How A Silicone Rubber Keypad Is Manufactured And Designed?
The compression molding technology is used in order to manufacture a silicone rubber keypad. This type of keypad may be fitted with conductive gold-plated pills or carbon pills or with non-conductive rubber actuators. A conductive ink is used in order to print the rubber actuators. In this type of keypad, an angled web of silicone rubber is formed around the center of the keypad through compression molding. The webbing becomes deformed once a key has been pressed.
The deformed webbing of silicone rubber brings the conductive pill or non-conductive actuator closer to the PCB contact. The circuit closes once a connection is established between a pill or actuator and the PCB contact. The key produces a tactile response at this time. The webbing of silicone rubber returns to its original state or position once the pressure is released. A custom keypad made of silicone rubber webbing functions in this manner. A silicone rubber keypad provides the control panel of a machine with a sealed enclosure and prevents any contaminant from coming in contact with the wires and electronics. Thus, there is no possibility of a machine getting damaged due to being exposed to contaminants. This is the primary benefit of using a silicone rubber keypad on any device.
A custom keypad made of silicone rubber is relatively economic in comparison to the keypads made of other materials. However, the tools that are used to manufacture this type of keypad are expensive. Therefore, manufacturers like to produce a bulk of silicone rubber keypad since this reduces the cost of production. Silicone rubber is resistant to aging and it is capable of staying undamaged at extreme temperatures. These features make a silicone rubber keypad ideal for the devices or tools that are used outdoors or at harsh environments.
The silicone rubber can be molded in different shapes and can be printed using different methods. This material is selected for the manufacturing of custom keypad due to this reason. Each key can be labeled using different techniques. Some manufacturers may affix a vinyl sticker which has been printed with desired letters, texts or images using silk-screen printing. An entire control panel plate is usually surrounded by a printed vinyl label. The vinyl labels are inexpensive and they can be easily affixed to the control panel. However, the labels may become curled around the edges or may come off the surface with use.
Some manufacturers may engrave the control panel instead of labeling a silicone rubber keypad. The texts or images can be permanently engraved on the control-panel plate in this manner. However, this is an expensive and laborious process and may be unsuitable for larger pieces of equipment. The LASER beams can be used in order to mark silicone rubber keys. The LASER marking is an economic method of labeling and it can produce durable marks. To read more Click Here
