HMI
Design guide

How to design the perfect click: A guide to tactile feedback in industrial keypads

6. February 2025

When was the last time you pressed a button and thought, “That feels just right”? In industrial keypads, whether for electronic devices, machinery, or safety-critical equipment, tactile feedback plays a key role in how users interact with your product. But what exactly makes a button feel right? And how do you specify "a feeling"? Or how do you design that perfect click?

Download design guide to tactile feedback

Tactile feedback isn’t just about how a button feels—it’s essential for safe operation, precision, and user satisfaction in industrial control panels and devices. This guide gives you a practical overview of and design guidelines for:

types of clicks in an industrial keypad
main types of tactile keypad constructions
factors essential for good tactile feedback
practical decision making guide for different end use cases

Download design guide to tactile feedback

Water-resistant silicone rubber keypad - reliable controlling in rugged environments

What makes a click in a keypad?

The first decision about button design is made with the type of "click component". The actual physical part that make the click possible. We group them into four main categories:

	Metal domes - ideal for thin constructions in silicone and membrane switch keypads
	Tactile switches - used in keypads with PCBs as electric circuits
	Carbon pills - made with an actuation pin in silicone keypads
	Polydomes - embossed structures in membrane switch keypads for compact design

Which one is right for your project? The answer depends on your use case, required durability, and user experience goals—which we break down further in the guide.

Four factors of tactile feedback

To design the best possible keypad experience, we break tactile feedback into four essential design factors:

	Force: the resistance felt when pressing a button, which is crucial for preventing accidental presses in industrial control panels.
	Travel: the distance a button moves before activation—important when choosing the right keypad construction for your device.
	Snap ratio: the change in resistance that creates the “click,” influencing both feel and user experience.
	Audio: the sound produced when the button is pressed, which can be adjusted for audible or silent tactile feedback depending on the environment.

How do you know which combination is right for your product? Download our hands-on guide with comparison tables, decision-making steps, and real-world examples to specify the best tactile feedback for your device easier and faster.

Step by step guide to decision making

Here’s an example of how the design guide helps you define the best keypad solution based on your specific requirements.

Scenario: Keypad for Construction Tools

Requirements to keypad: Used on a construction site, operated with gloves, must have a good click, front mounted keypad, housing recess 2 mm

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Tactile feedback specifications: Multilevel button design, raised keys, high levels of audio feedback, activation force, and snap ratio; thin construction

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Solution: a silicone rubber keypad with metal domes to achieve a thin construction, a satisfying click feel, and distinct key shapes with clear audio and tactile feedback.

Want to see how other scenarios play out? Get the full overview and more specific cases in the PDF guide.