With so may new technologies available in the ruggedized display space, clients often as us about what is best. The answer is, whatever meets your particular needs. Of course, that requires mapping your use case to the options currently available.
Below is a quick guide to help you get started.
Screen Options
There are multiple types of display screens, suitable for different use cases.
- Why Choose Resistive Touchscreens
Resistive touchscreens are the most common and most cost-effective choice for industrial automation applications. One benefit of resistive touchscreens is that they can be used with gloved hands. Resistive touchscreen sizes are available to accommodate LCD sizes up to 24”.
- Why Choose Projected Capacitive Touchscreens
Projected capacitive touchscreens (PCAP touchscreens) are slightly more rugged, as they include a glass substrate, where resistive touchscreens have a polyester layer. The glass substrate is a harder material and therefore less susceptible to scratching than a resistive touchscreen.
PCAP touchscreens also include support for multiple touch points. This is required for applications that use multi-touch gesturing features like pinch, zoom, and rotate. PCAP touchscreens can be calibrated for use with thin latex gloves, though they are most commonly used in applications where bare hands or a stylus is being used.
Mounting Options
There are many common mounting styles for industrial touchscreen monitors and panel computers., including panel mount, Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) mount, and open frame.
- What is Panel Mount?
Comark supports many common mounting styles for industrial touchscreen monitors and panel computers., including panel mount, Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) mount, and open frame.
- What is VESA Mount?
VESA mount, or ESA Mounting Interface Standard (MIS), referring to the Flat Display Mounting Interface (FDMI), is a family of standards from the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) for mounting flat panel monitors, televisions, and other displays to stands or wall mounts.
VESA is an industry standard that specifies the distance between mounting holes, so displays from different manufacturers can be used with mounts from different manufacturers. Any display size with VESA mounting holes will have an unlimited number of mounting options for stands, arms, and wall mounts.
- What is Open Frame Mount?
Open frame refers to a mounting style where the display or panel pc is mounted behind an enclosure, so only the viewable LCD area is seen by the user. A cutout matching the LCD viewing area is made in the enclosure, and the display is mounted inside using the mounting holes provided on the display frame flanges. A gasket material is placed between the LCD or touch surface and the chassis around the perimeter of the viewable area to provide a seal.