Today I found out you can get custom keypads like custom PCBs

Relatively inexpensive - you can custome design a keypad and have them made, just like you get PCBs made. What an idea for a control panel - and not just the switches, they can embed LEDs in them! The main cost is the tooling, but that’s a one time charge, they actual keypads are pretty cheap. So the idea would be to deisng a puzzle piece sort of thing and have dozens made, then fit them together as needed. It doesn;t make a whole lot of senst to say draw up your whole ayrd and make one big membrane keypad - that would cost a fortune.

This video from Dave Jones talks about it and mentions one such manufacturer that he has used.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8XBBfvsPj0

–Randy

yep … as you say most of the cost is in the tooling, the first design …

i use allpcb for what i need, flexible is a bit more than rigid, but not much …

most of the time i just use off the shelf matrix’s with a pretty simple membrane overlay, nothing special, and cheap on ebay … especially numeric keypads … and in small quantities, less than a dozen each