When Apple released the new iMacs with the new ultra slim keyboard a couple of months ago, I wondered right away: how did they put this thing together? how did they manage to screw the top and bottom parts parts together?
So I ordered one from Amazon. My impression: it’s no Moshi Celesta (my favorite keyboard) but it’s nice. I know the verdict is not unanimous, but I personally like the laptop style keys and I find them the way to go. I still dislike how close the function keys row is to the rest; I thought that somethinglike this would look and work better:
But I digress. I bought this keyboard to disassemble it and ended up taking it apart. Disassembly implies that you can reassemble it, but not this puppy. It can only be taken apart because the top and bottom parts are not screwed together as I had assumed: they are glued. The entire surface of the keyboard is glued, not just the edges. Somehow, I need to convince the accounting software that this keyboard is now an R&D expense instead of, err, an asset.
Miscellaneous notes:
- The top is a stamped or die cast aluminum, the bottom plastic.
- Inside, you will find sheets made of stamped metal and conductive rubber.
- The rubber feet are dropped in from the inside, not glued from the outside as is typical with most products.
- All the electronics is contained in the small PCB on the back and is connected to the keyboard matrix via a ribbon connector.
You can click on the images below for a larger version. Got other products that you want to peek inside? 
So that’s what it looks like inside. I had a tough time finding any pictures. Now I see why.
I am curious what the assembly looks like in the bump with the USB ports that tips the keyboard up. (I would like to remove that bump from mine so the keyboard lies perfectly flat.)
The blue board in that picture is what’s inside the bump with the USB ports. There has to be room *somewhere* for the USB interface chip and USB ports. We couldn’t get the thing open without destroying it, so I wouldn’t count on getting rid of that bump until Apple releases the next major keyboard revision.
So is there any way you would say a person could take the key caps off to clean them with some hope of putting them back on?
My keyboard is fine for now (I really love these ones) but I know the day will eventually come to clean it, and I don’t want to have to shell out another $50 for the sake of a few stray eyelashes, skin flakes and the odd bit of dorito dust..
I’d say it’s a slim hope. They are difficult to put back. I’d suggest you get a good vaccum cleaner instead!
Hisham, thanks for sending me your busted keyboard. I went ahead and took it apart further: http://benfrantzdale.livejournal.com/238768.html
After my cat knocked a glass of water over on my Apple Keyboard, the key pad and arrows keys stopped working. So I took it apart and bought a new one.
The trick is patience, putting the keys face down on a surface, and peeling from the front to the back after heating the keyboard in the oven. I used a long knife to pry it apart and accidently cut a thin connector at the back, but now that I know, I’m sure I could do it without breaking it. I didn’t bend the aluminum at all. The oven was set at 220°f.
The keys caps are very easy to remove and replace. Very slight upward pressure under the front of the key will lift the front of the key until the front part of the cap unclips from the retaining clip. At this point the cap will still be attached to the back part of the retaining clip and you can simply push the cap up like you were opening a laptop allowing easy access to clean. If the cap should come completely off it is easy to put back on. Simply lift the retaining clip so that you can clip on the cap to the back of the retaining clip. When finished cleaning, close the cap and press on both front corners until you hear the click.
It’s a shame these keyboards are glued together.
I was hoping there would be a way to remove the aluminium part to paint it black. So that it could match my PC better.
Your post makes me quite sad, as it means I won’t be able to repair my Keyboard
At least I didn’t destroy it…