If you’re in the military, automotive or similar industry, your immediate environment is pretty unpredictable. Unlike a controlled environment like an office, you need equipment and keypads that can withstand the rigors of rugged environments. From unfamiliar terrain to on-the-fly remote usage, your equipment must be designed for use in hostile environments. This is why durability of your keypads matters.
Durability and Ruggedized Electronics
When you think of electronic equipment such as laptops, phones, point of sale devices, and mechanical equipment, you think of a delicate item that has to be packaged, shipped and unpacked with extreme care for use in climate-controlled, dust-free environments. While this is still true to some degree, today’s consumers are demanding much more durable equipment.
Let’s take military clients for example. No industry is more in need of ruggedized electronics than this one. Electronics used in national defense applications must be able to be deployed in all conditions, with no dependence on climate control. Not only must the devices be reliable and versatile, they have to be tough enough to stand on their own. Soldiers can’t be schlepping around a hard-sided suitcase to protect the delicate device inside on top of all the equipment they already have to carry.
Tough environments plague civilian clients as well. From field projects and automotive troubleshooting to industrial areas and chemical labs, molded keypads must be able to thrive in these environments. Not only do they have to repel dust and dirt, but they also have to repel corrosives or contaminants that would easily damage other types of keypads.
More Durability With Customized Coatings
When incorporating flexible silicone into your keypads, you get peace of mind knowing it won’t crack with repeated use in rugged terrain. In fact, the one-piece construction keeps liquids and gases from getting at the electronics’ sensitive interior. Silicone keypads can resist chemicals and can be molded into virtually any shape or design.
For added protection, you can add coatings to enhance robustness. Here at Si Tech, we use Si Coat – an abrasion resistant coating designed to protect against wear. The rubber extends the life span of the keypad and won’t degrade over time or under hard use.
Additionally, we offer Si Coat II, a chemical resistant coating designed to guard against petroleum derivatives, chlorine compounds and oxidizers that could eat away at the silicone over time. Si Coat V is a conductive coating designed to protect conductive pads located behind the keypads. Did you know that pads protected with this coating can keep working throughout more than a million activation cycles?
Keypads at Home
We can’t discount the rugged nature of our keypads when used in the home setting. Sometimes the home can be one of the most rugged environments of all! As you may already have experienced, a drink spilled on a traditional keyed interface can destroy the internal components and thus short out the device.
Because our molded keypads feature an unbroken face, the liquid can easily slide off before it causes any damage.
Contact SiTECH
For more info on our rugged molded keypads for your industry, Call SiTECH Corporation today at 757-887-8488.
