ABS vs PBT Keycaps: What's the Difference?

PBT keycaps on a mechanical keyboard. Polybutylene Terephthalate (PBT) keycaps is a less common material to find used in keycaps. PBT is usually more expensive ... Skiptocontent ABSandPBTplasticarethetwomostcommonplasticsusedinthemanufacturingofkeycaps.Bothtypesofplastichaveadifferentfeel,sound,andlooktothem.We’llgooverwhatthedifferencesare,andwhichoneisbetter. ABSkeycapsarethecheapestandmostcommonplasticused forkeycaps.PBTplasticislesscommonbutisusuallyhigherqualitythanABS. ABSkeycapsfeelsmoothanddevelopagreasyshineovertime,whilePBTkeycaps feeltexturedandaremoredurable. Asyoucansee,PBTkeycapsareusuallybetter,butinsomesituationsABSkeycapscanbesuperior.We’llgomoreindetailaboutthemaindifferencesbetweenthetwoandsomeotherinterestingkeycapvariations.Forkeycaprecommendations,checkoutthispost. ABS(Left)vsPBT(Right) WhatareABSKeycaps? AcrylonitrileButadieneStyrene(ABS)isacopolymerplastic thatiscommonlyusedintheproductionofkeycapsforkeyboards.ABSplastic isusedbecauseitisdurableandresistant,butcheaptoproduce.Itisimpact resistant,soitcanwithstandmillionsofkeystrokesbeforecrackingor breaking.OneofthedownsidestoABSisthatovertimeitwearsdown.It’snot uncommonthatafterheavyuse,anABSkeycapwillhavetheletteringstartto fadeawayandthekeycapwillstarttothin. ABSkeycapshaveasmoothtexture.Thetexturecanbenice toglideyourfingersacrossthekeyboard.Thiscomesatacostthough,because cheapandpoorlymanufacturedABSkeycapswilldevelopagreasy/shinylookto itafterusage.Thisisbecausetheplasticgraduallychangescolorfrom exposuretoUVrays.ABSkeycapstendtobethinner,butitispossibletobuy highquality,thickABSkeycapsforaslightincreaseinprice. StandardOEMABSKeycaps MostABSkeycapsaremadethroughinjectionmoldingtoform theshapeofthekeycap.Afterwards,thelegendsareprintedonthekeycaps throughseveraldifferentprocesses,dependingonthemanufacturer.Themost commonwaysarethoughpadprinting,lasermarking,andengraving. MostmechanicalkeyboardscomewithrelativelycheapABSkeycapsinstalled,butthereareniceandexpensivesetsavailableonline.SomeofthemoreexpensivesetsincludesetssuchasGMKSamuraiforahigher-endprice,availableonAmazon.Theseexpensivekeycapssetsusuallyhaveathickerplasticandcomewithcustomdesignsonthem. WhatarePBTKeycaps? PolybutyleneTerephthalate(PBT)keycaps isalesscommonmaterialtofindusedinkeycaps.PBTisusuallymoreexpensive tosourceandproduce,soforalotofkeyboardsyou’lleitherhavetobuythem separatelyorpayamarkup.PBTismorerigidandbrittlethanABSsoitwears downlessovertime,thisalsoismakesitsomuchmoredifficulttoshapeand produce.YoucanusePBTkeycapsforalongperiodoftimebeforetheyshowany signofdeterioration. ThedefiningpropertiesofPBTkeycapsarethetextured,sometimes sandy,feeltothem.UsuallymoreexpensivePBTkeycapswillhaveanicer texturethanthecheaperversions.PBTkeycapsarematteandnotveryshiny. Theyalsotendtobethicker. ABSvsPBT ABSKeycaps PBTKeycaps UsuallyCheaper MoreExpensive Shiny/Greasy Matte Smooth Textured Thinner(Notalways) Thicker Quieterwhentyping Louderwhentyping Flexible Brittle WearsOverTime MoreDurable Nowthatwe’vegoneovereachofthedifferentplastic types,let’stalkaboutthebiggestdifferencesbetweenABSandPBT. Cost UsuallyPBTkeycapswillbemoreexpensivethanABS.Thisis duetothefactthatPBTkeycapsaremuchmoredifficulttoproduce,because thematerialishardertoformintotheproperkeycapshapeduringtheinjection moldingprocess.SomeABSkeycapscancostmorethanPBT,butthat’sgenerally duetoathickerABSkeycapdesignwithsomefancydesignsonthelegends. Texture ABSkeycapsaresmoothandshiny,whilePBTistexturedand matte.Thisisduetothedifferentplasticmaterialandcompoundsusedineach type.SomeABSkeycapsdon’tgettheshinylooktothemiftheyarehigherquality, sojustmakesuretotestthemoutfirstbeforebuying. Thickness PBTkeycapsareusuallythickerthanABS.Thisdependsonwhichkeycapsetyouarebuying.Insomesituations,youcanbuyathickABSkeycapset. Material PBTkeycapsaremadefromadifferentplastictypethatis morebrittle,durable,andtexturedthanABS. Sound FrommyexperienceusingPBTkeycaps,I’vefoundthemto haveadifferentsoundwhentyping.TheyareusuallyslightlylouderthanABS keycaps,butthesoundiscrisperandcleaner.Sinethematerialismorerigid andthick,thekeycapsthemselvesdon’tvibrateasmuch,whichmakesforthe morecrispsound. It’sUptoYourPersonalTaste WhilePBTkeycapsaregenerallyconsideredsuperiortoABS,you candecideforyourselfwhichtypeyouprefer.Somepeoplecannotstandthesandy texturedfeelofPBTkeycaps,ortheydon’tenjoythemattecolor.It’stotally normaltopreferthesmoothandshinyABSplastic.Attheendofthedayit comesdowntopersonalpreferenceandwhateveryouthinklooksmoreaesthetic andfeelsbetter.Bothoptionshavelotsofhigherendkeycapsavailable,so youcangetfancykeycapsregardlessoftheplastictype. WhatareDoubleshotKeycaps? Doubleshotkeycapsaremadefromamorecomplicatedmanufacturingprocesswheretwoseparateplasticsareinjectionmoldedtomakethekeycap.Doubleshotkeycapsareproducedthiswaysothatlightingcanshinethroughthelegends.Ifyourkeyboardhaslightingforeachindividualkey,thesestylesofkeycapsareusuallyusedsothebacklightingcanilluminatethelegendsandmakethemeasiertoread.DoubleshotkeycapsareavailableinbothPBTandABSplastics. WhatarePuddingKeycaps? Puddingkeycapsareawaytoreallyshowoffyourkeyboard’slighting.Thesearealsodoubleshot,butinsteadofjustilluminatingthelegends,thelightcanalsoshinethroughthesidesofthekeycapsaswell.Thismakesforsomeawesomelookingkeyboardset-ups.SomeofourfavoritepuddingkeycapsarebyHyperX,theyarequiteaffordableandareaniceupgradeforanymechanicalkeyboard. KeycapProfiles Keycapprofilesareanotherimportantaspectofkeycapstounderstand.Theprofilereferstotheoverallshapeandheightofthekeycap.Therearedozensofdifferentprofiles,soyoucantestthemouttofigureoutwhatfeelsthebest.Hereisourfullguideonkeycapprofiles. Conclusion Overall,therearealotofdifferencesbetweenPBTandABSkeycaps.PBTareconsideredtobesuperior,sincetheyaremoredurableanddon’tdevelopashinylooktothemovertime.Thatbeingsaid,therearesomereallyniceABSkeycapssetsavailableandattheendoftheday,itcomesdowntouserpreference.It’suptoyoutodecidewhichtypeyouthinkisbetter,butifyouwantmyopinion,it’sPBTalltheway.UnlessI’mabletofinallygetmyhandsonthoseGMKcampingkeycaps. HappyTyping! Jakehasbeenanavidmechanicalkeyboarduserforthepastsixyears.HehasabackgroundinMechanicalEngineeringandwantstoapplyhisexpertisetobreakdownhowmechanicalkeyboardsandothertechworktoshowtheworldallofthecoolaspectsofthehobby. RecentContent linktoHowtoPEFoamModyourKeyboard Overthelastyear,thecustomkeyboardhobbyhasexploded,bringingwithitaplethoraofnewinnovationsandmodifications. TodaywewillbecoveringthePEFoammod,asound-alteringsolution... linktoAnEnthusiast'sDeepDiveIntoMechanicalKeyboardSwitches Atsurfacelevel,mechanicalkeyboardsswitchesseemsimpleandeasytounderstand. Cutanddry. Butthemoreyoulearn,yourealizethedepthofcustomizationandcomplexitythatmechanical... AboutUs AffiliateDisclosure Wemayearnacommissionforpurchasesusingourlinks.Knowmoreaboutouraffliatedisclosureterms. 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