When people hear about flexible circuits, it often leads to a follow up question: "can conductive ink be stretched?" There is a difference between “flexibility” and “stretching”. Flexibility means the inks can be placed in tension and continue to provide electrical continuity.
When you consider adding a capacitive touch sensor to your application, you have options for how that sensor operates to achieve the functionality that is just right for your application. There is no one size fits all solution.
A die cut uses extremely sharp razors (aka steel rule) to cut the material into the desired shape. You may have seen or even used one on a smaller scale for punching out shapes of paper for scrap booking. A laser cutting machine uses an industrial strength laser to cut the material with the help of a computer to direct it where to move and cut. Check out this video for a glimpse of how each machine operates.
Xymox Technologies, Inc. has added automated vision CMM (Coordinate Measuring Machine) equipment to support our commitment to continuous improvement and quality. Our new Micro-Vu Excel 661UC vision CMM expands our metrology capabilities in terms of accuracy, repeatability and speed.
Backlighting on a membrane switch can be a simple and cost effective solution to enhance the user experience. Backlighting can tell the user the current machine status, and it can help walk the user through the next operation steps. That sounds great, so what could possibly go wrong? Have you ever heard of a hot spot? No, not the one on your phone that you can turn on to share your wifi - a backlighting hot spot. It's when the light source used for backlighting doesn't evenly distribute the light causing some areas to appear brighter (hot spot), while others are dimly lit. The switch will still work just the same, however, having the total package be reliable AND good looking, is critical for your brand and the end user experience.
Xymox uses PEDOT (or more accurately PEDOT:PSS) to make capacitive sensors. We use a film version supplied by Kodak called KODAK ESTAR Highly Conductive (HCF) Films to make transparent sensors used over displays and a screen printed version supplied by Heraeus called Clevios to make translucent sensors used in backlighting applications. To keep the family together, Kodak actually coats Heraeus Clevios PEDOT.
Often, suppliers ship a part out and never get to see it in the finished product, so it sometimes it can feel like a rare bird sighting when you do!
We take our work very seriously so that we can provide our customers with the products they want and the quality they deserve, but we're not all work and no play...infact, we're party animals! To show our appreciation for all of the hard work our employees do, we hosted everyone and their families at the Milwaukee Zoo!
Capacitive Sensors: Oh Oh they’re magic, you know. Never believe they’re not so.