We find many of our clients are abandoning traditional keypads for their equipment in favor of custom silicone keypads from Si Tech. Why? Because silicone keypads offer features not available when using older technology controls.
Si Tech Keypads Are Tough
An important part of equipment design is protecting the delicate internal components from the brutal outside world. Equipment doesn’t have to be working in an industrial plant or chemical lab to be exposed to environmental hazards either. The typical office contains many threats as well.
Food and liquids are dangerous to electronics. A spilled drink can result in catastrophic equipment failure but isn’t the only danger. Food crumbs that get into the electronics can cause a host of problems from short circuits to overheating and are just as dangerous as a liquid spill. Either of these hazards can easily get in through the cracks in a normal keypad, but molded keypads offer a seal that resists these dangers.
Equipment may be used in environments containing more dramatic hazard such as corrosive chemicals. Not only can these damage the equipment, they can damage the keypad itself. Silicone keypads resist these chemicals and can be used without degradation even when exposed to corrosive or oxidizing chemicals.
Si Tech Keypads Resist Normal Wear And Tear
It is inevitable that mechanical systems suffer wear through normal use and traditional keypads are no exception. Keys can stick closed or simply stop responding at all as the switches wear out or the contacts get fouled. Although cleaning out the built up deposits can help, eventually a key will fail and could require replacing the entire panel. Si Tech keypads use flexible rubber so the keys last far longer than traditional keys.
Long before keys stop working, the symbols wear off the surface. This can be a problem with custom keypads because now there is no indication of the function of each button. Experienced workers remember how to operate the machine but new workers will have trouble. For standard numeric keypads this wear becomes a security issues as an intruder can study the wear patterns and see which digits are in a door’s access code.
Si Tech offers a number of marking systems more durable than those on traditional keypads. When combined with our abrasion coating, the markings on our custom silicone keypads aren’t going to wear off any time soon.
More Advantages Of Soft Rubber
We’ve found many of our clients prefer the feel of custom silicone keypads over typical hard, jarring keypads. They are easier on workers who have to pound the keys all day, allowing them to work longer and more comfortably.
Our custom keypads are also nearly silent. While the clicking of a normal keypad may not seem like much, in a very quiet working environment the sound can seem unnaturally loud.
There are just a few of the advantages Si Tech custom silicone keypads offer our clients.
