Metal Dome & Dome Array blog – Best Technology

Happy Dragon Boat Festival

Posted on June 11, 2013 by Peter

Tomorrow (June 12) is Chinese traditional Dragon Boat Festival (the 5th day of May, according to Chinese Lunar Calendar). We will close to celebrate that holiday and resume on June 13 (Thursday). Samples, or volume production will be temporary hold on and lead time will be one day postponed accordingly.

Each time seemed the Dragon Boat Festival will comes with rain, and the same for this year. It cools down the temperature and cool for holiday. Do you have any plan to spend that holiday? Will you go to have a look at the Dragon Boat Race? Or eat the Zongzi? To learn more information about this traditional holiday, please see our previous article: Happy Dragon Boat Festival

Dragon Boat Race

Posted in Chinese Culture | Tagged Dragon boat festival | Comments Off

Chinese Lunar New Year Notice

Posted on January 14, 2013 by Peter

Chinese Lunar New Year is coming! Please to be noted that our company will be closed during the following period:

Closing Period: Feb 4^th to 17^th

Resume on: Feb 18^th

In order to avoid any potential delay for products delay, please consider our holiday arrangement and help to release order more early.

Here are deadline for orders which need to be shipped before our holiday:

Jan 21^st for metal dome packed in Tape & Reel;

Jan 26^th for metal dome array;

Jan 30^th for metal dome (packed in bulk);

Regarding special metal dome, dome array, or assembly, please contact us for lead time.

For orders released late than above time, lead time will be in Feb.

If you have special requirements for lead time, or need quick turn-out, please contact us and we will try our best to make it come true.

We wish you a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!

Posted in Chinese Culture, Inside News | Tagged Chinese holiday, Spring Festival | Comments Off

Wish Peace for Connecticut

Posted on December 17, 2012 by Peter

We feel so sorry to hear the shooting tragedy happened in Connecticut school last Friday.

Sincerely hope the similar thing will not happened again and peaceful environment will come back to the Town and whole word.

May God Bless People on the Earth!

Best Technology

2012.12.17

Posted in Beside Work, Others | Tagged peace | Comments Off

Mid-Autumn Festival & National Day

Posted on September 26, 2012 by Peter

One of the longest holiday in China will come in soon.

According to Chinese Lunar Calendar, Sep 30 will be Mid-Autumn Festival (also name the Moon Festival, on the 15th day of 8th lunar month). On that day, family member, friends will be spent the time together, eating the Moon-cake, enjoy the beautiful night with the snow-white Moon in the sky.

And Oct 1st is our National day, to celebrate the birthday of our motherland, P.R of China. All the people will have 3 days off work.

Here are our holiday arrangement:

Closed: Sep 29th – Oct 3: neither samples or volume production will be ceased;

Open: Oct 4 (Thursday): resume the work

And Oct 6th-7th will be our normal weekend, only work half day on Saturday.

Lead time before holiday and one week after holiday will be longer (normal 3-5 days) than normal because of busy production line.

Hope everybody in the company can enjoy that holiday and have a joyful time.

Posted in Chinese Culture | Tagged Mid Autumn Fesitval, Mid-Autumn Festival, national day | Comments Off

Why Metal Dome Force Changed After Assembly on PCB

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Peter

Recently one customer complain that the metal dome force changed so much after assembly on PCB.

The metal dome used was “X6T-350-0.8*3.0”(A Triangle dome, Diameter 6mm, force 350gf, leg: 0.8*3.0mm). Before assembly, force is in normal force range 350gf, but after assembly on PCB, force change to about 500gf and then make whole dome key hard to press.

After saw customer’s PCB samples, we understand why this happened.

What method used was method A we recommend in “How to Assemble Triangle series metal domes on PCB (2)” (Please click to see more details for that article: http://www.metal-domes.com/blog/2010/07/02/assemble-triangle-metal-dome-on-pcb-2/)

Method is okay, but the problem was related with PCB design of customer. For Diameter 6mm triangle metal dome, the distance between two legs is 6.0mm, tolerance +/-0.2mm, so the tooling hole on PCB should be designed following that value.

6mm Triangle metal dome

But when we measure the PCB, the distance between holes on PCB is only5.35mm. You can see a picture bellowing.

PCB Hole Distance

Because hole distance on PCB is too narrow, so it’s difficult to insert leg of metal dome into the PCB. You can see when put metal dome on the PCB holes, it will not go into the holes, but remain above the PCB.

When you press metal dome and leg can be inserted into the hole, but only one leg is properly installed, another one was shifted. You can see the red arrow.

Wrong PCB Hole Distance

When press metal dome, people have to add extra force to bend the edge metal dome toward to center, to make the diameter from current6.0mmto5.35mm, so that end of metal dome leg will be on the same level of PCB. That extra force will be at least 150gf, so final metal dome force become 500gf (350gf+150gf). This is the reason why metal dome force altered so much between before and after assembly.

After realizing the problem, customer re-designs PCB and problem solved. Metal dome force keeps the same before and after assembly on PCB.

Just remember to have the same hole distance like metal dome diameter. If dome used is6mm, then distance6.0mm, for8mm, use8.0mmhole distance.

If you are not sure about that, please contact us before you design the PCB. We will be glad to provide service.

Posted in Metal Dome Assembly, metal dome related, Metal Domes, Triangle metal dome | Tagged metal dome assembly, triangle metal dome | Comments Off

International Labor Day Holiday Arrangement

Posted on April 29, 2012 by Peter

In order to celebrate International Labor Day, we will closed from April 29th to May 1st and re-open on May 2nd. During this period, facility will be closed too, no production, no samples will be arranged for. And lead time for metal dome or metal dome arrays will be postponed about 2~3 days accordingly.

Our sales reps will be also on holicay too, and email reply will be delay. Things urgently, please call.

Wish everybody have a nice holiday.

Posted in Beside Work, Inside News | Tagged holiday | Comments Off

Chinese Spring Festival Schedule

Posted on December 20, 2011 by Peter

Time always flying so fast! 2011 will pass some and new 2012 will come to us soon. We’ve saw global economic crisis in 2011, but things were warming up and we believe everything will be better in 2012, with the support and help of our customers, suppliers, colleague, friends.

Here we glad to announce our Spring Festival Schedule in 2012.

Facility Closed: Jan 16th- 31th, 2012

Resume: Feb 1st, 2012

During this period, we will not produce any samples or volume products, so please help to check your warehouse to make sure you’ve enough metal dome, metal dome array to keep safe stock.

And the lead time in Jan and Feb will be longer than normal because of heavy production line and lack of manpower.

Our sales reps. will try best to keep receive and reply email during the holiday, but cannot promise an immediately reply within 12 hours as before.

Let us know if you have special request for metal dome, metal dome array during this period.

Wish everybody has bright future and healthy body!

Best Technology

2011. 12.20

Posted in Chinese Culture, Inside News | Tagged Chinese holiday, holiday, Spring Festival | Comments Off

Metal Dome Activation Force Conversion

Posted on November 18, 2011 by Peter

Thanks to the big Earth we live on, so we can see different culture around the world, so we can see different measure method on the same thing, so different results. When we discuss metal dome, people use various units, here are how to convert different unit of activation force of metal dome.

Ounces (OZ) Grams Force (GF) Newtons (N)

4.00 114.00 1.11

6.00 170.00 1.66

8.00 227.00 2.22

10.00 284.00 2.78

12.00 340.00 3.33

14.00 397.00 3.89

16.00 454.00 4.44

18.00 510.00 4.99

20.00 567.00 5.54

You can also easy convert them by yourself.

1OZ=28.35 g

1GF = 9.80665 Newton

In fact, OZ is the unit for weight, seemed no business relationship with activation force, but you can easy treat them as the unit for force, if you’re know little physics.

And Gram force (GF), or KGF (Kilogram Force) has never become the unit of International System of Unit (SI), but it’s popular here in China and Europe.

In our company, the default unit for metal dome activation force we used is GF (Grams Force), but it’s no problem for customer to use other different unit to measure the force of metal dome.

Leave a message or write email to us if you’re interest or has comment for activation force of metal dome.

Posted in Membrane Switches, metal dome related, Metal Domes | Tagged metal dome, metal dome force, metal dome parameter | Comments Off

Metal Dome in Tube

Posted on September 26, 2011 by Peter

Regarding the Four-leg metal domes, for small-medium volume production,
if people want a high assembly speed, but don’t have Automated SMT machine, we recommend us our metal dome in tube, as well as Peel & Place dome. And here, I’d like to say more words about metal dome in tube. Next article we will discuss another.

To use metal dome in tube, you must have a dome placement pen, or auto-pick-gun. You insert the tube into that device, then move the device above the place where you want to place a metal dome, then push a button, a dome will come out, to fall on that position.

Using tube dome, you only need to push the button to place the metal dome, and don’t need to pick a dome by a tweezers, so it’ll make dome placing become a easy job. You can put about 1,000-2,000 pcs per hour. In fact, some expert guy can reach up to 3,000 pcs, 5,000 pcs or more.

Also if you can send back the empty tube to us, we will give you some discount, but in most case, oversea customers will not do that, because shipping fee is more expensive than tube itself. But I think if some days later, the cost of tube increased and shipping cost lower down, people will consider to re-use them, in a green way. Just make sure the tube is clear, fresh from any dirt, dust.

All right, leave comments if you like this, or have some comments, or better idea to improve the tube metal dome.

Posted in Four leg metal dome, Inside News, Metal Dome in Tube, metal dome related, Metal Domes | Tagged Four Legs Metal Dome, metal dome in tube, metal dome packing, tube metal dome | Comments Off