Yuanyi is a manufacturer specializing in custom silicone rubber keypads for automotive center console panels. We have passed IATF 16949. Our engineers can design automotive silicone keypads to fit your specific requirements, conforming to your curves and tactile feedback.
What types of conductive pills are used in the silicone keypads on a car's center console?
Carbon pills: Contact resistance less than 20 ohms, current rating: 100mA
Ni pills: Contact resistance less than 1 ohm, current rating: 300mA
Gold pills: Contact resistance less than 1 ohm, current rating: 1A
Silicone Keypads on Automotive Center Consoles applications
Silicone keypads have a wide range of applications, primarily in automotive center consoles where low current control is required.
Characteristics of Silicone keypads
Center console silicone keypads are made of silicone rubber, possessing excellent high and low temperature resistance; comfortable operating feel; excellent electrical insulation properties; long lifespan; and are durable, dustproof, and waterproof.
Important Notes for Using Silicone keypads on the Center Console Panel
1. Conductive rubber can "burn out" when used in low-current switches, mainly due to dust and small foreign objects causing poor contact. Therefore, it is generally recommended to use it in conjunction with a PCB with a gold-plated or immersion gold protective layer.
2. Another important cause of poor contact is resistance. It is recommended to use soft contacts, i.e., carbon powder contacts or nickel contacts, and to increase the resistance (greater than 50 ohms) when matching them.
What are the customizable parameters for silicone keypads on the center console panel?
Lifespan:
Lifespan is generally 50,000-100,000 cycles. Using high-resilience materials, the lifespan can reach 200,000 cycles.
Load Capacity:
Generally speaking, it is 100g (1N)-400g (4N). One product can meet various load capacity requirements.
About travel of keypads
The travel is typically 1.0mm-2.0mm. it can achieve a travel of up to 2.7mm.
Button Bottom/Top Contact Area Diameter
The bottom diameter of the button typically ranges from 4.5mm to 6.5mm. A larger diameter allows for more flexible design options. The top contact area of the button is generally 3.5-4.5mm.
The larger the contact area of the button surface, the less pressure is required to press it.
Conductive Pills
Carbon pills, nickel pills, and gold pills are available to meet customer performance requirements. The diameter of the conductive pills can be 2.5mm,3.0mm, 3.5mm, 4.0mm, 4.5mm, or 5.0mm.
Silicone materials
Keypads have specific material performance requirements, generally requiring materials with good resilience. Specific grades can also be specified, such as Shin-Etsu and Dow Corning.
Hardness(Shore A)
Silicone typically has a hardness of 55°-60°. Steering wheels sometimes use a 65° material.
Resistance (Ohms)
The contact resistance of carbon pills is at least 10 ohms. Nickel and gold pills have a contact resistance of less than 1 ohm. Customers can select different types of conductive pills according to design requirements to meet the resistance requirements of different switches.
Testing equipment for silicone keypads on automotive center console panels
Life impact tester
Button alcohol abrasion tester
Semi-automatic 2D image testing machine
Tear tensile strength tester
Secondary vulcanizing oven
Keypad load curve analyzer
Our company's automotive certification
