Custom Molded Keypads

Our custom-molded keypads are designed to make your products more manufacturable while improving the ease of data entry on your devices. From requesting a quote to dependable on-time delivery, everything we do is dedicated to providing total satisfaction throughout every stage of the injection-molding process. Elite’s proven industry experience gives us the ability to speed up your design time and cut your project costs by quickly communicating your needs to and from the factory. We also back the quality of our custom-molded keypads with the very best customer support, competitive pricing, and short lead times to help you get your devices to market — faster and more profitably.

Silicone Rubber Keypad using Compression Molding & Silk Screening

Created with silicone molding material, this keypad features an opaque material and positive image printing. The ink used to print the keypad's graphics is a silicone-based ink that bonds to the silicone base material after post curing. Carbon pills on the bottom of each key allows the buttons to interact with a PCB in the final assembly.

Laser Etched Keypad with Polydome Array

This keypad is molded with translucent silicone material, screened with the required graphic colors, then spray-painted with a silicone-based black ink. Laser etching is then performed to allow the colors to show when the keypad is backlit. Final process is coating the keypad to extend the life of the graphics.

Ultra Thin Keypad Co-Molded with Silicone Rubber & Metal Frame

As the name suggests this keypad has Polycarbonate tops permanently adhered to a silicone base material. The graphics, in this case, are clear except for the green send and red end keys. When back lit these clear graphics appear white. However, when the backlighting is not on, the graphics appear black. This particular version called for a very attractive blue plastic key top.

Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU) Keypad

This keypad has the soft feel of TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethane). This TPU film is formed using a co-molding process with silicone rubber. It is similar to IMD (In Mold Decorating) but has a softer feel than is available with PET films generally used in IMD keypads. TPU film cannot be formed with deep draws like PET films used in IMD keypads. Thus they are ideal for thin keypads used in small hand held products. The TPU material has superior abrasion resistance and is resistant to chemicals and UV lighting.

Industry Focus	• Aerospace • Appliance • Automotive • Commercial • Electronics • Energy • Food Processing • HVAC • Industrial • Marine • Medical • Military/Government • Packaging • Pharmaceutical • Restaurant
Intended Application	• Audio/Video • Calculators • Cameras • Copiers • Digital Meters/Gauges • Fax Machines • Fire Alarms • Handheld Games • LCD Watches • Medical Equipment • MRI Machines • Navigation Equipment • Security Systems • Test Equipment • Toys
Keypad Type	• Dome Array • Hard Caps • Rubber Keys • Sheet Metal Keypads
Keypad Keytops	• Acrylic • Epoxy • Glass • PET • Polycarbonate • Ultra Thin Polycarbonate
Keypad Material	• Plastic • Rubber • Silicone • Dual Durometer • Thermoplastic
Features & Technologies	• Abrasion Resistance • Backlit • Chemical Resistant • Custom Graphics/Silk Screening/Pad Printing • In-Mold Graphics • Laser Etched Graphics • Membrane Switches • Metal Domes • Metalized Look • Multiple Colors • Polished Surfaces • Resistant to Fluorescent Lighting • Textured Surfaces • UV Light Resistance
Surface	• 3D • Concaved • Flat
Keypad Coatings	• Parylene • Polyurethane (PU) • Silicone
Backlighting Style	• Incandescent • Light Emitting Diode (LED) • Flood Lighting • Narrow Viewing • Light Guide Film (LGF) • Electroluminescence Panel (ELP) • Woven Fiber Optic Mesh
Manufacturing Processes	• Compression Molding • LIM (Liquid Injection Molding) • Injection Molding • Insert Molding • Metal Frame • Vacuum Metalizing
Pill Conductor Sizes	• 1.5mm • 2.0mm • 2.5mm • 3.0mm • 3.5mm • 4.0mm • 4.5mm • 5.0mm • 5.5mm • 6.0mm • 6.5mm • 7.0mm • 7.5mm • 8.0mm • 9.0mm • 10.0mm
Base Thickness	Min. • .008 in • .2 mm
Wall Thickness	Min. • .008 in • .2 mm
Distance Between Keys	Min. • .110 in • 2.8 mm
Length & Width of Individual key	Min. • .126 in • 3.2 mm
Lighting Life (Manufacturers Specifications)	• LED= Around 50,000 Hours • ELP= 3,000-5,000 Hours to Half Brightness • Fiber Optics= 100,000 Hours (Depending on Type of Bulb Used as the Light Source)
Production Volume	Min. • 500 units • Mid Volume to High Volume
Typical Lead Times Available	Min. (Production) • 3 Weeks Max. (Production) • 4 Weeks
Industry Standards	• ISO - International Organization for Standardization • RoHS - Restriction Of Hazardous Substances (Compliant) • REACH (Compliant)
File Formats	AI (preferred) AutoCAD (DWG,DWZ) BMP • Bit Mapped Graphics DXF • Drawing Interchange Format, or Drawing Exchange Format GIF • Graphics Interchange Format IGES(Preferred) • Initial Graphics Exchange Specification, ANSI file format. JPG or JEPG • Joint Photographic Experts Group PDF • Portable Document Format SolidWorks (SLDPRT,SLDDRW,SLDDRT) STEP • Standard for the Exchange of Product Model Data TIFF • Tagged Image File Format
Tolerances	Size(mm)(±) • 0-4.0 +/-0.10 • 4.0-6.3 +/-0.15 • 6.3-10.0 +/-0.20 • 10.0-16.0 +/-0.20 • 16.0-25.0 +/-0.25 • 25.0-40.0 +/-0.35 • 40.0-63.0 +/-0.40 • 63.0-100.0 +/-0.50 • 100.0-160.0 +/-0.7 • 160> +/-0.50 Size(Inch)(±) • 0-0.157 +/-0.004 • 0.157-0.248 +/-0.006 • 0.248-0.394 +/-0.008 • 0.394-0.630 +/-0.008 • 0.630-0.984 +/-0.010 • 0.984-1.575 +/-0.014 • 1.575-2.480 +/-0.016 • 2.480-3.397 +/-0.020 • 3.937-6.300 +/-0.028

Custom-Molded Keypads

Sample Products

Custom Molded Keypad Specifications:

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