Which tactile button is the best?
I tested 3 different buttons with each a different operating force (how hard you have to press for it to work):
- 0,98 Newton
- 1,47 Newton
- 2,88 Newton
- 4,9 Newton
I went for the 2,88N. The lightest two could unintentionally be pressed (especially the 0,98N one). 2,88N definitely requires some more pressure which makes it very probable that it was an intended push action, but still light enough to make it relatively easy to press. The 4,9n one required too much pressure in my opinion.
I went with buttons from OMRON, a Japanese company with dependances in the EU, because they have a long lifecycle (tested at at least 100,000 presses) and offer a wide range of button caps which I will be using in the prototype (and if they work well and look nice, maybe even in the final product).