Rubber Keypad

How do Rubber Keypads Work?

As the professional manufacturer, Tiantai Electronics would like to provide you rubber keypad. A rubber keypad membrane switch uses compression-molded silicone rubber with conductive carbon pills or with non-conductive rubber actuators. The compression molding process creates an angled web around a keypad center. When a keypad is pressed, the webbing collapses or deforms to produce a tactile response. When the pressure on the keypad is released, the webbing returns the keypad to its original position with positive feedback. The closure of the switch circuit occurs when the conductive pill or printed conductive ink makes contact to a PCB when the web has been deformed.

What are the Benefits of Using Rubber Keypads?

Cost-effective: Rubber keypads are relatively inexpensive on a per piece basis, but require fairly expensive tooling, usually making them a design choice for higher volume projects.

Outdoor Weather ability: Rubber keypads have exceptional resistance to extreme temperatures and aging. Silicone rubber also has excellent resistant to chemicals and moisture.

Design Flexibility: Rubber keypads offer a multitude of cosmetic and aesthetic options as well as tactile feedback customization.

Superior tactile feedback: the geometry of the keypad webbing can create a 3-dimensional keypad with a firm tactile response and longer switch travel. Actuation forces and switch travel can be customized to your requirements.

Can utilize carbon pills, non-conductive rubber actuators, or stainless steel tactile domes.

Unusual keypad shapes and sizes can be used, as well as different rubber durometers (hardness).

Multiple colors can be achieved by flow molding the color into the compression molding process.

Rubber keypad graphics can be further customized by screen printing the keypad top surface.

Rubber keypad switches can be spray coated with polyurethane for enhanced durability.

Rubber keypads can be impervious to liquids, dust and gases by utilizing creative designs such as a wrap-around design.

Back Lighting Flexibility: Rubber keypads can be backlit using LED’s, fiber optic lamps, and EL lighting. Laser-etching the rubber keypad can enhance the effects of back lighting. The use of light pipes in the individual keypads is also a way to customize back lighting and preventing light scatter.