The Ultimate Sourcing Guide: Intelligent Key Cabinet
How does key cabinet work?
When an authorized employee wants to get a particular key or keyset from the smart key cabinet, he or she must first authenticate his/her identity to gain access — using a PIN, badge, fingerprint, face recognition, or other biometric forms. User and key data will be logged in real-time for viewing in reports.
Manufacturing Process of Key Cabinet
We have in-house designers and experienced engineers to provide design for manufacturability and engineering assistance for your OEM and ODM projects. All of our products can be designed around your needs. Our engineer team has helped develop hundreds of Structural designs of the key cabinet that address even the most complicated specifications, is available to assist with every aspect of the design process.
This is what we do when it comes to making intelligent key cabinets:
Design
Custom panel layout and key spacing is available to accommodate multiple key types. Lockers can also be individualized based on your requested dimensions. All designs are created based on a set of pre-specified sheet metal design considerations and including tolerances that ensure products are fabricated with precision to exact specifications.
Engineering
Our engineer uses the SolidWorks© CAD software to perfectly model and unfolds newly-designed parts for future fabrication. Solid modeling transfer designs to metal quickly and accurately, as well as identify potential manufacturing problems at the design stage. This means any errors are corrected before parts are fabricated, saving time and money.
Sheet Metal Processing
After the engineer provides the finished drawing to our factory, the machined components process begins. This process generally includes laser cutting, bending, deburring, welding, punching, and other sheet metal working. The entire production process is supported by advanced digital software. These machines are programmed by CNC systems and are available 24/7.
Finishing
Unlike most smart key cabinet manufacturers, our factory has the ability to handle finishing operations for manufacture metal parts in-house, such as sheet metal powder coating and additional metal finishing services. This allows us to better control quality, cost, and lead times, ensuring quality and consistency, while simplifying your procurement process.
Assembly and Test
All processed components are assembled in our factory, a cabinet holding 200 keys usually only takes 1-2 working days to assemble. Once assembled, we conduct a complete functional, performance and diagnostic test of each key cabinet to ensure the desired functionality is available.
Which card reader do you need?
An important feature of the intelligent key cabinet is that the system automatically records user and key data, displays the real-time status of the key in the software, and generates event reports.
User and key data collection are supported by RFID technology. Employee cards and key fobs are embedded with RFID tags inside to store information that is collected and uploaded into the system via a card reader mounted on the key cabinet.
The choice of reader type depends on the type of your employee card. In order to save your budget, we provide a card reader that suits you, which means that the card reader installed on the key cabinet may not be a full-featured card reader unless there is a need for a full-featured card reader.
Please contact us and let us know your card type before purchasing a key cabinet. According to the card type, we judge which card reader is suitable for you, and if necessary, you can also send us a sample of the card for us to test. In past successful custom projects, we have used card readers that allow users to read almost any 125 kHz, 134.2 kHz, and 13.56 MHz tags and/or labels. It supports major card types from various suppliers like Mifare Classic, Mifare Ultralight, Mifare DESFire, HID, EM cards, and ISO standards like ISO14443A/B (T=CL), ISO15693, ISO18092/ECMA-340 (NFC). Our key fob uses the 125kHz operating frequency by default, and you can also customize the 13.56MHz frequency according to the project requirements.
6 Things to Consider Before Purchasing a Key Cabinet
An important feature of the intelligent key cabinet is that the system automatically records user and key data, displays the real-time status of the key in the software, and generates event reports.
User and key data collection are supported by RFID technology. Employee cards and key fobs are embedded with RFID tags inside to store information that is collected and uploaded into the system via a card reader mounted on the key cabinet.
The choice of reader type depends on the type of your employee card. In order to save your budget, we provide a card reader that suits you, which means that the card reader installed on the key cabinet may not be a full-featured card reader unless there is a need for a full-featured card reader.
Please contact us and let us know your card type before purchasing a key cabinet. According to the card type, we judge which card reader is suitable for you, and if necessary, you can also send us a sample of the card for us to test. In past successful custom projects, we have used card readers that allow users to read almost any 125 kHz, 134.2 kHz, and 13.56 MHz tags and/or labels. It supports major card types from various suppliers like Mifare Classic, Mifare Ultralight, Mifare DESFire, HID, EM cards, and ISO standards like ISO14443A/B (T=CL), ISO15693, ISO18092/ECMA-340 (NFC). Our key fob uses the 125kHz operating frequency by default, and you can also customize the 13.56MHz frequency according to the project requirements.
Check the number of keys you have and choose a key cabinet of the right size that can hold those keys efficiently.
Consider your security needs and make sure the key cabinet manufacturer can meet them.
- Do you need a password to control key access?
- Do you need more advanced biometrics?
- Which type of card reader can read your card correctly?
- Do you need multi-authentication features to protect your keys?
- Does the system automatically send an alarm email if the key is not returned?
- Do you need real-time key tracking?
- Do you need to remotely control your key cabinet?
- Do you need to check reports on your smartphone anytime?
Indoor or outdoor? Does the key cabinet need to be waterproof and dustproof?
If your number of keys unexpectedly increases, you may need a key management system that is extremely scalable.
Software is an important part of the key control management system. The following questions guide you in choosing the right software:
- How many users does the software allow to add?
- What permissions are allowed for administrators and users?
- How many keys can a user take out at the same time?
- Can keys be reserved?
- Can administrator limit key usage time?
- Is there a warning function?
- Are reports protected against tampering?
- What formats are the reports exported in?
If you want to do integration, you may need to discuss more with your supplier on API, integration methods, legacy system requirements, etc. for more information.
Estimated sale price
All the money paid to Landwell for the purchase of their products is secure. Below is an outline of costs you will incur:
- Design Fee: Pay a small fee for consultation of any designs you want for your key cabinets at. If you want to customize a special shape, function or appearance of the cabinet, this is not completely free, we will be based on your specific needs, order quantity, to assess the production cost for you to quote.
- Shipping Fee: This is the amount of money that you will pay for the transportation of your products from the factory to your doorstep. Landwell offers you the convenience of any kind.
- Miscellaneous Fee: It is any other fees relating to taxes, service fees, penalties, and late fees. They are usually low-cost amounts.
- Sample Product Fee: Pay a minimal amount in case you need a sample coconut bowl. Well, this money is for a single sample, if it is one that you need. With several samples, you’ll pay a bit more.
- 30% T/T Fee: You can decide to either pay the full amount or pay 30% of the full payment for the wholesale.
- 70% Final Fee: Complete your payment within a certain period and receive the products you ordered for.
Estimated manufacturing and shipping times
We work fast. With the increasing number of customers approaching us, we have no other option but to prioritize speed. Let’s look at the whole process of manufacturing and shipping:
- Design and manufacturing time: Designers design key cabinet structures according to custom needs. We do 3D proofing in the factory, then product, assemble and test. This is the most time-consuming part, but we want to ensure the quality of the product, so it’s worth the extra time.
- Packing and boxing all products time: The staff packs the products in cartons or wooden bag. They take a short time because it is an easy task.
- Custom clearance and loading time: The staff load the products onto Landwell vans, and once cleared, drivers then transport them to various dispatch points.
- Sea and land transportation time: Once the products arrive at their destination, you will receive an alert. You can plan how to collect your shipped goods. On one occasion, it took only 3 days for our German customers to receive the product.