[PLUG] Touch screen experience

Aaron Burt aaron at bavariati.org
Mon Aug 13 21:49:40 UTC 2012


On Mon, Aug 13, 2012 at 01:00:26PM -0700, Wayne E. Van Loon Sr. wrote:
> Anybody out there had any experience using a touch screen as a 
> replacement for mechanical pushbutton switches?
> 
> This would be a touch screen upon which an operator would press one of 
> several on-screen "buttons" depending upon the quality / grade of 
> products in an inspection area.

Sounds like a typical touchscreen HMI setup.  Sorry, didn't get that far in
my Industrial Controls training, and I don't have contact info handy for my
old instructor.

The impression I get (from reading lots of engineering magazines) is that
touch screens are used for occasional inputs, or ones that can be repeated
if the touch screen fails to register-- e.g. selecting info screens,
tweaking parameters or starting a process.

This would make sense, given the limited wear-resistance of touchscreens
as well as their poor performance with gloves and dirty hands.

For high-use and/or high-importance inputs, physical switches still rule.




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