Four Common Conductive Materials Silicone Keyboards

Conductive Silicone Keyboards has been extensively applied in both consumer personal use and industrial electronic products as a economic cost and reliable switching solution, such as remote controls for TV, vide, electronic toys and games, and industrial control equipment. Commonly keypads can be divided into non-conductive and conductive keypads, here we mainly talk about the different conductive materials in conductive keypads.

The different types of conductive materials in Rubber Keyboards

1) Black carbon pills/graphite pills Conductive Silicone Keyboards

They have different resistance from high to low when they used in silicone rubber keypads. It depends on the rate of conductive metal pills. Usually the thickness of black carbon pills is 0.2~0.6mm and the diameter is commonly about 3~3.5mm. The smaller the diameter, the more difficult it is to produce. But as an professional and experienced manufacturer, we can customize different size from 2mm to 5mm. We are committed to introducing more advanced machines, so that in the production of conductive rubber keypad can better meet the needs of customers.

2) Conductive ink printing Conductive Silicone Keyboards

Being flexible shapes is one of the most salient advantages of conductive ink printing, which can be made into round, annulus and any other shapes customers needed. Another eminent advantage is their economic cost. In the mass production of conductive rubber buttons with unusual shapes, conductive ink printing is cost-efficient.   Compared with other materials, the production time is less. The resistance is similar with carbon pills, besides, the area and thickness is larger, the resistance is smaller. Mostly their resistance is higher and conductivity is slightly inferior than other materials.

3) Metal dome Conductive Silicone Keyboards

Metal dome has resistance as low as 10 ohms, and they are available to various shapes, such as triangle, round, cross(figure below), oval and so on. Metal domes, which are usually made of stainless steel, but it also can be plated in other metals such as nickel, silver or gold. The diameter or size of metal dome which used in silicone rubber keypad could be customized, such as 4mm, 6mm, 8mm,etc. Tactile feel of metal dome is not so good though. They have typical metal click sound and snappy haptic feedback.

4) Golden/copper/nickle pills Conductive Silicone Keyboards

They are more expensive than other materials that can be used in silicone rubber keypads, and it also possess the lower resistance and better conductivity. The rubber keyboard using copper or gold or nickle bills as conductive materials has the advantages of low resistance, stable performance and long lifespan.

How do I choose the right conductive material for my silicone rubber keyboard ?

In general, we design the silicone rubber keyboard according to the different application scenarios, such as the shape of the rubber keyboard applied, the requirements for electrical conductivity, cost budget, etc. In BETTER, our engineer team will work closely with you in deciding what kinds of conductive material is suitable to your silicone rubber keyboard.