What is a “Silicone Backlighting Keypad”?

“Silicone Backlighting Keypad” is a keyboard or keypad panel made of silicone material with backlit lighting. This design combines the durability and elasticity of silicone with the visual effects of backlit lighting to provide users with a more comfortable and intuitive keystroke experience.

Features & Benefits of Silicone Backlighting Keypad Include:

Product Features

Silicone material: Silicone is a material with high elasticity, high wear resistance, high temperature resistance and aging resistance, which is very suitable for making keyboard keys. The silicone keys have a good touch and can maintain the comfort and stability of the keys for a long time.

Backlight lighting: Backlight lighting, usually through LED lights or other light sources, provides soft light under or around the keys, making the keys visible in low light or at night.

Product Benefits

Improved user experience: The backlight lighting function makes the keys visible in low-light environments, improving user convenience and comfort.

Enhanced aesthetics: Silicone backlit keyboards usually have a stylish, minimalist design that can enhance the overall aesthetics of the device.

Durability: The silicone material has good wear resistance, high temperature resistance and aging resistance, which can ensure that the keyboard keys can maintain stable touch and performance for a long time.

What Special Features Can Be Incorporated into Silicone Backlighting Keypad?

Silicone backlighting pad is a product that combines silicone material and backlight technology, which can incorporate various special functions to enhance the user experience and competitiveness of the product. Here are some special features that may be incorporated into silicone backlit keyboard:

1. Multi-color backlight adjustment

Users can adjust the color and brightness of the keyboard backlight according to personal preferences or ambient light conditions. This is usually done through shortcuts on the silicone backlighting keypad or through accompanying software.

2. Waterproof and dust-proof design

The silicone material itself has certain waterproof and dust-proof properties, but further waterproof and dust-proof design (such as sealing the key gap) ensures that the silicone backlighting keypad will work properly in wet or dusty environments.

3. Touch sensing technology

Some silicone backlit keyboards may use touch sensing technology to replace traditional mechanical keys to achieve a more sensitive and smooth input experience.

4. Multimedia shortcut keys

Integrated multimedia shortcuts on the keyboard, such as volume control, play/pause, fast forward/fast back, etc., to facilitate quick operation of multimedia devices.

5. Ergonomic design

Function description: silicone backlighting keypad is designed according to the ergonomic principle of key layout, tilt Angle and height of the keyboard, so as to reduce the fatigue of wrist and fingers caused by long-term use of the keyboard.

BX Panel Silicone Backlighting Keypad Technical Information

1. Design and development

Mold design: According to customer needs or sample drawings, design the mold of silicone backlight keys. Mold design needs to consider factors such as the shape, size, backlight effect and elasticity of keys.

Test mold verification: The preliminary design of the mold needs to be tested to ensure the accuracy and feasibility of the mold. Adjust according to the test results until the production requirements are met.

2. Material preparation

Silica gel material: Choose silica gel material suitable for backlight effect to ensure light transmission and wear resistance of the material. Depending on the characteristics of the product, it may be necessary to add color creams, fluorescent agents or anti-static additives.

Conductive material (if applicable) : For keys that require conductive function, also prepare conductive materials, such as conductive black particles or conductive glue.

Auxiliary materials: including external release agent, color key, ink and other auxiliary materials, as well as printing required screen plate, scraper and other tools.

3. Forming

Rubber refining: the silicone material and raw rubber are mixed, and the corresponding additives are added according to the characteristics of the product, such as color paste, fluorescent agent, etc.

Vulcanization molding: The use of flat vulcanization machine to heat and pressure vulcanization molding of silicone materials. After the mold is closed, the silicone material is formed into a key shape in the mold. In this process, key factors such as temperature, pressure and vulcanization time need to be controlled.

Secondary vulcanization (optional) : According to customer needs and product design, secondary vulcanization of the semi-finished keys after vulcanization is carried out to remove the remaining vulcanization agent decomposition and improve the performance of the keys.

4. Backlight processing

Light transmission design: In the mold design, it is necessary to consider the light transmission effect of the key. Some keys may need to be designed with light holes or light areas to achieve a backlight effect.

Radium carving treatment: For characters or patterns that require light transmission effect, radium carving process can be used for processing. The laser is used to carve characters or patterns on the surface of the key to form a light-transmitting area.

5. Printing

Silk screen/oil spray: For silicone backlit keys that need to print characters or patterns on the surface of the keys, you can use the silk screen or oil spray process. According to customer needs and design requirements, select the appropriate ink and printing process.

Printing preparation: Before printing, prepare printing materials such as screen plate and ink, and adjust the pressure and speed of the printing press.

Printing and curing: the ink is evenly coated on the screen plate, and the ink is printed to the key surface by pressure. After printing is complete, curing treatment (such as drying or UV curing) is carried out to ensure that the ink is completely dry and cured.

6. Edge removal and inspection

Edge removal: Use a punch or manually remove the raw edge and edge of the key edge, so that the appearance of the key is more neat and beautiful.

Quality inspection: Quality inspection of all completed silicone backlight buttons, including size, elasticity, hardness, light transmission effect, printing effect and so on. Ensure that keys comply with customer requirements and product standards.

What Industries Use Silicone Backlighting Keypad ? 

Consumer electronics: The use of silicone backlit pad for keys or touch panels on devices such as smartphones, tablets and remote controls can enhance the user experience and the overall beauty of the device.

Industrial control: silicone backlit keyboard is preferred for its durability and ease of operation in the industrial control sector, especially in situations requiring prolonged operation or in harsh environments.

Medical equipment: The control panel and keys in medical equipment are also often designed with silicone backlighting keypad to ensure accurate and fast operation of the equipment by medical personnel, while improving the overall hygiene of the equipment.