Custom Industrial Keyboard: Case Study of a Hungarian Layout with Touchpad and Numeric Keypad

“Take it or leave it!” Who hasn’t heard this phrase when faced with what was available? If you’re hungry, you eat; otherwise, we’ll see you tomorrow. For today’s teenagers, this is a rare expression, but if your age starts with 3, 4 or 5, it has certainly happened to you. We could go on with “This house is not a hotel” and many others, but the fact is that during our youth we were definitely less spoiled than we are with our own children today. Do you agree? End of story…

This is just to lead into what we really need to talk about in this article. Today, buying a standard industrial keyboard is easy, but what happens when your production line requires non-standard specifications for specific, rather unconventional uses?

We know that the usual answer is often: “It’s not in the catalogue, it can’t be done.” Or companies are forced to accept penalising compromises, such as incorrect language layouts, excessive dimensions or components that are poorly protected against wear.

In this case study, we look at how we solved a seemingly complex order for a Hungarian company, creating a custom solution where other (Hungarian) suppliers had stopped.

The Customer’s Challenge: Hungarian Layout and Dual Pointing System

The customer, a manufacturing company based in Hungary, had a precise requirement for their workstations:

Full protection: the need for a completely sealed and waterproof keyboard, suitable for resisting dust, residues and frequent sanitisation with liquids.

1. Local language layout: the Hungarian language layout was essential to ensure typing speed and accuracy for local operators.
2. Limited space at the workstation: the need to have both a large pointing touchpad and a numeric keypad for frequent entry of codes and batches, without being able to add external mice or separate peripherals.

Despite searching their national market, the customer had NOT been able to source a silicone industrial keyboard with a Hungarian layout that integrated both a touchpad and a numeric keypad in a single compact body.

Our Solution: Custom Silicone Technology

After analysing the customer’s technical specifications and dimensional constraints, we engineered and configured a dedicated batch of custom peripherals:

• Sealed silicone body: fully waterproof and dustproof structure, with no mechanical gaps to prevent liquid ingress and facilitate daily cleaning.
• Native Hungarian layout: native key printing and mapping to eliminate typing errors and maintain operator efficiency.
• 2-in-1 touchpad with integrated numeric keypad: a large touch surface that, with the simple press of a dedicated key, instantly transforms into a touch-sensitive numeric keypad.
• USB plug-and-play interface: immediate installation without the need for dedicated drivers or modifications to line software.

Thanks to this architecture, the customer obtained the ergonomics of two separate tools in the space of one, eliminating loose cables and external mice prone to breakage.

The Value of Industrial Customisation

The vision we have at Tastiereindustriali.com is that it should not be the operator who has to adapt to the standard commercial keyboard, but the peripheral that must conform to the operating environment. This is why we work hard to ensure that every application finds its specific solution, striving to meet every request from our customers, even those that appear to be the most complex.

In this case, we had two (almost three):

• Hungarian layout;
• Large touchpad and integrated numeric keypad.

We guide the customer in choosing the configuration of each keyboard using four fundamental parameters:

• Special layouts and languages: international configurations, specific characters or keys with custom symbols.
• Integrated pointing devices: mechanical or optical trackballs for use with gloves, capacitive touchpads, industrial joysticks or Hula Point pointers.
• Dedicated materials: food-grade or medical silicone, IK10 anti-vandal stainless steel, high-resistance ABS or tempered glass.
• Mechanical integration: desktop, rear-panel or front-recessed versions.

The construction flexibility that we at Tastiereindustriali.com have in accommodating customer requests allows them to reduce indirect costs due to operational slowdowns, data entry errors and frequent replacements.

Do You Have a Specific Requirement for Your Workstations?

Whether it’s a rare language layout, special functions or complex space constraints, we can configure and produce the right keyboard for your line.

Send us your application specifications, indicating:

• Operating environment (presence of water, dust, chemicals or oils).
• Required language layout.
• Pointing devices and accessories needed.
• Mounting type or maximum dimensions.

Contact us for a personalised technical consultation:

• Phone: +39 0429 653281
• Email: info@tastiereindustriali.com

P.S. We have recently published an article/guide on choosing industrial keyboards. Do you think you have particular or difficult-to-solve requirements? Start here: https://www.tastiereindustriali.com/en/module/zeroblog/zpost?id_post=44