This audio was created using Microsoft Azure Speech Services
In previous articles, I’ve talk about the importance of aesthetics for the control interfaces of machines, how a pleasant to see control interface could ease your sales talk by providing more attractiveness and well-designed components and control panels could ease the operators’ life by providing more ergonomics.
In term of fashion for pushbuttons, the latest trend is the introduction of flush mounting products. It means that you usually have to choose among 3 criteria:
- the color (matt black or shiny grey)
The aesthetics choice is usually based on taste, contrast with the panels. In cases were the environment is very bright, the light can be reflected on shiny metal pushbuttons, thus bothering the operators… so that black colored pushbuttons are preferred in that last case.
- the external height depending on the mounting solution (standard or flush)
Flush pushbuttons are sometimes considered a more modern look & feel because this aesthetics trend is quite recent.
In addition, flush pushbuttons may also be useful from an ergonomics standpoint:
- If operators are wearing ample clothes, like lab coats or just long sleeves, flush mounted devices will prevent them from getting their clothes stuck. They will just love you for saving the 100€ jean’s they bought last week-end.
- If the machines are often cleaned with a tissue, the cleaning task will be much easier with a flat surface…go for flush mounting.
- Have you ever gotten scratches on your control panel buttons after a rough delivery by a truck? Anybody who has faced a customer focusing on this unpleasant line on the component will understand that a button that doesn’t protrude from the panel is an asset. In the worst case, if it doesn’t stick out, it means it cannot be beheaded, which could improve your machine robustness against shocks.
The external diameter
Above images enable the comparison of a finger with 2 types of pushbuttons. Flush pushbuttons mounted in diameter 30 holes have larger colored actuation area compared to their equivalent with a diameter 22 hole mounting.
For readers interested in my previous article, it can be found here .
For readers interested in our new flush mounting pushbutton range, you can discover it on www.schneider-electric.com/control
