Membrane panels for hygienic operation

The membrane panels that EAO custom produces for customers have been doing well in the food industry market for years. Especially for machine builders who value hygiene, they are an obvious choice. "Because they are waterproof and yet allow simple, safe operation," Dave Polman, managing director at EAO Benelux, sums up the assets par excellence.

A membrane panel consists of a metal faceplate covered with a foil. The actual switches are soldered onto a PCB behind this front plate. "Traditionally, such panels suffer from a poorer feel and a shorter lifespan," explains EAO project manager Fabrizio Iacobelli. "By using our series 92 - which, with its compact size and short switching path, was developed precisely for this type of application - we make short work of these drawbacks. The tactile feel is right, you feel the shifting, while at the same time water resistance is guaranteed by design." The film itself consists of polycarbonate. "A flexible yet sturdy plastic, which gives you a very durable solution."

Infinite possibilities

Exactly what those membrane or foil panels then look like or how many switches they contain is quite diverse. "The only limiting factor is really the user's imagination," Iacobelli said. "We really make them completely according to the customer's wishes. Symbols, icons, texts, illuminated fields, integrated displays, touchscreens ... everything is possible. Also in terms of colors. The switches themselves have LED lighting in a number of fixed colors, but the panel itself can be given any color of lighting you want. We integrate all the customer's wishes into one compact solution. By the way, the printing is done on the back of the polycarbonate so that it is not sprayed off during intensive cleaning processes, typical of the food industry. The fully recessed mounting further ensures that there are no edges or unevenness where dirt could accumulate."

Everything in-house

"It's not very complex, but it is a particularly high-quality product that we customize for our customers entirely in-house from the Netherlands. From design to final assembly and extensive testing, everything is done in-house," Polman says. "When we pack the membrane panels for shipment, we are 100% sure that everything works as it should." The entire process takes about 12 to 16 weeks. In each case, a prototype is first developed and submitted for approval before the rest of the series goes into production. "Machine builders usually think carefully in advance about what the operation should look like and what they need for it. So these are not projects in a hurry, so we can make sure that everything is right down to the last detail for the customer. By the way, this is already possible for small series, although the development cost will weigh a bit more heavily then."

Build in flexibility

By the way, what they are also working very hard on at EAO is incorporating more flexibility. "We really think along with our customers about how to future-proof the membrane panels. By working with sliding strips, for example, instead of printing the film, other logos, texts or images can easily be used afterwards. The customer can do that all by himself. That also gives him the opportunity to personalize his machines, without having to have a unique membrane panel made for each machine," concludes Iacobelli.