Silicone rubber keypad is a keypad made of silicone rubber material. Silicone rubber is a polymer material with excellent performance. It has excellent elasticity, can rebound quickly after being pressed, provides a good key feel, is very comfortable to touch, and has high wear resistance and durability. It can withstand long-term frequent use without being easily damaged.
What is a silicone rubber keypad?
1?Material characteristics:
Environmental protection: imported high-end medical-grade silicone rubber materials are used, which are non-toxic, odorless, harmless, green and environmentally friendly, have no harm to human health, and meet relevant environmental protection standards and requirements.
Good elasticity: It has excellent resilience, and the keys can rebound quickly after being pressed, which is comfortable to the touch and not easy to get tired after long-term use. And this elasticity allows the keyboard to withstand multiple bending and twisting without damage, and has a long service life.
High and low temperature resistance: It can work normally in a wide temperature range, and the generally tolerable temperature range is about -50? to 250?, and it can maintain stable performance in both cold and high temperature environments.
Waterproof and dustproof: Silicone rubber itself has good sealing properties, and the keyboard adopts a fully sealed design, which can effectively prevent water, dust, oil, etc. from entering the keyboard. It can be used normally in harsh environments such as humid and dusty, and is easy to clean and disinfect.
Corrosion resistance: It has good chemical corrosion resistance, can resist the erosion of various liquids and chemicals, and is suitable for some special working environments.
2?Structural design:
Key design: The key part is usually molded from silicone rubber, with a soft surface and comfortable touch. The shape, size and layout of the keys can be designed and customized according to different needs to meet the personalized needs of users.
Internal structure: The internal structure of the keyboard is streamlined, usually using specially developed high-strength silicone adhesive, without any metal screws, and reliable and stable performance.
Is silicone rubber better than rubber?
Silicone rubber and rubber each have their own advantages and disadvantages. The specific choice of which material depends on the needs of the application scenario.
Heat resistance and cold resistance: Silicone rubber has high heat resistance and excellent cold resistance, and can maintain stable performance at extreme temperatures. Rubber can maintain excellent elasticity in a wide temperature range, but its heat resistance is relatively poor.
Electrical insulation: Silicone rubber has little effect on its electrical properties when the temperature and frequency change or when it is damp, and has excellent electrical insulation. Rubber has relatively poor electrical insulation.
Chemical resistance: Silicone rubber has good oil resistance and chemical resistance, but it may depolymerize and decompose under strong acid and alkali conditions. Rubber has poor chemical resistance and is easily affected by chemical agents.
Aging resistance: Silicone rubber has excellent resistance to ozone aging, heat aging, UV aging and atmospheric aging. Rubber has relatively poor aging resistance.
Physical properties: Silicone rubber is odorless and non-toxic, hydrophobic, non-sticky to many materials, and can act as an isolation. Rubber has high elasticity but is easy to burn.
Why is silicone rubber so expensive?
The reasons for the high price of silicone rubber mainly include the following aspects:
First, the production cost of silicone rubber is high. The production process of silicone rubber is complicated and requires high-quality raw materials. The cost of these raw materials is high, and the production process needs to be strictly carried out in accordance with standard operating procedures to ensure the quality and durability of the product.
Second, the performance of silicone rubber is superior. Silicone rubber has excellent heat resistance, cold resistance, electrical insulation, fire insulation, oil resistance and solvent resistance. These characteristics make silicone rubber widely used in many fields, thereby increasing its market value.
In addition, market demand and supply are also important factors affecting the price of silicone rubber. The tight supply and rising prices of key raw materials such as DMC materials have further pushed up the cost of silicone rubber.
How long does silicone rubber last?
High temperature vulcanized silicone rubber (HTV): This type of silicone rubber is mainly used to manufacture various silicone rubber products. Its service life is usually long, which can reach decades or even hundreds of years, especially under high temperature, high concentration of oxygen, ozone and other conditions.
Room temperature vulcanized silicone rubber (RTV): Including polycondensation reaction type and addition reaction type, mainly used for bonding, potting or mold making. The service life of room temperature vulcanized silicone rubber is also long, especially in the case of non-human damage, it can be maintained for more than 10 years.
Factors affecting the service life of silicone rubber
Environmental factors: High temperature, high concentration of oxygen, ozone and other conditions will extend the service life of silicone rubber, while environmental factors such as light, heat, humidity, oil and other environmental factors will reduce its performance.
Usage: Long-term stress, static placement or environmental influences will affect the service life of silicone rubber.
Does silicone rubber break easily?
Silicone rubber is not easy to break under normal use conditions, but it may break under certain specific conditions.
Silicone rubber has excellent high and low temperature resistance. It can be used for a long time in the temperature range of -60? to 200?, and can even work at -55?. It can withstand high temperatures above 300? instantly.
In addition, silicone rubber also has excellent electrical insulation properties and weather resistance, ozone resistance and UV resistance. It will not crack when used outdoors for a long time. It is generally believed that silicone rubber can be used outdoors for more than 20 years.
Does silicone rubber harden over time?
Silicone rubber will harden over time. Silicone rubber will gradually harden due to oxidation during long-term use or storage. Oxidation will cause the rubber molecules to break, thereby affecting the physical properties of the rubber and making it harden.
In addition, silicone rubber will also be accompanied by a slight volume shrinkage during the curing process, which will also increase its hardness.
Ways to prevent silicone rubber from hardening:
Avoid long-term exposure to high temperature: High temperature will accelerate oxidation, causing the rubber to harden faster.
Regular inspection and maintenance: Regularly check the use of silicone rubber and replace aging silicone rubber products in time.
Storage conditions: Avoid storing silicone rubber in a humid or high temperature environment for a long time to extend its service life.
What is the difference between silicone and mechanical keyboards?
1. Working principle
Silicone keyboard: Relying on the elasticity and conductivity of silicone, pressing the key deforms the silicone gasket, connecting the metal contact and the circuit board to generate a signal.
Mechanical keyboard: Each key has an independent mechanical switch, and pressing the key pushes the spring to generate a signal from the metal contact.
2. Feel
Silicone keyboard: Soft feel, good resilience, and not easy to fatigue after long-term use.
Mechanical keyboard: Different mechanical axes have different feel, with obvious paragraph sense and diverse feedback strength.
3. Durability
Silicone keyboard: Silicone is anti-aging, wear-resistant and temperature-resistant, but the gasket and contacts may wear out.
Mechanical keyboard: Mechanical switches have a long life, but are easily affected by dust and liquid.
4. Sound
Silicone keyboard: The key noise is small and it is a silent keyboard.
Mechanical keyboard: The key sound is loud, and the sound of the blue axis is crisper.
5. Appearance and portability
Silicone keyboard: various colors and styles, foldable and curlable, easy to carry.
Mechanical keyboard: various appearances but fixed shape, heavier, some compact and slightly more portable.
In short, as an important electronic component, silicone rubber keys have good elasticity, soft and comfortable, wear-resistant and durable, waterproof and dustproof, good insulation performance and strong customizability. They have been widely used in electronic equipment, home appliances, industrial control and other fields.
