OEM: Sony Ericsson, England, London Year: 2008 Industry sector: Keypads for mobile phones, PDAs, remote controls, pocket calculators

Part design:

Sony Ericsson’s W950i Walkman® smart phone boasts a particularly innovative feature. The flat keypad is seamlessly integrated into the housing of the UMTS phone, which also incorporates a digital music player and a large touchscreen. We worked closely with Sony Ericsson to develop this new, sophisticated housing design. The two partners finally came up with a design that uses three materials from Bayer MaterialScience and is manufactured using a combination of film insert molding (FIM) and soft/hard technology. Firstly, a Bayfol® CR film is printed, formed, and punched to create a film insert. A rigid frame made of Bayblend® (PC + ABS) is then integrally molded onto the film. After this, in a second cavity, the keypad is back-injected with a flexible Desmopan® thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) to form its additional functional elements and stabilize the film. Bayfol® CR is used because it is particularly resistant to chemicals and easy to print and form.