Disassembly

The keyboard may not have hot-swappable switches, but that does not stop us from taking a closer look inside one since we have the trial kit from before. Given this keyboard has the EC V2 Rose, it is the one I chose to take apart here. The switch design is not all that different from the larger scheme, with a see-through top housing, the stem itself, a spring with 55 gf actuation, as per Hook's constant, and the body itself. It is in the body that things get more interesting, which the other photos and the video above hint towards. Do you see how the metal piece does not touch the other end? These metal contacts are how the switch-actuation circuit is completed in a typical mechanical switch. The answer as to how actuation happens here lies in the name of the switch itself, which we will discuss further on the next page.


Disassembly of the MA87M is on the easier side of things even for a plastic case keyboard. There are tiny Phillips head screws on the back, seven in total, with one underneath a telltale sticker that will alert the company that the keyboard has been taken apart should you send it in for RMA. Once done, there are four larger interlocking plastic tabs on the corners that need to be dislodged using a flat, thin object. With that done, the top case panel may be taken off the rest of the keyboard.


When examined separately, the top panel piece allows for a better look at the elevated patterns in gold adorning the plastic, which makes them better distinguishable. Further disassembly requires the removal of two more screws, this time from the top, and these are found between specific keycaps as seen above. Once done, you can lift the PCB off the bottom case panel by enough to access the internal USB cable that connects the two. We see a foam layer in between to prevent short circuits, especially with the daughter PCB in the bottom panel that houses the mini-USB port for the provided cable.


We now get to the meat of the keyboard, with a green PCB slightly visible from the front with the top panel removed. There is a Varmilo label here along with another model number, which means this PCB design has been used across multiple Varmilo keyboards, which makes sense for economy of scale, especially when unique artistic themes over a base keyboard are the USP of the brand. The switches go through a thick steel plate used for structural integrity and are soldered onto the PCB. Solder quality is very good for all components here, including the switches themselves. I was not able to find anything useful on the hardware drivers, although I will note that there is not a whole lot of extra pre-programmed functionality, so it's not like the keyboard needs something powerful, either. As is the norm these days, the PCB has multiple layers.

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.