Alps SKCM Ivory
Manufacturer	Alps Electric
Family	Alps SKCM/SKCL series
Part Number	SKCMBB
Switch Type	Tactile
Travel	3.5mm
Sense method	Metal contact
Mount	Plate mount
Rated lifetime	20 million cycles
Quoted operating force	70gf

Alps SKCM Ivory is a damped tactile switch in the second and third generation of the Alps SKCM/SKCL Series.

This switch has previously been called “Alps SKCM Cream Damped” or “cream damped”. It has been renamed here to match the Alps catalog.

The switch follows the general characteristics of the SKCM family, consisting of an upper and lower housing, contact module, stem, spring and a leaf spring for generating the tactile event.

SKCM Ivory straddles the second and third generations, and as such can be found with and without slits, though the version with slits is much more common.

The stem, which is a slightly translucent off-white color, features rubber dampeners that slot into either side of the stem. The lower housing of the switch also has widened stopping points to make connection with the dampers.

The tactile feedback is generated with a leaf spring that is situated on the opposite side of the housing to the contact module. There are two revisions of the leaf spring.

Alps SKCM Ivory, like all SKCM/SKCL series switches, uses a contact module to register the keypress. This sits in the housing on the side with visible notches.

SKCM Ivory was introduced in around 1989, and appears to have been produced until 1995. There are two revisions of the tactile leaf spring - the first being the hole-punched type, the same as is found in both SKCM Orange and SKCM Salmon, and the later type being the “dimple” leaf seen in third-generation SKCM Black and SKCM White Ivory.