To improve the user experience, LEDs are often incorporated into membrane switches. These LEDs can serve multiple functions, including:

Making the display easier to read
Signaling when a switch has been turned on or off
Blinking to provide additional information to the user
Varying colors to convey information
Signaling potential hazards
Provide backlighting of logos or key information
And more

LEDs are, in our mind, one of the easiest ways to convey information with your membrane switch without needing to add any bulky components. The visual feedback provided by LEDs can be an essential part of a membrane switch’s functionality as a user interface.

Here at General Label, we use a highly specialized process to incorporate LEDs into membrane switches. This process allows us to incorporate LEDs into much smaller components than many of our competitors.

The result is a sleeker membrane switch with excellent reliability.

To showcase this, we’re going to give you some insights into the techniques and tools we use to incorporate LEDs into our membrane switches:

Our LED placement process: A brief, step-by-step overview

Our surface mount machine (SMM) places conductive epoxy on the printed flex circuit.
The SMM then picks up the LED and applies conductive epoxy through precise ink jet nozzles onto the LED.
The LED is placed onto the printed circuit, touching the conductive epoxy and the contact points of the circuitry
The conductive epoxy is fully cured in batch ovens
The second step for maximum bonding and reliability is for the SMM to dispense an encapsulant over the LED. This bonds the LED tightly to the circuit and provides a high degree of protection.
The encapsulant is cured to complete the process.

This process provides the ultimate in reliability of mounted LED’s. It is both cost-effective and repeatable, with incredibly consistent results. The SMM can accomplish these tasks at speeds far faster than a human ever could—and with a great deal more precision.

The surface mount machine: Our secret weapon

Every step described above is made possible using our state-of-the-art surface mount machine.

Our SMMs offer repeatability that’s far above industry standard and precision that allows us to place LEDs onto incredibly small surfaces. This is made possible through our SMMs’ sophisticated vision systems—everything is placed with incredible accuracy, even at scale.

Tolerances can be incredibly tight in today’s electronics, which is why precision is of the utmost importance not only with placement (handled by our SMM’s vision systems) but also with quantities. Our SMMs measure out the same quantity of conductive epoxy and encapsulant every time. They’re placed on the board (and onto the LED) using the SMMs’ jetting systems.

Expanding how LEDs can be used

The precision offered by our process allows us to integrate LEDs into smaller or more awkwardly shaped membrane switches. Additionally, we can integrate an array of different types of LEDs, including side-fired LEDs, top-side-fired LEDs, and multicolor LEDs.

This gives OEMs a wide array of options when constructing their user interfaces. Side-fired LEDs can be used for continuous backlighting. Multicolored LEDs can be used to convey vital information to users without expanding the size of the membrane switch. Using various LEDs in combination gives you a truly versatile user interface and a better overall user experience.

The General Label advantage

With our process, you can expect fast, repeatable results and are able to incorporate LEDs into smaller parts. This offers you more customizability and the ability to build membrane switches for even tighter tolerances.

We’re also proud to offer parts that incorporate our zero failure mode (ZEM) design philosophy. This means that if one LED fails, the rest of your system will continue to work perfectly—and it’s rare for even one of our LEDs to fail in the first place!

For cost-effective LEDs and repeatable, reliable results, choose General Label for your next membrane switch.