny to see the plastic trim referred to as a decoration plate. Powering the TKL keyboard unit is a similar STMicroelectronics STM32L412R8 Arm Cortex-M4 microcontroller with 64 KB of onboard flash memory for all the pre-programmed functions. As expected, the PCB has multiple layers, and the side view also better reveals the thickness of the aluminium frame itself.

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.