What is a Dome Switch Keypad?

What is a Dome Switch Keypad?

Shanyo Tactile Dome Design Guide designs metal domes in membrane switches. metal dome tactile keypad uses two circuit board traces for use with the metal dome. Metal domes, usually made of stainless steel, are momentary switch contacts that provide a tactile feel or “click” when pressed. When the circuit is activated, the metal dome becomes a tactile metal dome switch.

The main advantage of tactile dome switch keyboards is the tactile click or feedback when activated. When a key is pressed, the user realizes that they have actually acted or successfully pressed the switch due to the sensory and audible feedback received from the dome.

Another major advantage of use tactile dome switches is their long life and reliability. Standard dome switch keypads are now rated from 1 million to 5 million cycles. They remain the most reliable switch type in the membrane switch space.

Metal dome choose

Metal dome plating: use stainless tactile dome, which can be plated with other metals such as nickel, silver, or gold
Metal dome shapes: quadruped, triangle, circle, oblong
Metal dome sizes: Standard sizes are 6mm, 7mm, 8.5mm, 10mm, 12mm, 14mm, 16mm, etc
Tactile dome can be customized according to customer requirements
Dome Force: Standard force ranges from 85g to 1000g
Other options: Hole with indented center (for backlit keys), double contact closure tactile dome.

Learn about Metal Dome Drivers:

Driving force is the amount of force required to cause the dome to break. How much force is required to change the dome from the open to the closed position? Dome actuation force is usually measured in grams.

How to choose the right metal dome for a membrane switch?

Shanyo engineers will work closely with you to determine which tactile dome is best for your application. Typically, this decision is based on the strength of the dome (how soft or hard the pressure is required to drive the dome) and is very subjective. Shanyo can simulate different membrane switches with different tactile domes.

Find the right tactile dome

A car key may only have one or two tactile domes, but some applications require multiple tactile domes. Shanyo’s dome arrays come preloaded with pressure-sensitive adhesive, allowing them to be easily placed onto printed circuit boards. If the PCB circuit board requires more than 50 or 200 tactile domes, our button tactile dome chip fully automatic placement machine dome array can meet your needs. Controls and tactile dome switches operate flawlessly throughout the life of the product.

custom tactile metal domeMillions of life cycles

When using tactile switches, you might think that the tactile dome would fail at some point. While this is possible, domes such as Shanyo’s Series can have a life cycle of over 5 million cycles. This means that if you press the tactile dome 50 times a day, the button will be effective for 100,000 days. Therefore, even if you use it for several years, the life cycle of the dome is unlikely to be exhausted.