Alps SKCL/SKCM Series

Alps SKCL/SKCM refers to a design of switches produced by Alps Electric from the early 1980s to the mid-to-late 1990s. It was one of the most common keyswitches during its lifetime and was used in a variety of keyboards. Its popularity is further demonstrated by the existence of a vast number of clones replicating or mimicking the switch design. It is believed that the tooling for the switches was destroyed shortly afterwards.

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Unfortunately, not much is known about the naming conventions and nomenclature for distinguishing between switches in the series. Therefore, it is common to refer to each switch by the color of its slider. The earliest known member of the series is Alps SKCL Green.

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Switch Design

The switch consists of an upper housing and a lower housing. The lower housing is fastened to the mounting plate and PCB and the upper housing is held in place via two plastic tabs on the top and bottom of the switch. The upper housing features a cutout for a slider and rails along which the slider travels. Underneath the slider, a spring provides return force. Actuation is provided by a switchplate. When the key is pressed, the slider pushes the contact leaf against a sandwich of contacts, registering the keypress.

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Older switches in the series are known to have come with lube which is believed to have been manufactured by Threebond. The lube has been confirmed to have been used on a number of switches in the series, but little is known other on the use of lube on switches other than this.

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SKCL Series

SKCL refers to all linear switches in the SKCL/SKCM series. Variants have been found with green, yellow, amber, gray and brown sliders. Alps SKCL green and yellow are the most common variants, with SKCL green preceding yellow in design/manufacture. Alps SKCL amber and SKCL gray were heavy linear switches, most commonly used in spacebars, and complemented keyboards with SKCL green and brown switches. SKCL brown is a rare switch manufactured by Gold Star Alps that has only been identified in a number of keyboards.

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SKCM Series

SKCM series switches are identical in design to SKCL switches, but feature a tactile element which helps to produce tactility. SKCM switches are always tactile or clicky. Two switches in the SKCM series, SKCM white and SKCM blue, are among some of the most common SKCM switches and can be found in a wide range of keyboards.