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Colour, finish and compliance for machined keyboard cases

Last reviewed 19 October 2026

A machined keyboard case has no certificate scheme of its own, so quality is decided by what you write on the drawing, what you measure on the first article and what the vendor can show a customs office. The pages in this library cover those three things in the order a run meets them. They are written for the person who has to specify, check and sign off a run, and every one starts with what the choice costs and where the scrap risk sits.

What is at stake, by product

Product	Where the money goes wrong	Page to read
Anodised aluminium case	A vague finish note: colour mismatch, closed pockets, a remake	The anodise note on a drawing
Saturated or pale colourway	A colour the process cannot hold: high scrap, a failed repeat	Anodised colours by difficulty
Case with a brass or steel weight	A listing weight that the product does not match	Weight tolerance and weighing
Case sold to the EU or the US	A declaration nobody holds: a customs hold	RoHS and REACH and FCC, CE and UKCA
Choosing a maker	Paying for a certificate that does not protect the run	ISO 9001 and keyboard case makers
Any run with a dispute risk	No record of lot, load or scrap	Production records for a group buy

The matrix: product by layer

The four columns are the layers of any quality library: the standard or note that defines the part, the certificate a buyer may ask for, the test or document that proves it, and the market rule that decides whether it may be sold.

Product	Standards and notes	Certificates	Tests and documents	Market rules
Aluminium keyboard case	Alloy and temper on the drawing; anodise note (type, class, thickness, seal)	ISO 9001 tells you about a site, not about the run	Thickness readings, flatness, golden sample, load record	HS code and duty (guide); RoHS and REACH declaration
Brass, copper and stainless weights	Alloy by number: brass C36000 or lead-free C69300	None specific	Weight tolerance and weighing; material certificate	Lead in brass: RoHS exemption dates, REACH, Prop 65 (guide)
Plates, polycarbonate cases and keycaps	Material named on the drawing	None specific	Flatness, dimensions	FCC and CE belong to the finished-keyboard owner
Finished keyboard or kit	Not set by the case maker	Not applicable	Test reports from the board’s lab	FCC, CE and UKCA declaration held by the vendor

How the pages relate

Read the anodise note first, because the finish decides most of the cosmetic cost and scrap. The weight page sits beside it for runs that include a weight. The two compliance pages (RoHS and REACH, FCC and CE) answer who holds a document and what a case maker can supply. The ISO 9001 page and the records page cover how to judge a maker: what a certificate tells you and what cheaper evidence protects the run. For the wider set of decisions around a run, see the keyboard case guide and the reference shelf.

Using the library on a real run

Each stage of a run has one question that these pages answer.

1. Before the RFQ. Write the anodise note, the weight target and band, and the markets you sell into. Without them the quotes you collect describe different jobs and cannot be compared. The drawing callouts and the RFQ template hold the rest of the package.
2. While comparing quotes. Ask each shop who anodises, which records it keeps and whether it can supply material and finisher statements. The ISO 9001 page explains how much weight a certificate deserves in that comparison, and the records page lists what a shop can show.
3. At the first article. Weigh it, measure the film and check the colour against the approved sample with the viewing condition you agreed. The weight page gives a report layout you can reuse at the receiving end.
4. At shipment. Collect the one-page record summary and the statements you need for the markets you sell into. If you sell a finished keyboard, the vendor’s file is the board’s test reports plus the case drawing revision that was tested.
5. After the run. Keep the sample, the records and the declaration for the period you agreed in the PO. A repeat run six months later is only as repeatable as these papers.

None of these steps needs a certificate. They need decisions written down before the metal is cut, which is the cheapest place to make them.

What this library does not do

It does not offer legal advice, and it does not claim that any shop, part or run complies with anything. Rules change; each page carries the date it was read and the sources. Ask each party for its own original documents and check them with the issuing body.

Common questions

Sources

• European Commission: RoHS Directive
• GOV.UK: Using the UKCA marking
• ISO 7599:2018: decorative and protective anodic oxidation coatings