As the primary input device for computers, the quality and design of computer keyboard keys directly affect the user experience. In the manufacturing process of keyboards, the design of keyboard mould is crucial. Here are the key points in designing moulds for computer keyboard keys.
Computer keyboard keys are usually made of ABS material with a shrinkage rate of 1.005. They have relatively simple shapes, but there are challenges in the design of keyboard mould due to the difficulty of reversing the mould. Because of the small space, the reversal cannot use traditional slider core-pulling or inclined ejection methods.
To solve the reversal mould problem, a secondary ejection method can be used. Two elastic ejector pins and a round ejector pin were designed and assembled on the ejector plate. By moving the lower ejector plate, the elastic ejector pins and round ejector pin together push the key out from this electronics mold, achieving strong demoulding at the reversed position.
Key force and operational comfort are key parameters of user experience, and the height of the key's central column is an important factor affecting key force. The height tolerance of the central pin position of the key should not exceed ±0.02 to ensure the stability and comfort of the keys.
A 21-cavity multi-cavity arrangement was adopted with fine gate injection, side gate injection from the edge of the plastic part, forming a closed-frame flow channel, facilitating subsequent spraying and laser engraving. The keyboard mould design uses a 1+1 cavity arrangement to lower costs while ensuring the top and bottom shells have the same moulding conditions.
In gate design, a method of fine gate switching to submarine gate is used. The bottom shell is injected from one point, while the top shell has fewer injection points, using three points with two places being sub-horn gate injections. The horn gate inserts need to be made in 2 separate pieces. The lateral core-pulling system design includes one front mould slider and two rear mould sliders, driven by T-slot and inclined guide posts.
Dual-color keycaps moulds keyboard mould is used to manufacture dual-color keycaps and typically consist of two modules. These molds are usually made from metal materials such as steel or aluminum. Each module has one or more grooves to accommodate different-colored plastics. In manufacturing dual-color keycaps moulds, manufacturers often use computer-aided design (CAD) software to create the design. The design is then programmed into a computer numerical control (CNC) machine, which cuts and processes the metal parts of the mould.
Manufacturing dual-color keycaps requires injecting one color of plastic first, then injecting another color to fuse the two colors together. Using dual-color keycaps moulds, these two injection steps can be completed in the same process, making the keycap manufacturing process more efficient.
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