Developing and producing a custom remote control for a new product can be a daunting task. There are many different suppliers in the USA, Europe, and Asia with various capabilities, products and limitations. How do you determine what you need and what supplier you would like to work with? This is the first article of a series to help understand the world of remote controls, to better define product requirements, and explain the product development and production process.
Celadon is an OEM manufacturer of custom remote control and receiver products. Our products are split into three different categories, based on order quantity and customization options required for any given remote control or receiver project. Clearly defined product requirements and specifications will help to define which product category will most closely meet the client’s needs.
Fully Custom Products – New Plastic Tooling and PCB Development
For clients with unique product requirements or specific functionality, Celadon can design and fabricate custom injection molds to produce a unique remote control, receiver, or related product. Custom tooling is commonly used for applications where the remote control is the primary user interface and a specific design aesthetic or particular functionality is required. In some cases, a specific key layout or key size and shape is required. An LCD screen or USB port could be integrated into a new design. Celadon can provide industrial design and mechanical engineering services for custom tooling, work with our customer’s design team, or even refer our customers to local industrial designers for more advanced design support. Rapid prototyping technologies can be utilized to provide 3D printed samples for initial review and evaluation, before the start of tool fabrication. CAD drawings and 3D files will be supplied for final review and approval.
Along with the new enclosure, Celadon will design and produce the matching circuit board (PCB) for the new product. The PCB would be designed, using industry-standard practices, to provide the required functionality using components that are readily available and cost-effective. The circuit schematic and bill of material (BOM) will be shared with the customer for review and approval. The microcontroller (MCU) would be programmed to meet the product specifications and samples would be provided to the customer for final approval, before the start of mass production.
For radio frequency (RF) products, Celadon can provide EMC testing and certification through our lab partners in the USA and Korea for FCC, IC, CE, and other regulatory standards.
More information on custom tooling and PCB development can be found here: https://celadon.com/custom-tooling-pcb-development/
Here is an example of several different fully custom remote controls that we have produced for clients:
Semi-Custom OEM Remote Controls and Receivers
Our OEM product line has more than 50 different standard remote control and receiver enclosures. These products can all be customized, both by functionality and appearance, for a variety of applications. Most enclosures can support infrared (IR) or radio frequency (RF) transmission protocols, including Bluetooth, ZigBee, Z-Wave, LoRaWAN, Matter, NFC, Thread, or other proprietary protocols. Cosmetic customization options include different plastic colors, multiple keypad colors, printing text, icons, or other graphics, on the keypad, overlay, or plastic enclosure. A keypad overlay is used to label the functions of keys and mask off unused keys to create a custom key layout. A full list of customization options can be found on our website at: https://celadon.com/design-options/
Our OEM receiver products range from simple external sensors to more sophisticated serial or USB devices. The transmission protocol (Infrared or Radio Frequency), cable length, and connector type can be specified, based on the product requirements. Custom product labels can be provided and artwork can be screen-printed on most enclosures.
For radio frequency (RF) products, Celadon can provide EMC testing and certification through our lab partners in the USA and Korea for FCC, IC, CE, and other regulatory standards. Most OEM products have a 1,000 unit minimmum order quantity. All of our OEM remote control and receiver products can seen on our website here: https://celadon.com/oem-products/
Here is an example of various OEM versions of the SC-33 remote control:
Low Volume Remote Controls
Celadon has a small product line of “low volume products”, which are mostly pre-programmed remote control and receivers that have minimal customization options. All of the remote controls use a keypad overlay, which is a polyester or mylar label, and sits on the remote control’s surface and has holes cut out for the buttons that will be used on the remote control. The overlay allows for keypad customization, labeling the functions of the buttons used, as well as removing any unused buttons from the key layout. In most cases, the client would be responsible for “final assembly”, which would require cutting the unused rubber buttons from the keypad and attaching the overlay to the front of the remote control. Celadon can also provide final assembly services for a separate fee.
Our line of low volume receivers includes simple external receivers for decoding an IR signal (RCV-1000), IR to USB Receivers (RCV-3000), and IR to RS232 Receivers (RCV-5000).
All of our low volume remote control and receiver products do not have any minimum order quantity. Quantities as low as 1 can be purchase. All of our low volume products can be seen on our website here: https://celadon.com/low-volume-products/
Here are some examples of the BW-7070 remote control with a custom overlay:
Celadon has created a line of products for smaller volume requirements and semi-custom products, which can be easily adapted for a variety of applications, as well as resources to provide completely custom products. Celadon provides free consultation services to discuss any new Infrared, Radio Frequency, or custom product development projects.
Please complete the Contact Us form on our website and a representative will contact you. https://celadon.com/contact-us/