Membrane Switch Keyboard – Easy and soft to use

If you have not thought much about keyboards so far, then you're almost certainly using a membrane switch keyboard. Keyboards which are free of charge for the complete PC and keyboards which cost just 30 Euros in a set with a mouse usually use membrane technology.

In the rubber dome technique, the button sits on a kind of rubber dome. This is compressed when the key is pressed and then ensures that the key also comes back up. Underneath there are foils which transmit the impulse via an electronic signal (membrane technique). 

The two terms describe two independent techniques. However, because most keyboards use both techniques in combination, both of the terms are often used interchangeably to describe these keyboards.

Rubber Dome combined with membrane technology:

Scissor technology:

Most Apple notebook keyboards and keyboards use scissor technology. Here again, a rubber dot is used, but this is not placed as in the membrane technology deep in a plastic housing but is surrounded by two scissor-like interlocked plastic struts. These struts carry the keys and stabilize them when pressed.

The scissor technology allows a flat design and compared to the membrane technology has a much longer life (about 10 - 30 million stops).

Custom membrane switches – advantages:

Higher life:

Membrane keyboards have a significantly higher life expectancy. Most switches are designed for 30 to 70 million stops - Keyboards with membrane technology usually only have a life expectancy of about 5 million strokes.

Hardly any wear:

Membrane switch keypad not only last longer, but their wear is also extremely low. The typing feel is still similar after years, as it was on the first day and there are no mistakes due to jamming or tilting keys.

Better writing experience/feedback:

A membrane switch logically offers more technical possibilities than a simple rubber stud. There are therefore also various different types of switches with very different properties. 

For some switches, you will feel it e.g. quite clearly if you have reached the clicked point (the point at which a button press was detected by the system). This extra feedback can help you write faster. For more information on the differences between different membranes switches, see the article with the overview of the most important switches mentioned above.

High stability/robustness:

Due to the built-in mechanics, membrane keyboards have a higher weight. This generally leads to higher stability and prevents the keyboard from slipping.

Membrane switch keyboard is widely used because it is very cheap to manufacture.