Silicone material has become widespread thanks to its unique tactility, flexibility, customization, biocompatibility, and resistance to heat, wear, sweat, and impact, making it a necessary elastic polymer.
Using laser etching, ink spraying, compression molding, and overmolding processes, we can manufacture custom silicone keypads according to your requirements in terms of color options, key layout, and backlight effects.
Transparent, translucent, or colorized silicone rubber: what are the differences, and which is ideal for keypads?
Silicone rubber is not inherently colorful and requires coloring to create multicolored silicone keypads. There are also different types of silicone rubber that vary in terms of light transmission and visual properties.
Transparent Silicone Rubber
The difference between transparent (also called ‘clear’) and translucent is that the silicone material can be seen through. Transparent silicone rubber is clear, colorless, and free of cloudiness.
Without additional light sources, designs with directly exposed LED bulbs result in a blindingly bright spot due to high light transmission and low haze. Thus, transparent silicone rubber is typically used in the form of sheets that require subsequent cutting.
Translucent Silicone Rubber: Ideal for Backlit Silicone Keypads
Unlike transparent silicone, translucent silicone is see-through, but the other side is cloudy and blurred.
For keypad or keyboard material, silicone allows you to observe light transmission from the internal structure. For keypads with a specific backlighting effect, translucent silicone keypad is essential for manufacturing. Furthermore, translucent silicone rubber is also used for molding, ensuring the precise separation of two silicone molds.
Colorized Silicone Rubber: A Common Option for Keypads
In contrast, colored silicone rubber contains color additives, whereas transparent and translucent silicone rubbers do not. To achieve a vibrant appearance, silicone keypads and keyboards can be colored by direct molding or spraying. This allows for multiple colors in silicone keypads without any color limitations.
How are Multi-Colors Silicone Keypads manufactured?
To ensure consistent and accurate colors, we use the Pantone Matching System to support your silicone keypad project. There are two manufacturing processes for forming dual color silicone keypads or multi-colored silicone keypads: direct all-in-one molding and indirect paint spraying and laser etching.
Overmolding Process to Form Colorful Silicone Keypads
Adding an additional silicone color is straightforward and cost-effective. However, adding an extra printed color requires an entirely new printing process, which increases the cost. Therefore, it is more suitable to opt for an additional silicone color to form the final silicone rubber keypads using the direct molding process.
To overmold silicone keypads, we prepare two sets of tools and key positioning to form the two parts of the silicone pads. One tool compresses the silicone raw material into a translucent portion of the silicone keypad. The other tool compresses the desired colors of silicone keytops. Then, the translucent silicone portion is combined with the colored silicone keytops through the overmolding process.
Although the extra tools and overmolding procedures for silicone keypads incur a higher cost, the graphics and colorful inks are resistant to frequent abrasion and pressing and are more durable.
Compression Molding With Colorized Silicone Raw Materials
In addition to the overmolding process with two sets of tools, we can produce colorized silicone keypads with a single procedure. Different colors of silicone raw materials are placed according to the key setting.
Under high heat and pressure, the silicone material forms a complete keypad with the desired colors for the keys.
Ink Spraying
The color of the legends and the entire keytop of silicone keypads can be sprayed with different colored inks. The surface layer color of silicone keypads can be painted on the entire key and partially removed in the desired legend area using the laser etching process.
The Combination of Laser-Etched Graphics & LED Backlighting Effect
Laser etching is a process that uses a high-powered laser to remove the top layer of paint from a keypad. Although tough graphics printing on silicone keypads is a cost-effective and simple method, laser etching provides a permanent, wear-resistant method by burning away a portion of the paint. At the same time, inks painted on keypads can peel over time.
Before the laser etching process, the keytops of the molded silicone keypad are painted with two layers of paint. Typically, the first layer is a black surface paint, which is the portion of the paint that will partially burn away during the laser etching process. The second layer is usually white base paint that allows light to pass through the legend area. Laser-etched silicone keypads have a contrasting black-on-white color scheme that improves the visibility of the keys.
The combination of the basic laser-etched legend on the keytops and light-emitting diodes (LEDs) strengthens the backlighting effect and offers flexibility in designing a wide range of colors.
What’s the Importance of Colors for Keypads?
Color Highlighting by Light Source Underneath Silicone Keypads
Due to the moderate light transmission of translucent silicone rubber keypads, light sources like light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and other low-voltage sources can highlight the colored keys of silicone keypads. This cost-effective method of backlighting emits light in areas created by the laser etching process. It also helps operators identify the keys in low-light environments.
In Terms of Aesthetics & Stimulation
Vibrant colors and specific silicone keypad color schemes can be customized to meet your requirements and improve user experience. Bright, clear, differentiated colors make the experience more engaging for beginners using a silicone keyboard or interface with silicone keypads for the first time.
For gaming keyboards or controllers, vibrant colors stimulate users and raise their energy levels, allowing them to immerse themselves in the gaming world. To match other electronics on your table, choose colors similar to or matching the surrounding area to demonstrate a unique aesthetic style and create a cozy workspace that improves your daily experience. This is in accordance with the basic principles of color psychology.
Less Confusion by Distinct Appearance
During the initial period of getting used to the layout of the silicone keypad’s keys and during prolonged use, the large keys may confuse us, increasing cognitive load. Thus, colorful silicone keypads improve the user experience by separating functions, graphics, and characters on the keytops.
For instance, contrasting silicone keyboards are ideal for users with visual impairments, offering ease of operation, clear key and character location, and relief from eye strain.
Layout divided by Colors
In terms of silicone keyboard layout, the HHKB layout combines the standard QWERTY layout with a logical design to create an easy-to-learn variant.
For complex control panels on equipment or electrical devices, you can assign specific functions once you become familiar with the layout of silicone keyboards. However, operators who are unfamiliar with the equipment, or even experienced operators facing an emergency, might use compact interfaces incorrectly.
Thus, a well-designed layout and spacing of silicone keypads that uses colors to highlight important elements and functional zones is effective in helping operators find the desired key quickly.
FAQs
Can a keypad or keyboard be made from transparent silicone?
Yes, but it is not recommended due to the blurring of graphics and characters on the keytop caused by the illuminated light source and the light transmission of silicone materials.
What color options are available for silicone keypads?
The color options are unlimited and range from white, black, and gray to translucent and other vibrant colors. Translucent silicone is the original color of the material.
Are silicone keypads or keyboards quiet?
Yes, we can produce them with a silent keypress experience.
Q4: How do you ensure color consistency for colorized silicone keypads?
How do you ensure color consistency for colorized silicone keypads?
We apply strictly with Pantone color-matching systems. And in terms of mass production, SKF monitors and detects color data of your rubber keypads to ensure the minimal tolerance of diverse production batches.
What is the difference between the overmolding and multi-color compression molding processes?
The overmolding process is optimal for high precision and sharp edges of colorized silicone rubber with enhanced productivity, whereas compression molding is a cost-effective solution for small- or moderate-scale production and multi-color requirements.
Conclusion
The colors of the silicone keypad demonstrate visual properties that stimulate users. They provide a backlighting effect in low-light environments and aesthetic value by matching the surroundings. The keys have an obvious functional layout and provide a less confusing experience.
We manufacture custom silicone keypads using overmolding, compression molding, laser etching, and ink spraying to create the desired keypads with improved user experience for your project.
