OKW: Smart New Backlighting Option Customized Plastic Enclosures

OKW has added a special new machining service for LED backlighting to its enclosure customization options – enabling electronics designers to overcome the ingress protection issues associated with fitting LEDs and/or light pipes to a housing’s front panel.

This smart new solution offers designers the opportunity to add extra visual cachet to their devices. It is ideal for displaying numbers and letters in a wide range of electronics applications – particularly where dust or water ingress is a risk.

The backlighting has a soft, subtle glow. Numbers or letters appear only during illumination. At other times, they disappear: the lighting is invisible – no LEDs can be seen because they are mounted below the surface of the panel. Ingress protection is maintained in accordance with the enclosure’s designated IP rating.

OKW enables the backlighting effect by machining small indentations into the underside of a panel. Beneath these indentations LEDs can then be assembled according to the customer’s configuration. The indentations are thin enough to let light from the LEDs pass through the plastic. But neither the LEDs nor the indentations are visible when the illumination is off.

Backlighting is perfect for models such as OKW’s SMART-PANEL (shown in the example), a slim and discreet wall-mount enclosure for building control systems, smart homes, offices, IoT/IIoT, measuring, healthcare, laboratories and security technology.

The new backlighting option is part of OKW’s extensive range of modification services, which include CNC machining, printing, laser marking, decor foils, RFI/EMI shielding and installation/assembly of accessories. Lacquering and special materials can also be specified.

More information about LED backlighting from OKW