Mill-Max, a vertically integrated engineering and manufacturing company, recently launched a new series of open-bottom, low-profile, solder-mount receptacles specifically designed to make mechanical key switches hot-swappable.

The new 3305-X is designed to be soldered into a .060” (1,50mm) minimum mounting hole, with an ultra-thin retention shoulder so plugged-in components sit nearly flush to the board surface. The open-bottom design accommodates varying lead lengths, making this a very versatile receptacle.

The 3305-X series offers three length options: .105” (2,67mm), .130” (3,30mm) and .155” (3,94mm). These all are an above-board height of .010” (0,25mm), providing a low profile desired for optimal switch height and functioning.

The receptacles are compact in size and made with high-quality materials, ensuring the easy-to-use parts are reliable and long-lasting. Much like all Mill-Max receptacles, the 3305-X series uses a beryllium-copper contact clip to make dependable, low-resistance connections with mated leads and maintain the connections after thousands of cycles (plug/unplug). T

he 3305-X accepts round leads of .025”-.037” (0,635- 0,940mm) in diameter as well as square and rectangular leads (.019″ – .026” square) – typical of the leads found on most keyboard switches.

The introduction of the 3305-X series and this style of receptacle means that repairing, upgrading or customizing keyboards (once tedious and time-consuming endeavors) have become viable options by eliminating the painstaking task of de-soldering then re-soldering an entire keyboard. Typically, this process could take 90 minutes or more each time, depending on the user’s skill level.

Conversely, after the one-time process of installing Mill-Max 3305-X receptacles, all the key switches can be replaced in just a few minutes, many times over, allowing users of all skill levels to join the hot-swap keyboard movement.