Editing Alps SKCL/SKCM series (section)

===Leaf springs===
Alps SKCL/SKCM series was quite likely to be the first switch series to use a [[click leaf|folded leaf spring]] to provide a tactile sensation and audible indication. Following on from [[Alps SKCC series]], the original SKCL switches were linear. It appears that the first attempt at tactile feedback was the [[Alps SKCM Brown]]; this was a skeleton switchplate designed to expand the tactility inherent in the actuator leaf design.

This was shortly followed by [[Alps SKCM Blue]], which introduced the idea of a folded leaf spring that is pulled away from the inside of the shell by the slider, and allowed to snap back into place to generate an audible sound. Blue Alps switches appeared around 1985, while the earliest [[SMK second generation]] switches have been found from 1986.

The click leaf concept was subsequently used in many switches, including SMK second generation switches and the [[Omron B3G-S series]] as well as most [[Alps clone]] switches, Alps derivatives, and Alps-SMK hybrid switches such as the [[KPT switch]].

The progression of the tactile leaf is not clear; it may have been a derivative of the click leaf, or it may be that both designs were introduced at the same time, as [[Alps SKCM Cream]], which so far has been found to have a standard folded tactile leaf. The folded tactile leaf is similar to the click leaf, but two additional protrusions prevent it from being pulled forward, so it does not generate a click. The consequence of this design is that the tactility is not as strong as that generated by a click leaf. Tactile leaves often have a hole stamped in the centre; the reason for this is not known. It appears to have been absent in SKCM Cream, then present for [[Alps SKCM Orange]] onwards, and removed again with [[Alps SKCM White Damped]].

<div style="text-align: center">
<gallery widths=250 heights=187>
File:Alps CM brown -- tactile assembly 1.jpg          | Original tactile leaf in SKCM Brown
File:Alps SKCM Amber -- click leaf.jpg                | Click leaf in an [[Alps SKCM Amber]] switch
File:Alps SKCM -- click and tactile leaves, front.jpg | Click leaf (left) compared to tactile leaf (right); the designs of both changed over time
File:Alps SKCM -- click and tactile leaves, rear.jpg  | Rear view of click and tactile leaves
</gallery>
</div>

====Modification====
It is possible to modify a tactile leaf spring to produce a click. This is done by bending down the two upper tabs, which allows the leaf to move within the slot in the upper housing. This affects both the feel and the sound of the switch.

<div style="text-align: center">
<gallery widths=250 heights=187>
File:Alps SKCM -- tactile leaf from cream damped switch.jpg                | A stock tactile leaf from an Alps SKCM Ivory switch.
File:Alps SKCM -- click-modified tactile leaf from cream damped switch.jpg | A click-modified tactile leaf from an Alps SKCM Ivory switch.
File:Alps SKCM -- tactile leaf cross section.gif                           | A cutaway view inside an Alps SKCM Ivory switch.
File:Alps SKCM -- click leaf cross section.gif                             | A cutaway view inside a click-modified Alps SKCM Ivory switch.
</gallery>
</div>