Silicone Dynamics, Inc. located in Bend, Oregon USA is one of the leading manufacturers of Custom Molded Rubber Keypads and Parts.  Our competitive advantage allows us to produce low cost prototype runs of your Custom Molded Rubber Keypads all the way up to full production runs of Custom Molded Rubber Keypads and parts.

Custom Molded Rubber Keypad

Contact us today for a free sample silicone rubber keypads to evaluate our quality.  Then give us the privilege of providing you a Free Custom Molded Rubber Keypad Quote for your custom molded rubber keypads and parts.

Electrode Contact surface/design on a printed circuit board that conducts current when rubber switch is actuated and switch closure occurs.

Key Height The measured distance from the bottom of a keypad (base) to the top surface of a key. Expressed in 1/100 mm.

Legend Some type of printed graphic (symbol, number or letter) on the top of the key surface.

Life The number of switch actuations realised before the switch membrane ruptures or over stresses.

Membrane The non-conductive hinge that permits a rubber key to flex, and is responsible for the tactile feel realised.

Negative-Image Graphics Graphics that allow switch colour or switch masking colour to be seen through top-surface printing on keypad.

Overstroke Additional travel experienced with a rubber switch after initial switch closure has been realised. Rubber switches with overstroke require a double-cone or doublebell shaped membrane.

Positive Image Graphics Single or multi-color printing on top of key surface.

Return Force Force created by switch membrane as it returns the key to a nonactuated position.

Reversed-Out Graphics Graphics that allow rubber color or masking color to be seen through top surface printing on keypad.

Shore A The Durometer Shore A is designed to measure the penetration hardness of rubber, elastomers and other rubber like substances such as neoprene, silicone, and vinyl. It can also be used for soft plastics, felt, leather and similar materials.

Snap Ratio Represents the difference between the actuation force and the contact force of a switch divided by the actuation force.

Stroke Distance from the contact surface on a rubber switch to an electrode pattern on a printed circuit board.

Tactile Feel The response of rubber while depressing. For tactile rubber keypads, it is a critical function of the diaphragm web geometry.

Tear Strength The tear strength is a measure of the resistance of rubber to tear forces. The tear strength is calculated by dividing the maximum force load by the thickness of the rubber.

Wear or abrasion resistance The resistance of a particular ink or coating to manual wearing. The testing process is usually a Norman tester with the number of cycles legends can perform before wear is noticeable.

Rubber switch actuation force The force required to collapse the membrane of a rubber switch.

Rubber keypad air Channel Air paths on the bottom of rubber keypads and switches that
allows for air passage (venting) when switch is actuated. Switches must be vented on at least two sides.

Silicone rubber keypad alignment Hole Through hole in rubber keypad that is used to position keypad in enclosure when overall keypad size exceeds three inches in either length or width.

Base Silicone sheet material that joins all keys/switches on a rubber keypad. It is also known as apron.

Bezel The faceplate or cover, typically either plastic or metal, used to secure a keypad to a  more »

Modern society expects technological innovation and product development that will enable us to live longer, healthier, better lives. Silicones are a fundamental building block that helps make this possible.
Silicone rubber is a synthetic material which has the structure shown on this image:

The polymeric molecular structure of silicone rubbers has a main chain formed of siloxane linkages Si-O. The bond energy of the siloxane linkage Si-O is 106.0 kcal/mole which is much higher than the bond energy 84.9 kcal/mole of the carbon-to-carbon bond C-Co This difference in the bond energies explain the
outstanding stability of silicone rubbers in comparison with  more »

The custom membrane switches shape and size of all rubber switches can be designed so that almost any actuation force and tactile feel can be realized. Most applications require positive tactile feel with relatively long life, so an actuation force of approximately 125 – 150 grams is typically recommended with an accompanying snap ratio of approximately 40 – 60%.

Design Force (grams) – Custom membrane switches Tolerance (+/-)
50g +/- 15 g
75g +/- 20 g
100g +/- 25 g
125g +/- 30 g more »

Conductive Silicone Rubber Keypads were originally developed for the electronics industry as an economical design alternative to discrete switches. Over 30 years later the Silicone Rubber Keypad became the most widely used form of switch technology. The popularity of Silicone Rubber Keypads are mostly attributed to their reliability, long life and many different design options.

Some of the more common design options are: Laser Etching which allows for illumination of the buttons, incorporation of different colored buttons one one silicone rubber keypad multiple durometer option for giving different feels to the end user and many more.

Silicone Dynamics is one of the premier manufacturers of custom silicone rubber keypads. Not only do we have a competitive manufacturing advantage with allows us to produce custom silicone rubber keypads at a discounted price but our quality and service are unsurpassed.

Give us a chance to show you our quality and some of our manufacturuing processes by requesting our Free Silicone Rubber Keypad to be sent to you.

We have created a free sample keypad that will show you many different features available in silicone rubber products. Ask for your free keypad today.