# [SOLVED] Laminator Control Pad



## barakandl (Jan 22, 2008)

Here at work we have a laminator GBC Heatseal 350, and the stop button is not working correctly. Slowly overtime the button started requiring a lot more pressure to work. Now when you press the stop button it will just change the speed to some random number. I have taken it apart a few times and wiped off the contact on the board and for a day or 2 the button works better but progressively gets worse again. 

I have taken a picture of the laminators key pad. It is a rubberized buttons that come down and make contact with the pad's circuit board. 

Anyone have any ideas to repair this? Because of budget concerns i can not order a new laminator until the next year and this gets a lot of use.


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## DonaldG (Aug 23, 2007)

*Re: Laminator Control Pad*

Hi & Welcome to TSF :wave:

This seems to be a case of a well worn keypad. . I have come across this particular problem several times. The cause is pressing the keys with ever increasing pressure(Quite understandable when a key press is giving problems.)

If you inspect the underneath of the rubber keys, you will probably see that they are darkish. This is a conductive material which wears off over time. I do not know if there is any commercial 'conductive paint/ink' available to repair it with, HOWEVER:-

I have repaired various keypads using the following technique. You will need a sheet of self adhesive aluminium foil (Try a central heating shop - it is often used to put behind radiators to reflect heat)

Take the keypad apart again.

First you will need to very carefully clean the Printed Circuit Board (PCB). Take a clean cloth dampened with a touch of industrial alcohol and carefully wipe/clean all of the small patches within the white circles. (The one marked OFF looks as if there is a build up of material between the meander track.) Once you have cleaned it, put it to one side and make sure that no dust or foreign matter can settle on the PCB.

This is the second part where you have to make a decision on how much to do. If the other buttons on the keyboard are working satisfactorily, then DO NOT touch them. Only work on the faulty pads.

Place the rubber keypad and clean ONLY the problematic key/s with industrial alcohol. Do not be tempted to clean the other pads with the alcohol as it could clean off the conductive coating, rendering them problematic too.

With a sharp knife or pair of scissors, cut a small piece of aluminium foil *no bigger* than the keypad/s the carefully remove the protective cover from the sticky side and place the aluminium on the keypad. Make sure that the foil does not protrude beyond the keypad. Firm the foil down onto the pad.

Make sure that no dust etc on the foil or other keypads and re-assemble.

From now on only use a light pressure to actuate the contact. Heavy pressure will only aggravate the condition.

As a point of interest, I have repaired several telephone keypads using this technique. Some of them needing very tiny snippets of aluminium foil.

It helps to have a magnifier and a pair of tweezers and a steady hand.

I hope that helps...


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## barakandl (Jan 22, 2008)

*Re: Laminator Control Pad*

Thank you for your input i got it working great! For some reason i did not realize the problem was with the rubber button and not the circuit board. You saved officemax 350 bucks.

Thanks again

Andrew


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## DonaldG (Aug 23, 2007)

*Re: Laminator Control Pad*

GREAT! You can send my commission to......:grin:

Glad to help...:wave:


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