Paramount Panels (UK)
With over 50 years continuance experience in the design and manufacture of lighting components and edge-lit panels, Paramount Panels is a world class leading supplier to the aerospace and defence industries.
Aircraft Control Panels, Illuminated Control Panels and
Integrally Illuminated Light Plates
We specialise in new applications and in support of our customers, offer a free technical consultancy service from concept design and prototypes to the manufacture of production quantities. Flexibility is a key feature of our organisation and, as a result, we are able to produce prototypes, small batches as low as a one off, and larger quantities at very competitive prices. A further service we are able to offer is the design and manufacture of sub-assemblies which, typically, comprise the lightplate together with its’ associated components such as rotary and toggle switches, potentiometers, displays, control knobs and electronic interfaces systems. Where appropriate EMC screening can also be incorporated if required.
Our modern manufacturing and processing facilities include cad/cam modelling, laser engraving and screen-printing, photo-etching and off-set printing. Computerised light balancing and a comprehensive range of photometric devices ensures that compliance with the most demanding specifications.
PPUK technology covers all of the integrally lit panel systems currently employed in military and civil applications and offers a wide choice of light sources including Incandescent, LED and electroluminescent plates. All of our products can be supplied for compliance to the exacting demands for night vision, NVIS and NVG applications.
The main base line specification covering this type of product is SAE-AS7788 (formally MIL-P-7788) and we offer a full range of products to cover, typically type III, IV, V, V1 and VII and classifications classes from 1-R to class 1-NVIS.
In many applications integral annunciators are required within our panels, this technology we have become experts in, and we supply secret until lit annunciators, that are sun light readable meeting the requirements of MIL-S-22885. Our technology in this field is second to none, with custom processing techniques that produce a totally flat integration.
Our quality procedures are governed by an extensive range of approvals that include:
BS EN ISO 9001:2008 and CAA-EASA Part 21, Subpart G.
NVIS and Night Vision Lighting, Post Lights, Instrument Lighting Bridges, Pillar Lamps and Lighting Bezels
PPUK is a global leader in the field of NVG compatible lighting and designs and manufactures a range of products, which cover all aspects of this application. These include edge lit control panels (lightlpates), Keyboards, Post or Pillar lamps, instrument bezels, switch bezels, cockpit utility lights and general lighting components.
In-house computerised radiospectrometers and light balancing equipment ensures that this range of products is fully compliant with the requirements of the military standard (MIL-STD-3009 & MIL-L-85762) that covers NVIS applications.
NVIS and NVG Compatible, Illuminated Panels, Avionic Panels and Aircraft Key Bezels
With our extremely long relationship with the aerospace industry PPUK have gained the position of being a world leader and a specialist in NVIS lighting applications, and we offer a comprehensive service for night vision compatible illuminated edge lit control panels and assemblies.
Our engineers are always contactable for free advise, and we are well known through industry for our excellent customer service.
Another option and service we offer is the ability to convert standard illuminated panels to a NVIS lighting standard, and if required incorporate indicia changes and refurbish the original panel to a new look standard.
Keyboard Switch Panel and Illuminated Keyboards
Our designs within this product sector have been proven in many demanding environments and include aerospace, marine and fighting vehicle applications where our technology has met and frequently exceeded our customer’s expectations.
Keyboard designs are normally required to be backlit and often specify the inclusion of integral annunciators; where necessary these can be “sun-light readable” and “secret-until-lit”. Any of the lighting systems specified in AS 7788 is available for the illumination of keys, panel text and annunciators and, if required, a mixture of light sources can be incorporated in a single design. For example, incandescent filament lamps and light emitting diodes. We also offer the ability to allow for similar dimming characteristics between LED and incandescent lighting sources within the panel assembly.
The relatively simplicity of our designs ensures a high degree of reliability and offers a variety of switch actions and key options. In most cases, the comprehensive range of injection moulded key caps that we have already tooled will satisfy most requirements and thus a fast low cost turn-round. We can work from our customers finalised drawings and specifications or, alternatively, we are pleased to make available engineering expertise and advise in order to develop the best solution to satisfy the requirement.
Annunciator and Indicator Display Panels
One of our recent technical innovations has been the introduction of “sun-light readable secret until-lit annunciators completely housed within the thickness of the lightplate. This system contributes to a totally flush front panel surface and in the un-illuminated condition, the annunciators can be rendered indistinguishable from the surrounding area. Among other applications, this unique integrated flat face panel technology is ideally suited to Advisory displays. Employing appropriate lighting sources and filters, a range of chromaticity requirements, including NVIS as specified in MIL-STD-3009 can be achieved. The construction of our annunciator and indicator display panels is generally based on the mechanical and environmental requirements detailed in AS 7788.
Transilluminated Control Knobs
Although primarily a manufacture, Paramount Panels (UK) has recently become the European distributor for Electronic Hardware Corporation - probably the world’s largest manufacture of control knobs. Thus, we are able to offer an extremely comprehensive range of knobs many of which are held in stock. In other instances, we are always willing to acquire any necessary stocks and to deliver these in accordance with our customer’s schedule. The EHC ranges of control knobs complement the “DEF-STAN” range of knobs that we have manufactured for many years and which remain readily available. In the event that a requirement for a non standard control knob arises, the combined expertise of EHC and Paramount Panels will ensure a solution at low cost.
