Metatron specializes in the design and manufacture of Marine Keypads, Membrane Keypads, Capacitive Keypads, Piezoelectric Keypads, Silicone Keypads, and Silicone and Polyester Actuation Buttons.
For the marine industry, specifically, the company offers Carbon and Stainless Steel Piezoelectric Keypads, Outdoor Polyester Membrane Keypads, and Silicone Buttons, ensuring innovative solutions for boat control panels and advanced durable marine electronics.
Customer Services
For each project, Metatron can develop an ad hoc product according to the needs of the case. Customers can take advantage of a co-engineering service during the development and design phase of on-board instrumentation or boat control panels for use outside the vessel.
In addition, the company provides assistance in the assembly phase of the equipment, and after-sales support linked to a 12-month warranty.
Solutions for Boats of All Functions and Sizes
Metatron’s target covers shipyards with even very different characteristics. Its products, in fact, can be implemented on any type of boat, regardless of function and size. They can be had in a variety of configurations: from simple 3-button Marine Keypads on dinghies to more complex systems on structured yachts.
From both a practical and aesthetic point of view, the solutions offered replace classic pushbuttons or bulky and obsolete switches with waterproof keypads that improve functionality and durability.
The keyboards in detail
Metatron’s keyboards can be coated with any material: for example, steel, carbon, wood, or aluminum. Regardless of the type of coating used, the keyboard always has a touch effect that sets it apart. In particular, the IP68 waterproof keypads feature a dielectric resin potting, enabling their use even off-board: for example, on ladders for ascending from the sea.
This completely waterproof technology ensures the highest level of performance, meeting the demand for durable marine electronics in extreme environments.
Recently, Metatron has patented the invention “SEALING CASING FOR ELECTRICAL CIRCUITS AND SYSTEMS”. This is an innovative watertight enclosure aimed at sealing and thus insulating electrical circuits from external agents that can compromise their integrity. The enclosure has an insulation rating of IP68, given by the direct welding of its monolithic structure to the boat’s hull.
This is a new product, so far implemented on just a few boats. However, it has already gathered positive feedback, as: it is at the same time attractive and functional; it is able to solve problems of water, salt and dust infiltration; it protects against overheating caused by oxidation and, consequently, by short circuits.
General Background
The normative need for specific requirements for electrical installations on board boats stems from the particularity of the environments and applications of electrical installations referred to in the standard, e.g., major fire consequences, electrical hazards, environmental influences, and particularly severe mechanical stresses.
At the current state of the art, most switches and controls on board, turn out to be easily subject to water, salt and dust infiltration; such external agents can easily corrode electrical circuits causing short circuits and fires. The purpose of Metatron’s patented product, therefore, is to prevent such infiltration, limiting the deterioration of circuits and systems.
Flexibility and insulation capability
The structure of the housing is suitable to be superimposed on the electrical circuits of the controls and switches of any boat or ship. The product achieves an insulation rating of IP68, which is useful in preserving said electrical circuits by limiting their replacement, as well as ensuring the reliability required for vessels that spend months at sea.
Touch Screen
The monolithic piezoelectric structure of the watertight housing ensures the management of utilities through “touch screen,” taking advantage of the elastic deformation of the structure itself when subjected to an electrical voltage. The user’s touch can, for example, adjust the brightness and fractionate the operation of each utility or on-board control by taking advantage of finger dragging; the housing is thus a voltage regulator that surpasses the old switches equipped only with ON/OFF control.
Materials
In one form of its realization, the monolithic structure is made from an aluminum foil, having a thickness that varies in the range of 0.3 to 0.5 millimeters, providing strength but at the same time the flexibility to transmit the user’s touch to the circuits. Alternatively, the monolithic structure can be made of wood, employing a panel at least 2 millimeters thick, deformed to allow for proper installation.
The keys
Various engravings on the piezoelectric material highlight the presence of a plurality of keys: each key identifies a precise function performed by the electrical circuits housed inside, and can be backlit with an LED light. The keys are then further painted to enable quick and intuitive use of the case. Alternatively, the keys can be highlighted through the use of previously printed stickers.
