Cherry (keyboards)

Cherry GmbH (formerly Cherry Corporation) (stylized as CHERRY) is a

Cherry GmbH
German computer peripheral-device maker. The company has its roots in the
United States and is headquartered in Germany.[1][2] It has additional offices in
the United States, France, and China.[2] They manufactured a large range of
products including sensors, input devices and automotive modules until 2008,
Type Corporation
when Peter Cherry, the son of Walter L. Cherry, sold his company to ZF
Friedrichshafen AG. Cherry was bought byZF Friedrichshafen AGand renamed Industry Electronic switches
to ZF Electronics GmbH, the CHERRY naming was continued only for its
Computer hardware
computer input devices. Since the beginning of 2016 this product line has been Founded 1953
operating independently on the market as the Cherry Group. After an eight-year Founder Walter Lorraine Kirsch
partnership with ZF Friedrichshafen AG, Cherry (the computer input device
Headquarters Auerbach in der
manufacturer) was sold toGENUI Partners in October 2016.[3] Oberpfalz, Germany
Key people Manfred Schöttner
(CEO)

Contents Revenue 250 Mio. Euro (2007)

History Number of 380 (2015)

employees
Cherry MX switches in consumer keyboards
Parent GENUI Partners
Awards
Website www.cherry-world.com
See also
www.cherryamericas
References
.com
External links

History
Cherry was founded by Walter Cherry in 1953 in the basement of a restaurant in
Highland Park, Illinois, USA. With the passing of its founder, his son Peter took
over the ownership of the organization. The company's headquarters were moved to
Auerbach in der Oberpfalz, Germany in 1979. Cherry has manufactured keyboards A keyboard by Cherry
since 1973,[1] and claims to be the oldest keyboard manufacturer still in [4]
business.

Cherry maintains production facilities in Europe (most notably in Bayreuth,

Germany), Asia, and the Americas. All of its products are designed and developed at
the company's headquarters in Auerbach in der Oberpfalz. It also has offices in the
UK, Italy, France, Hong Kong, India, Mexico, Australia and other locations, with
distributors in most major countries.
Production facility in Bayreuth

In 2008, Cherry was bought by ZF Friedrichshafen AG and incorporated as the ZF

Electronics GmbH Corporate Division. The Cherry brand continues to be used.

Among Cherry's widely known products are its line of MX and ML key switches that have been used in industrial electronics and
point of sale environments since their inception in the 1980s, and more recently (~2008) by numerous manufacturers of consumer PC
keyboards.

Today, Cherry makes the following products:

 Keyboards
Mice
Card reader
Peripheral
MIX Technology

Cherry MX switches in consumer keyboards

Cherry MX switches were developed and patented in the early 1980s (U.S. Patent
4,467,160) and first marketed around 1985. In the consumer keyboard market,
Cherry MX switches are often referenced by the color of the key stem—the part of
the switch below the keycap that moves downward when pressed.[5] Most common
Cherry MX switches are:

Linear
Cherry MX switches in an opened
Red mechanical keyboard
Silent Red
Speed Silver
Nature White
Black
Silent Black
Linear Grey
Tactile, non-clicky

Brown
Clear
Tactile Grey
Tactile and Clicky
Cherry MX switches—Cherry MX
Blue Blue closed (left) and Cherry MX
White Brown, opened (right)
Green

Cherry MX Grey Switches can be found in Linear

, Tactile, and Clicky variants. They
are distinguished by stem color, with Linear being darker than Tactile. The Clicky
version is no longer made. It is debated as to whether it even clicks, since it is not
listed as a "click" switch by Cherry in their 1994 "Keymodule MX brochure", along
with MX Whites, which are greased to reduce the click.[6] Given their use primarily
in large keys like Space Bar , the feel is selected to match that of the other keys on
the board.

Other types of Cherry MX switches, such as Green and Grey, are used for larger
keys ( Space Bar , ⇧ Shift , ↵ Enter , etc.). The feel of Cherry MX green switches are Akwox Cherry MX 9 switch sample
often compared to that of the "buckling spring" switches on original IBM Model M board
keyboards.[7] Cherry switches have a lifespan of up to 50 million actuations,
depending on switch type.[8]

The auditory and tactile nature of each switch, and the amount of force needed to actuate it, vary depending on the switch type:
 Actuation Product
Switch type Clicky Tactile Linear Tactile force Type
force code
Red No No Yes 0.45 N N/A MX1A-L1xx Normal
Silent Red No No Yes 0.45 N N/A MX3A-L1xx Normal
Speed Silver No No Yes 0.45 N N/A MX1A-51xx Normal
Nature White No No Yes 0.55 N N/A MX1A-41NA Normal
Black No No Yes 0.60 N N/A MX1A-11xx Normal
Silent Black No No Yes 0.60 N N/A MX3A-11xx Normal
Linear Grey No No Yes 0.80 N N/A MX1A-21xx Larger keys
Brown No Yes No 0.45 N 0.55 N MX1A-G1xx Normal
Clear No Yes No 0.55 N 0.65 N MX1A-C1xx Larger keys
Tactile Grey No Yes No 0.80 N 0.80 N MX1A-D1xx Larger keys
Blue Yes Yes No 0.50 N 0.60 N MX1A-E1xx Normal
White / new 0.50 N / 0.60 N / Normal / Larger
Yes Yes No MX1A-A1xx
White 0.70 N 0.80 N keys
Green Yes Yes No 0.70 N 0.80 N MX1A-F1xx Larger keys

Awards
In 2008, Cherry's production facility in Bayreuth received the Bayerischer Qualitätspreis 2008 award.[9] At the end of 2006, Cherry
received the Automotive Lean Production Award of the German economy magazineAutomobil-Produktion. In 2005, Cherry GmbH in
Auerbach received theIndustrial Excellence Award as best European industrial facility.

See also
List of mechanical keyboards

References
1. "About us" (http://cherryamericas.com/about-us/). CHERRY Americas.
2. "Locations" (http://cherryamericas.com/contact-us/locations/)
. CHERRY Americas.
3. "GENUI Acquires ZF Subsidiary Cherry"(https://press.zf.com/site/press/en_de/microsites/press/list/release/release_
26752.html). ZF Friedrichshafen AG. Retrieved 2018-08-28.
4. cherry.de - Über Cherry (http://www.cherry.de/deutsch/cherry_unternehmen/company
.htm)
5. "Cherry MX" (http://deskthority.net/wiki/Cherry_MX). Deskthority wiki. 2013-09-06. Retrieved 2013-09-11.
6. "Cherry MX Click Grey"(https://deskthority.net/wiki/Cherry_MX_Click_Grey). Deskthority wiki. Retrieved October 22,
2017.
7. Kowaliski, Cyril (March 7, 2013)."A first look at Cherry's MX green key switches: Eat your heart out, buckling
springs" (http://techreport.com/review/24461/a-first-look-at-cherry-mx-green-key-switches)
. The Tech Report.
Retrieved October 22, 2017. "In both feel and specifications, though, the greens are closer to the buckling spring
switches of IBM's iconic Model M keyboards. That makes them uniquely appealing to old-school geeks. "
8. "Cherry MX" (https://deskthority.net/wiki/Cherry_MX). Deskthority wiki. October 9, 2017. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
"Cherry MX is the most popular line of keyswitches used in mechanical computer keyboards. "
9. Bayerischer Qualitätspreis 2008(http://www.bayerischer-qualitaetspreis.de/preistraeger.shtml) Archived (https://web.
archive.org/web/20140413155550/http://www .bayerischer-qualitaetspreis.de/preistraeger.shtml) 2014-04-13 at the
Wayback Machine (in German)
External links
Cherry website
Cherry MX website
ZF Switches & Sensors website(previously Cherry Switches)
Overview of Cherry mechanical switches
Cherry MX mechanical switches guide(with sounds of each switch)

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