Technical article: Concert of wishes - The right keyboard for every customer application
Item no. 2990
Description
| The use of keyboards in both harsh industrial environments and sterile medical environments requires a flexible and robust input medium. Typical applications of keyboards can often be categorized according to their requirements. | |
| The author provides an overview of the various technologies and discusses possible combinations with other input media as well as special features that are often not consciously noticed in everyday industrial or medical technology. The trend is towards keyboards that are as compact as possible, but still powerful. | |
| Quite flexible | |
| Membrane keypads are predestined for use in industry and medicine simply because they are waterproof and dustproof (to DIN IP65). They are largely resistant to disinfectants and cleaning agents and can therefore fully meet the high demands. Insertion pockets for changeable labeling, LEDs, LC displays, emergency stop buttons, touchpads and trackballs can be elegantly integrated. Membrane keypads are generally used for entering commands on machines or at payment points. They are reliable, robust and generally have a balanced price-performance ratio. | |
| Press me | |
| Conventional membrane keyboards, however, often have only a very low operating quality. The user on site at the machine or in the operating room must be able to enter numbers or digits precisely and quickly. In practice, a great deal has changed in this respect. Today, manufacturers of membrane keyboards almost exclusively offer keyboards with very good tactile feedback. This means that the user feels directly in his finger whether the pressure of the key has led to the execution of a command. This can be achieved either by built-in so-called snap dials or by short-travel keys. The latter are of higher quality and more durable. They generate a clear, audible switching contact, which significantly increases input reliability. A service life of more than 2 million switching cycles is common today. | |
| Tough | |
| Keyboards of other technologies, such as metal keyboards, appeal in particular to industrial customers and are equipped with short-stroke or long-stroke keys, depending on the area of application. Stainless steel keyboards have the highest resistance of all industrial keyboards. They are often used in outdoor applications and are usually considered vandal-proof keyboards. This designation already anticipates one of the main characteristics: protection against destruction and damage. Metal keyboards can be customized in various ways. | |
| Punching, for example, offers the advantage that the keys can be used directly from the punched-out material. The disadvantage, however, is the high cost, since a punching tool must be manufactured. Therefore, punching is only suitable for higher quantities. In laser cutting, the individual key apertures are cut out with the aid of a laser. This is a low-cost solution that is also suitable for smaller quantities. | |
| The keys must be produced separately because the entry point of the laser is always visible and the material is thus lost. In milling, similar to laser cutting, the keys are cut out and the cut-out material is lost. Since only the cutouts can be made in the previous types of processing, the respective plates are further processed under a milling machine. The milling machine is used, for example, to mill grooves that are inserted into the special holder to prevent round keys from twisting. | |
| Data entry with care | |
| Input via short-stroke keys is usually slower than with a long-stroke keyboard optimized for fast typing. Nevertheless, the technology of foil-covered keyboards has progressed so far that the user can enter data more quickly even when wearing gloves, and the feedback short-travel key gives him a certain input reliability. | |
| Get a grip on the keys | |
| Due to their ease of use, long-stroke keyboards are still used in industrial and medical environments. Nevertheless, protection against bacteria, dirt and moisture is often a major expense with this technology. There are two competing systems, but their price ratios diverge widely. The robust but more expensive solutions offer good protection against dust and moisture by means of rubber membranes placed under the keys. | |
| Competing with this is a cover molded from soft plastic material that provides some protection on the top of the keyboard. The latter is the far more affordable solution in terms of price, but also less comfortable for the user. The foil lying loosely on the keys significantly impairs typing. The advantages and disadvantages of the different technologies often also depend on the combination possibilities with other input and output technologies. Mouse replacement devices like trackball or touchpad represent another development mix. | |
| Round or square | |
| Mouse replacement devices are subject to the same demands on robustness and functionality as the keyboards themselves. Trackballs or touchpads are often integrated into the respective keyboard version. Whether desktop, rear or front installation, each version usually has an equally waterproof mouse replacement integrated. There is also the option of connecting the mouse replacements separately. | |
| In most cases, this is a question of functionality and the size of the workstation. Regardless of whether trackball or touchpad, both should be water- and dust-proof according to IP65 for particularly harsh and sterile environmental conditions. With the trackball, graphic drawings can usually be positioned more precisely mechanically. The touchpad, on the other hand, is better protected because of its completely closed surface. | |
| Please find the complete article under downloads. |
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