“There’s always room for a Mini-Console” is the comment we hear most often. Corporate Project Engineers, who need a one-small-size-fits-anywhere solution, add that the Mini-Console is “...great for multi-plant deployment projects where site surveys aren’t always practical”. The low, console-height design provides a clear line-of-sight of the process. The tilted back display and slightly angled keyboard are ergonomically optimized for the standing operator. Small and simple, the Mini-Console is also easy
to deploy.

Touchscreen Technologies
Resistive Touchscreen
(for 90% of all touchscreen applications)
The resistive touchscreen uses a glass panel overlay with a uniform resistive coating. A polyester coversheet is tightly suspended over the top of the glass, separated by small, transparent insulating dots. The coversheet has a hard durable coating on the outer side and a conductive coating on the inner side. When the screen is touched, the conductive coating makes electrical contact with the coating on the glass. The voltages produced are the analog representation of the position touched. The controller digitizes these voltages and transmits them to the computer for processing.

Surface Acoustic Wave Touchscreen (available for 15.1", 19.1" displays)
(best optical clarity)
The Surface Acoustic Wave Touchscreen has a glass overlay with a grid of transmitting and receiving piezoelectric transducers. The touchscreen controller sends a 5 mHz electrical signal to the transmitting transducer,which converts the signal into ultrasonic waves within the glass. When the screen is touched, a portion of the wave traveling across it is absorbed, thus changing the received signal. The signal is then compared to a stored reference signal, the change recognized, and a coordinate calculated. The process happens independently for both the X and Y axes. By measuring the amount of the signal that is absorbed, a Z-axis is determined.

Infrared Touchscreen
(for applications where touchscreen is exposed to extreme abuse)
The Infrared Touchscreen relies on the interruption of an IR light grid in front of the display screen. Integrated into the display bezel is an opto-matrix frame that contains a row of IR-light emitting diodes (LEDs) and photo transistors, each mounted on two opposite sides to create a grid of invisible infrared light.The opto-matrix frame is isolated from the outside environment by an IR transparent barrier. The IR controller sequentially pulses the LEDs to create a grid of IR light beams. When a stylus, such as a finger, enters the grid, it obstructs the beams. One or more of the phototransistors detects the absence of light and transmits a signal that is the X and Y coordinates. Because the infrared scanning is done in front of the display, a bulletproof, 3/8" thick polycarbonate window is installed between the IR grid and the display itself. This window provides a level of environmental protection for the electronics that is unique to the infrared touchscreen technology.

Projected Capacitive Touchscreen (available for 17.1" and 19.1" displays)
(safest for all hazardous area applications)
The Projected Capacitive touchscreen uses a capacitive field that works through 4mm of thermally toughened glass. This not only protects the sensitive electronics from exposure to the harsh environment outside of the enclosure, but unlike other capacitive touchscreens, will operate through many gloves. The electronic controller effectively divides the screen into sensing cells using micro-fine wires that are embedded into the outer glass, which is thermally toughened to withstand impact. These wires are connected to the touchscreen controller circuitry, and an oscillation frequency is established for each wire. Touching the glass causes a change in frequency of the wires at that particular point, the position of which is calculated and identified by the controller. The controller then outputs the x-y touch coordinate via a Serial or USB communication link. In most applications, a polyester anti-glare overlay is bonded to the outer surface to ensure that any breakage is contained in order to meet the requirements for food manufacturing and some pharmaceutical manufacturing. The polyester overlay can be omitted, upon request, when ordered.
The Projected Capacitive touchscreen is our most durable and vandal-proof offering.

Click here to view the Touchscreen Comparison Chart