Epec's Blog | Electronics Manufacturing Solutions

Many applications would be better suited using a membrane switch (low profile, flat surface keypad assembly) along with a rigid printed circuit board (PCB), replacing screen-printed silver conductors on polyester sheets.

Printed circuit boards with gold plated switch contact pads and gold-plated dome switches greatly improve the reliability of your application, offering longer operating life with lower switch resistance and contact bounce.

The smallest bend radius that can be used on a membrane switch tail will depend on the type of design. Deciding factors will depend on whether or not the user interface is constructed with one tail/circuit layer or dual tail/circuit layers, and where the bend is located.

Custom low-profile keypad assemblies used in OEM applications incorporate snap-acting dome switches. Dome switches are a type of keypad assembly switch intended for very long cycle life and years of trouble-free use but are intended for logic-level switching, not power switching.