Disassembly

Disassembly of the SKILLER SGK30 is relatively simple even knowing this is a two-piece plastic case construction. The two pieces are held together not by interlocking tabs as is usually the case, but, rather, the ten Phillips head screws accessible from the back. Once done, the top piece can easily be removed and separated from the rest of the keyboard.


We can now better see the plastic posts that guide the top panel in place, and these posts are threaded for the screws to catch into. Further disassembly requires removing four more screws, this time on the top and underneath some keycaps. Remove them as seen above—a precision Phillips screwdriver comes in handy here. At this point, you can lift the middle piece up far enough to access the internal USB cable connecting the PCB to the bottom panel. Dislodge it, and we get a better look at the ABS plastic bottom panel.


The PCB is a matte blue in color, and solder quality is generally good. I am still not sure why there is a massive goop above some of the solder points, as the case is plastic and there is no worry of electrical shorting, but the PCB also does not touch the case. Regardless, it was at this point that I noticed that the steel plate actually had a see-through cover with a textured brushed finish. Powering the keyboard is a Vision VS11K09A USB microcontroller, and there's another module in the Vision VS01. There's no useful information to be found online for either of these, unfortunately. As is the norm, all the components are soldered onto a multi-layer PCB.

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.