Tag Archives: membrane switches

The Virtues of Membrane Keypads

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When I was in eighth grade, my family moved to a new house just a few blocks from where I had grown up. In many ways, the house was quite similar to the house where I spent all of my years until that point. The differences were minor, and they were all pretty similar to each other. Everything about the new house was just a little bit nicer than the old one. The bedrooms were just a little bigger, the dining room was just big enough to accommodate a few more people at family gatherings and the garage featured a combination keypad with which the garage door could be Continue reading →

Dome Switches Have Many Uses

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As we discussed in the last post about tactile switches, a tactile response to the use of a button or switch can be helpful. This can be the case with phones, washing machines, electronic controls in vehicles and all kinds of other electronic devices. As the cost of what used to be advanced electronics interfaces (like touch screens) decreases, more and more devices are equipped with touch screen interfaces. Certainly this change comes with its benefits, but touch screens are not intrinsically Continue reading →

Why Tactile Switches Matter

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A few years ago, as smart phones were beginning to emerge as the newest fad in the personal electronics market, I remember how much ado was made about how a certain industry leader’s signature PDA/phone/mp3 player would be equipped with a touch screen that simulated the experience of pushing a real button. I remember thinking to myself, “Great. Now they’re offering us the chance to buy a product with a touch screen that’s more expensive than a simple button interface, and its selling point is that it resembles a simple button interface. Put me down for ten.” I’ve since become a bit less cynical, and I’ve come to learn how to ignore irony and how to Continue reading →

Understanding Capacitive Touch Screens

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Some companies that are in the business of manufacturing membrane switches and graphic overlays also produce or supply capacitive touch screen interfaces to supplement their product lines. Capacitive touch screens bear some similarities to membrane switches in that they are not composed of individual keys or buttons. Instead, they are self-contained, single-surface electronic interfaces. Aside from that similarity, the relationship between membrane switches and capacitive switches is Continue reading →

Switch Membranes Save the Day

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Disaster is looming: your four-year-old, after becoming bored with making finger paintings on the wall with chocolate pudding, has found his way up onto the couch beneath the thermostat. Thinking the thermostat membrane switch pad bears a striking resemblance to an electronic talking/singing alphabet toy he likes to play with, he decides to mash the keypads in hopes of eliciting his favorite alphabet song (C is for Cantaloupe). When that fails, he toddles off to destroy something else. When you return from Continue reading →