GDSI designs and manufactures custom membrane switches (tactile and non-tactile; elastomeric), polymer flexible circuits, electroluminescent backlights for lamps and displays, EMI/RFI shielding, antennas for wireless technologies, and sensors for harsh environmental applications. GDSI, with a partner, provides molding services for injection molded circuitry. D/SPC®, the company's proprietary circuit technology, leads the industry in reliability and performance. It has passed stringent testing requirements for HALT (Highly Accelerated Life Testing), 100 day cycling with temperature and humidity variables, and resistance against water penetration.
D/SPC® eliminates the failure points of competitive cross over or bridged circuit technologies which are limited to printing on one side of the circuit substrate. GDSI prints circuitry on the top and bottom of the substrate and joined by vias through the substrate. The descriptive pictures presented below are from the identical position in relation to two keypads partially viewed at the top of each picture and from the same part number application. GDSI replaced the cross-over circuitry with D/SPC® for the customer. Field failures due to cross over insulation failure were eliminated.
The performance advantages of D/SPC® are numerous and significant:
- Risks of silver migration shorts in the body of the circuit are significantly reduced.
- Less space in the X-Y plane is required to run circuit traces. This allows a smaller circuit footprint or greater circuit density in the same space.
- Overall circuit resistance is lower.
- Circuit tail traces can always be placed on the inside radius:
a. greatly reducing the risk of tail creases causing trace cracking
b. eliminating the risk of high resistance opens developing over the life of the switch - Allows for greater density of keypad positions.
- Provides more room and greater density for SMT devices, especially LED's.
- Need for two circuit layers joined in a connector is eliminated.
- Enables lower stack up height.
- Easy incorporation of full perimeter sealing (gasketing), maximizing water and chemical resistance.
- Reduces line rejects and field failures.
GDSI is a 3M Select Converter. We use 3M adhesives exclusively for all our design and product recommendations. 3M provides the industry leading quality and reliability with superior technical support to assist GDSI in providing our customers with membrane switch design and manufactured products which meet or exceed the demanding environmental qualifications of our customers.
