By: By Hassan Sajadi, senior engineer, NKK Switches Inc.
Today's electronics engineers are increasingly under pressure to focus on accomplishing two primary, high-level goals: reduce design costs and increase performance. It can be a
challenge, to say the least, to accomplish both of these goals simultaneously. It would seem that meeting one would ostensibly negate the ability to accomplish the other.
For example, increasing performance typically involves adding functionality. This functionality, typically represented by additional features, has to be accessed by the user of the device or control panel if the benefits are to actually be realized. Thus, a mechanism for users to interact with the added functionality has to be included. Typically, this involves adding switches, which of course, means adding cost. By contrast, reducing costs frequently involves reducing functionality, thereby decreasing performance.
Lower design & production costs; increase functionality
This scenario, however, does not have to be the case in all situations. In many designs, incorporating programmable, or changeable graphical interface switches can make a significant impact in both lowering design and production costs and increasing functionality. For this reason, more engineers are seeing these unique switches as an integral part of their designs. In addition, programmable switches reduce operator error as only the applicable selections are made available at the time they are needed.
As a point of reference, traditional switches can be considered non-programmable-function keys which have one hardwired function. A programmable switch, on the other hand, is an electromechanical switch that incorporates a changeable display on the actuator surface. In most instances, this display can be a simple LCD screen with or without LED backlighting or a more technologically advanced OLED display. LCD programmable switches are typically capable of displaying graphics, alphanumeric characters - in any language - and animated sequences. OLED switches add the ability to display full motion video, as well as other benefits.
Read the complete article as it appeared in EP&T.
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