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Customized Keypad & Touchscreen Assemblies

Epec Engineered Technologies designs, develops, and manufactures custom keypad and touchscreen assemblies that combine user interface technologies, electronics, mechanical components, and embedded firmware into complete electromechanical systems.

From a napkin sketch to full-rate production, we help customers turn design requirements into fully integrated, tested assemblies. Our capabilities include membrane switches, silicone elastomeric keypads, touchscreens, printed circuit board assemblies, housings, backlighting, and embedded controls.

Epec can manage component design and procurement, manufacture to a customer’s bill of materials, or incorporate customer-supplied parts. Receiving a complete assembly helps reduce internal assembly labor, inventory carrying costs, and coordination between suppliers.

At a Glance: Custom Keypad & Touchscreen Assemblies

Complete design and manufacturing support: From initial concepts and prototypes through production, testing, and delivery.
Integrated user interface technologies: Membrane switches, silicone keypads, touchscreens, electronics, and mechanical components.
Production-ready assemblies: Firmware programming, electrical and functional testing, labeling, serialization, kitting, and specialty packaging.

From Concept to Complete Electromechanical Assembly

A successful user interface requires electrical, mechanical, and software elements to work together. Epec develops these elements as an integrated assembly, accounting for how users operate the product, where it will be installed, and what conditions it must withstand.

Our engineering team supports material selection, component layout, enclosure design, electrical connections, and manufacturing requirements. We bring design experience addressing electromagnetic interference and compatibility (EMI/EMC), environmental conditions, and product safety requirements. These considerations help guide decisions about shielding, grounding, sealing, materials, and component placement.

Whether you need development support or manufacturing to an established design, Epec can help move your project into repeatable production.

Core Custom Technologies

Touchscreen Assemblies

Touchscreen assemblies combine a visual display with a touch-sensitive input surface. Capacitive touchscreens detect changes in capacitance, while resistive touchscreens register pressure applied to the screen. Selection depends on operating conditions, glove requirements, input methods, and the intended user experience.

Applications: Medical equipment, industrial controls, laboratory instruments, and other products requiring graphical menus or changing on-screen information.
Assembly integration: Touchscreens can be combined with LCDs, protective lenses, bezels, gaskets, controller electronics, and cable assemblies.
Design considerations: Display visibility, touch sensitivity, mounting, sealing, and the spacing or bonding between layers are evaluated as part of the complete assembly.

Learn more about our HMI design and touchscreen integration capabilities.

Membrane Switch Assemblies

Membrane switches provide a thin control surface with printed graphics and electrical switching layers. Polyester (PET) circuit constructions typically use conductive inks printed onto flexible film. Flexible printed circuit (FPC) constructions use etched copper circuitry, commonly on polyimide, to support more demanding routing and component integration requirements.

Applications: Medical devices, industrial equipment, laboratory instruments, and control panels requiring compact layouts and cleanable surfaces.
Assembly integration: Membrane switches can be bonded to rigid backing panels, housings, or bezels and connected to control electronics through a circuit tail.
Custom options: Tactile or non-tactile operation, metal domes, graphic overlays, indicator LEDs, shielding, and backlighting.

Explore our custom membrane switch capabilities.

Silicone Elastomer Keypads

Silicone elastomer keypads use molded rubber keys to provide a defined shape, feel, and actuation response. Depending on the design, conductive contacts on the underside of each key close a circuit on a PCB, or the keypad operates a separate dome or switch layer.

Applications: Handheld controls, medical equipment, industrial instruments, and military or aerospace interfaces requiring physical buttons and tactile feedback.
Assembly integration: Keypads are aligned with the underlying circuitry and retained within a bezel or housing, with sealing features incorporated as required.
Custom options: Key shapes, colors, actuation forces, printed legends, protective finishes, and laser-etched graphics for backlighting.

Learn more about our silicone rubber keypads.

Printed Circuit Board Assemblies

Printed circuit board assemblies (PCBAs) combine a fabricated circuit board with installed electronic components. They provide the circuitry for switch detection, display control, communications, power management, and other functions within the finished interface.

Applications: Keypad controllers, touchscreen interfaces, illuminated control panels, and embedded control systems.
Assembly integration: PCBAs connect switches, displays, sensors, and external equipment through contacts, connectors, and cable assemblies.
Core Epec capability: PCB technology is a core competency that connects directly to our established bare printed circuit board business, supporting coordination between board fabrication requirements and the finished assembly.

Injection Molded Components

Injection molded components provide the enclosure and structural features that position and protect user interface elements. Common materials include polycarbonate (PC), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), and PC/ABS blends, selected according to mechanical, environmental, and appearance requirements.

Applications: Housings, bezels, button retainers, covers, and internal supports for handheld and panel-mounted equipment.
Assembly integration: Molded features can locate displays and PCBAs, retain keypads, support fasteners, and accommodate gaskets or cable exits.
Design support: Customers can submit STEP (.stp or .step) models for a design for manufacturability (DFM) review before tooling.

Explore our injection molded plastic capabilities.

Precision Machined Parts

Machined components provide structural support, mounting features, and finished surfaces for custom keypad and touchscreen assemblies. Materials can include aluminum, engineering plastics, and specialty alloys selected for the application.

Applications: Chassis, front panels, bezels, handles, mounting plates, and equipment enclosures.
Assembly integration: Machined features establish component locations, mounting interfaces, and clearances for electronics, displays, and seals.
Finishing options: Plating, protective finishes, and painting can be specified to meet demanding customer requirements for appearance, corrosion resistance, and surface performance.

Backlighting Technologies

Backlighting improves the visibility of keys, legends, and indicators while providing visual feedback during operation. Available approaches include LEDs, light guide films, and laser-etched silicone keypads that allow light to pass through selected graphics.

Applications: Avionics panels, medical equipment, industrial controls, and interfaces operated in dim or changing lighting conditions.
Assembly integration: Light sources and optical layers are coordinated with the keypad, overlay, circuitry, and housing to direct illumination where needed.
Custom design: Colors, brightness levels, illuminated zones, and indicator behavior can be tailored to the application, with attention to uniformity and light leakage.

Learn more about light guide film technology.

Embedded Systems & Firmware

Embedded electronics allow the assembly to process inputs, control displays and indicators, and communicate with the host equipment. Epec supports development of system block diagrams, electrical schematics, bills of materials, and firmware as part of the complete interface design.

Development: Hardware and firmware are developed around the required inputs, outputs, communications, and operating functions.
Production programming: Approved firmware or software revisions are loaded during manufacturing to maintain configuration control.
Functional verification: Fully integrated units receive 100% functional testing against the agreed production test requirements before shipment.

Electrical Testing, Programming & Acceptance Testing

Epec combines assembly operations with electrical testing, firmware programming, and final acceptance testing based on the approved product requirements.

Production tests can verify switch operation, electrical connections, display and touchscreen response, backlighting, and communications. Test procedures and acceptance criteria are established for the specific assembly so that each unit is evaluated consistently.

Environmental, EMI/EMC, and product safety requirements are considered during development, with qualification activities defined according to the application.

Kitting, Packaging & Product Identification

Delivery requirements are part of the finished solution. Epec can provide kitting, specialty packaging, custom labeling, and serialization to support customer receiving, traceability, and installation processes.

Assemblies can be packaged with designated hardware, cables, or accessories to reduce handling and preparation at the customer’s facility.

Frequently Asked Questions

Quick Links

What is a custom keypad or touchscreen assembly?
Can Epec develop an assembly from an initial concept?
Can membrane switches, silicone keypads, and touchscreens be combined?
Can Epec manufacture using our existing design or supplied components?
Can we submit a 3D model for review?
Are assemblies programmed and tested before shipment?
Are labeling, serialization, and custom packaging available?

What is a custom keypad or touchscreen assembly?

A custom keypad or touchscreen assembly combines input devices, electronics, and mechanical components into an integrated unit. It may include switches, displays, circuit boards, backlighting, housings, cable assemblies, and embedded firmware.

Can Epec develop an assembly from an initial concept?

Yes. Epec can support projects from an initial sketch or functional requirements through electrical and mechanical design, prototyping, firmware development, testing, and production.

Can membrane switches, silicone keypads, and touchscreens be combined?

Yes. These technologies can be integrated into one assembly, allowing physical buttons and touchscreen controls to serve different operating needs within the same product.

Can Epec manufacture using our existing design or supplied components?

Yes. Epec can build to a customer’s bill of materials, source components, incorporate customer-supplied parts, or use a combination of these approaches.

Can we submit a 3D model for review?

Yes. Customers can submit STEP models for review of molded components and their integration into the assembly. A DFM review helps identify manufacturing and assembly considerations before tooling.

Are assemblies programmed and tested before shipment?

Yes. Assemblies requiring firmware or software are programmed with the approved revision. Each completed functional unit is tested according to the agreed production test procedures and acceptance criteria.

Are labeling, serialization, and custom packaging available?

Yes. Epec can provide custom labels, serialization, kitting, and specialty packaging according to project requirements.

One Source for Your Complete User Interface Assembly

Working with Epec brings component sourcing, engineering, assembly, programming, and testing under one coordinated manufacturing approach. Customers receive an integrated assembly ready for installation, reducing the number of individual parts and assembly operations they manage internally.

Contact our team to discuss your concept, submit drawings or STEP models, or request support for an existing keypad or touchscreen assembly.

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