When designing keypads for industries such as security systems, hospital and military, factors like security must be kept in mind to ensure the safest end product. Liquid silicone injection molding is used in many applications and devices, such as commercial and home security panels or medical devices. Many features make silicone the best material for such sensitive tasks. Let’s take a look at a few of them.
Backlighting
An important safety feature, backlit keypads are easier to spot in all conditions, including darkness and at night, which means they’re easier to press the correct one. As you can imagine, this minimizes the risk of mistakes, which can make the difference between life and death. With a backlit rubber keypad, the user is also alerted to the fact that the system is powered up and ready to use.
Durable Printing
With the right application of printing graphics like laser marking, images, and text will remain on the keypad for longer periods of time, ideally for the life of the product. Take LaserEdge marking, for example, which is a quick, economical, versatile, and abrasion-resistant way of printing on a backlit keypad. It works best in conjunction with screened silicone inks and chemical-resistant coatings.
In the interest of security systems, it’s important that the numbers and symbols don’t rub off over time. Users won’t know the purpose of each key without the proper labeling, which can lead to inconvenient and costly mistakes. If you were to depress the wrong key on your printed rubber keypads, you could set off the alarm in error, leading to false alarms and fees by the security company or even the fire department who may have to make repeated visits to your home or business.
Sometimes, the entire number or symbol doesn’t wear away, but it does partially, which can also cause confusion. To prevent worn numbers and letters due to heavy use, we developed LaserEdge marking that’s ideal for printing on flat, curvy, and irregularly shaped surfaces. From simple numbers to sophisticated symbols, this is a great option for any company that needs keypads for security purposes.
Another way we can prevent wear is to add a protective abrasion-resistant coating. Here at Si-Tech, we call it Si Coat I, which ensures a smooth matte finish that repels dust – perfect for anything from a military keypad to a security panel keypad.
Similarly, many hospitals and urgent care centers can use rubber keypads to improve their security checkpoints further, helping budget-conscious institutions save money on employing on-site guards.
Contact Si-Tech
To learn more about why security is important when designing keypads and how we ensure your product’s security, contact us today at 757-887-8488.
