JRPanel’s Capability of Reverse Engineering Membrane Switches

 

There are two main types of engineering: forward and reverse. Forward engineering is the prototypical process whereby a product moves from an abstract idea to a physical object. This can involve many processes depending on the final product, including drawing approvals, material selection, and choosing a cost-effective production method. Ideally, documentation is organized and protected at every step of the way.

 

Reverse engineering, on the other hand, takes a previously-produced product and works backward through the process to create design documentation. Reverse engineering is typically required in instances where there are no available drawings, to replace lost documentation, move a prototype to mass production or recreate a product that is no longer available on the market.

 

Reverse engineering a membrane switch, molded rubber keypad or graphic overlay starts with taking an existing sample part, extracting design data, and creating an improved copy of the engineered keypad. The new keypad can be placed onto the existing machine or controller and the life of the equipment is now extended for years to come. JRPanel can even reproduce membrane switches that have been worn from continued use. By providing a sample, JRPanel can recreate a new membrane switch, extending the effective life of the product to which it attaches. The cost for reverse engineering and replacing the keypad is much less than the cost of buying new equipment or the cost of not being able to run your machinery.

 

The company sent one of their old membrane switches they wanted manufactured to JRPanel, where the complete user interface was taken apart and dissected down to the graphic overlay, circuit boards, power supply and LCD.

 

While the power supply module and LCD screen could be obtained off the shelf, the PCB inside the membrane switch needed to be reconstructed without any documentation about how it was originally made. JRPanel created the entire document package de novo, including the full Gerber package, hole sizes, and tolerances. Obsolete connectors in the sample membrane switch were also crossed in order to create a functional PCB able to replace its predecessor.

As part of their value-add services, JRPanel manufactured not only the PCB that was needed, but also the corresponding fully registered graphic overlay and dome switches. The end product was a complete aluminum backed membrane switch that was tested for continuity.

By manufacturing the entire product, including the circuit board and corresponding graphic overlay,  allowed the customer to avoid the hassle of multiple assembly steps and to receive a membrane switch that could be conveniently plugged in to their machine for immediate use.

The customer now has a world class source for fully functional aluminum backed membrane switches for their selective conformal coating system machines.