SILICONE KEYBOARD PRODUCTION PROCESS

Industrial keyboards

Industrial keyboards are designed to work in harsh conditions. They must be protected against water, dust, dirt, oil and chemicals. These keyboards are usually found in human machine user interface (HMI), terminals, consoles, kiosks, medical carts and mobile phones. Some keyboards used in public places can be “vandalized”.

Those used in hazardous industrial environments are often hard-coated to provide high resistance to shock and explosion. They can be cleaned with industrial cleaners and chemicals. Another feature of industrial silicone keyboard is that they are designed to fit your work environment.

Types of industrial keyboards

• keyboard with backlight: It has low consumption LED light and lifetime warranty.
• keyboard with desktop: Keyboard with resistant steel housing, stainless steel or polystyrene with high impact resistance.
• Keyboard with the ability to connect to the panel: Easy installation and has a border to protect the edges of the keyboard.
• Small portable keyboard: For using in compact places such as vehicles.

Printing on silicone

Due to the cheapness and flexibility in choosing the shape and color, printing on silicone is one of the most used methods for printing on rubber and silicone keyboards. During this process, the keyboard is placed on a flat surface so that the printer can print on the surface of the keys.

Due to the curvature on the keys, the printing can be done in such a way that it covers the entire key or the writing is placed right in the middle of the key. Printing on the keys is cheap, but it lasts a little. With the passage of time, the color is lost due to the contact of the human finger with it. There are several ways to extend the life of the ink printed on the key.

• Plastic caps can be placed on the keys. These caps add texture to the keys and protect them.
• In addition to giving the keys a soft texture, oil coatings increase the life of the paint on them.
• The drop coating and perylene coating are placed on the keys after printing. These coatings create a barrier between the printed surface and the surrounding environment. These covers increase the life of the printed color, but before choosing one of them, you should check the environment where this keyboard is going to be used.

Laser peeling in the production of silicone keyboards

Another method of printing on silicone keyboards is laser lamination. In this method, the entire silicone piece is covered with a layer of paint and parts of it are removed using a laser to create the desired shape on the keys. If you use a transparent raw material, you can put lights under the keys so that they emit light from under the silicon, and you will have so-called Backlight keyboards.  This work adds to the beauty of the keyboard and makes the shapes on the keys clearer. Since the shapes and letters are not printed on the keys in this method, it is not necessary to use a cover.

Plastic caps in the production of silicone keyboards

Plastic caps should be used when we want the silicone keyboard to last for a very long time. Letters and shapes can be molded into the caps, indented into the specific cap surface, or even placed in a different color plastic.

This method is the most expensive method of labeling keyboard keys, but it works better than printing or laser for times when keyboards are going to be used a lot. In order to use plastic caps, it should be noted that the plastic used must be non-degradable and can withstand a temperature corresponding to the silicone used.

Printing numbers on silicone keyboard

As you know, silicone is one of the materials that is very resistant to cold and heat, so it is very easy to print on this material, keep in mind that printing numbers on a silicone keyboard using the device tampo printing is done.

It is worth mentioning that the numbers and letters printed on all the keyboards available in the market are made using a tampo printing machine, in the end it is better to know that tampo printing has a long lifespan and that is why it is This device is used to print numbers on a silicone keyboard.

Steps of printing numbers on silicone

If you want to know how to print on a silicone keyboard? It is better to know that first the design that is going to be printed on the keyboard should be designed and its lithography film should be converted into a stencil and stereotype. It is worth mentioning that after making the stencil and cliché, the keyboard should be placed inside the fixture so that the keyboard does not move during printing.

If the keyboard does not move, a precise print is made. Finally, the silicone border is designed according to the dimensions of the keyboard, and printing is done by being dipped in ink and placing the silicone pad on the keyboard buttons.

10 Steps to print on the computer keyboard

• Tool making: Making internal tools with the most advanced devices
• Conductive tablets: Carbon-impregnated silicone tablets have the most contact with silicone rubber keyboards. The silicone in the conductive tablet allows you to securely mold with the keyboard
• Putting silicone rubber on the tool: The silicone rubber is placed directly on the tool. Heat and pressure make silicone into the shape of the desired mold
• Keyboard after molding cycle: The pressure and heat are maintained from the previous step until the cooking time. The mold is opened and the keyboard sheets are removed for further processing
• Add multiple colors: Painted silicone rubber is placed on the mat to prepare the mold. While the keys retain their specific colors, the silicone is mixed and forms the base of the keyboard
• Remove the keyboard from the tool: Air hoses are used to help remove the keyboards from the mold tool
• Silk screen: Molded silicone keyboards are placed in a vacuum for screen printing. The silicone in the inks bonds to the keyboard during the baking process and bends when the keyboard is activated.
• Screen printing: A stencil is placed on the keyboard. Each screen printing color has a stencil
• Testing: Silicone rubber keyboards are tested to ensure the expected properties and mechanical tolerances and dimensions desired by the customer
• Quality control: After the molding process and after baking, the silicone rubber keyboards are removed from the sheet and checked for quality

The method of making multi-colored silicone keyboards

Multi-color keyboards with color coating made by color spray coating is one of them. These types of multi-colored keyboards, especially in different colors, are among the most expensive types of colored silicone keyboards, and the reason is that the process of making these types of keyboards requires a lot of work. Before the spray coating, the workers should put the key protectors on the buttons that do not need paint coating, and then carry out the spray coating process. In the compression mold, raw materials with the desired color are placed in the button holes and subjected to baking. Different colored keys that have a button pad are formed simultaneously in one shot, thus the color spreads to the surrounding keys and the screen. Color coated rubber buttons are made by transparent silicone. The transparent button pad is first baked in the mold and then they cover the surface of the silicone button with different colored sprays.

All kinds of silicone molds for

making parts

• Silicone compression molds: In these molds, silicone is filled in the mold and then takes the desired shape under pressure and heat under the machine.
• Silicone injection molds: In these molds, silicone is injected in a precise and specific amount inside the heat-treated mold. In order to prevent the mold from opening during the injection operation, the mold is pressurized at this stage.

Silicone extrusion molds: In these molds, silicone is inserted into the shaped mold and the mold is heated under pressure to cure the silicone. These molds are used to produce medical and electrical supplies and equipment. including molding, mass production, printing numbers and shapes on them, using conductive carbon cells under them for use on electronic circuits, all kinds of products that can be made with this technique, including all kinds of TV controls, coolers, all kinds of industrial keyboards involved with Water and corrosive substances and… Types of silicone keys used in wireless

Types of conductive carbon batteries

The most common one used for silicone rubber is the conductive carbon cell, the resistance of which is typically around 200 ohms with a 100-gram load. For products with lower resistance, metal and gold conductive carbon batteries are available

Application of conductive carbon tablets in rubber keyboards

A typical silicone rubber keyboard includes a curved wall design around the perimeter of the button. When the key is pressed, the flexible wall flexes and creates a tactile (spring-like) response. When the key is fully pressed, the flex wall allows the center of the key to contact the circuit.

On rubber keyboards, there are typically two methods of contacting the actual key: dome switches or conductive carbon tablets. Conductive carbon pellets are typically produced from a silicon conductive material that contains carbon. Conductive tablets are poured into the actuators of the keys. When the carbon tablet contacts the circuit, it closes the circuit on the printed circuit board or flexible circuit trace.

Conductive carbon tablets are usually silicon and can be round, oval or rectangular in shape. Carbon tablets may vary in size depending on key size, but typically range from 2.0mm to 8.0mm in diameter. Multiple carbon tablets can also be used and designed into the part to ensure solid contact depending on key shape, size and keyboard layout.

All kinds of silicon molds for making parts

• Silicone compression molds: In these molds, silicone is filled in the mold and then takes the desired shape under pressure and heat under the machine.
• Silicone injection molds: In these molds, silicone is injected in a precise and specific amount inside the heat-treated mold. In order to prevent the mold from opening during the injection operation, the mold is pressurized at this stage.
• Silicone extrusion molds: In these molds, silicone is inserted into the shaped mold and the mold is heated under pressure to cure the silicone. These molds are used to produce medical and electrical supplies and equipment.