Silicone Keypad; Working Principle, Manufacturing, And Uses

Silicone keypad serves as an interface between the user and equipment in hospitals, industries, and other machinery we use every day. For instance, the TV remote, or the keypad of the automatic washing machines, or in the ATMs, and other similar interfaces use Silicone keypads.

The Silicone keypad is a single webbing pad and hence imparts durability to the keys. It protects the circuit inside against dust, water, and microparticles. Silicone is the most flexible elastomer that finds extensive use in the making of keypads. It is extremely cost-effective, and soft in contrast to other elastomers and that is why finds extensive use in keypad manufacturing.

This article discusses the making and working of Silicone keypads. It also discusses the benefits of Silicone keypads for business.

Why Use Silicone in Silicone Keypads?

The keypad manufacturers widely employ Silicone in the making of Silicone keypads. This is due to the excellent physical properties of Silicone including translucency and clarity. Silicone is an elastomer that does not require any fillers or additives. On the contrary, other elastomers need fillers that cause opacity.

Silicone keypad requires flexible material and Silicone ensures maximum flexibility and one can easily mold it to a wide variety of buttons. The base polymer is translucent hence it is extremely convenient to add color to the Silicone keypads.

Mostly, Silicone keypads find extensive use outdoors, and therefore due to weathering, most elastomers fail to resist the effect of harmful UV rays. Unlike other elastomers, Silicone shows excellent resistance to these unfavorable conditions. Silicone is ideal for small-scale production, unlike other elastomers that require larger batch weights.

Certain limitations need consideration. For instance, manufacturers should not add materials other than Silicone in plants dedicated to manufacturing Silicone products to avoid contamination.

If any other material goes along with Silicone, the coloring and molding of products would become difficult. However, every material has its pros and cons but when it comes to manufacturing Silicone keypad, no other elastomer can compete with Silicone.

Making Of The Silicone  Keypad

Silicone is the best elastomer to manufacture Silicone keypad and impart a tactile effect to the switches and buttons. Hence, the user feels comfortable while using the Silicone keypad as it indicates that they have pressed the button.

Compression Molding

The process employed to manufacture the Silicone keypad is compression molding that uses a combination of pressure and temperature to create durable surfaces above electrical circuits. Silicone keypad ensures uniform tactile response throughout the surface. Therefore, the user feels comfortable and satisfied due to the clicking effect.

Uniform Silicone  Webbing

The best thing about the Silicone keypad is that it is a single piece carrying keys of different shapes and sizes. For instance, if in case you drop your TV remote or calculator having individual and separate keys, all your keys will be dispersed and hence you will lose your device.

On the contrary, a single Silicone  Webbing will. Impart durability to your device as if will provide the device with firmness. Moreover, the single Silicone Webbing protects the inner electronic circuit against water and dust. Hence, you can easily clean your gadget without letting the liquid or dust affect your circuit.

Steps Involved To Make Webbing

The Webbing involves a mold and Silicone rubber. For the production of mold, the employment of famous manufacturing techniques like CNC or 3D printing is widespread.

Silicone rubber is mostly available in liquid form therefore you only need to pour the molten Silicone into the mold. After leaving the mold for several minutes, the Silicone Webbing hardens and is then removed. One can customize the keypad according to the application and house it in the required product.

Circuit Board

For the electronics of Silicone keypads, PCB boards find extensive use. The designer designs the circuit according to the specifications and requirements of the products.

Above the circuit board, the next layer is of the buttons or domes, protected by the Silicone  Webbing that is the topmost layer. Moreover, there is a processor that detects the movement of buttons and signals the circuit to operate as per the command.

Working Of The Silicone  Keypad

We have already analyzed the making of a Silicone keypad. The working of the Silicone keypad depends on the PCB board and the processors. The keypad when pressed gives a tactile effect to the user. When the user presses the button, the processor detects the movement and signals the circuit to act accordingly.

Silicone keypads mostly comprise a single Webbing, unlike keyboards that contain individual keys. Other than providing a tactile effect, the Silicone keypad also protects the circuit from water and dust effects.

Advantages

Employment of Silicone keypads in manufacturing plants, heavy machinery, retail, hospital, etc has become extensive. A silicone keypad is an excellent option for everyday use as it is resistant to wear and tear damage. This is one of the several advantages of the Silicone keypads. Let us have a look at other benefits of the Silicone keypads.

Water And Dustproof

The Silicone keypad webbing is naturally dust and waterproof. Therefore, it does not allow moisture, microparticles, and dust, and debris to affect the circuit.

For most outdoor applications, it is not suitable to use keyboards with separate keys as it is susceptible to wear and tear damage. Moreover, microparticles accumulate in keys. Therefore, a Silicone keypad being a single webbing will impart durability to your machinery.

Feasibility

Silicone keypad provides ease and convenience to users. If the user finds it difficult to press the keys or if the key does not give a tactile touch, the user gets uncomfortable. The Silicone keypad is soft, easy, and extremely comfortable to use.

The housing fixes the webbing in its place and imparts durability to devices. Therefore, users find these devices more comfortable and easy to use compared to other elastomers.

Cost-effectiveness

A silicone keypad is the most cost-effective solution for your machinery and equipment. No other material is as economical as Silicone. Therefore, for a sound business, you should opt for Silicone keypads.

Human Machine Interfaces Support

Silicone keypad supports HMIs with or without back-lighting. Most machines and equipment use lights to impart a more comprehensive and stylish appearance to the equipment. Silicone being transparent supports back-lighting, unlike other elastomers that cannot support HMIs.

Customization

Silicone keypad allows the user to customize their pad according to their specifications. One can alter the hardness of Silicone to ensure minimum pressure on the keys. There can be multiple shapes and sizes of the keys.

This reduction in hardness will also alter the tactile effect that gives satisfaction to the user that they have pressed the keys and the system has Interpreted the information. The manufacturers regard customization as a snap ratio that imparts clicking to the keypad and hence the user remains satisfied.

Summary

To sum up, Silicone is the most suitable material for the manufacturing of keypads. It offers great customization to manufacturers in terms of color, size, and shape. Another add-on feature of Silicone is its cost-effectiveness due to which manufacturers find it convenient to employ Silicone in keypad manufacturing.

Silicone keypads serve to be the best interface between user and machinery as they are highly durable. Moreover, dust, water, and microparticles can't damage the circuit because the upper protective layer is the Silicone webbing.

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