Custom Glass Touch Screens
The cover lens is the protective outer layer that prevents the delicate polariser on the front of the display from exposure to hazards like moisture, grease and dirt. It also protects the touch sensor from impacts.
Projected capacittive is a more complex technology that uses a pattern of electrode layers to detect a finger’s touch. It can be activated with a bare finger or conductive stylus, and can even work through gloves.
Transparency
The transparency of a touch screen is a crucial attribute that enhances the user experience. It can be enhanced by using anti-reflective film, coatings, or display polarizers. Using these methods can improve the optical performance of a touch and LCD monitor combination and reduce system reflectance, resulting in improved contrast and brightness. Other ways to increase transparency include air gap bonding, which is typically less expensive than optical bonding but may not be as durable against dust and moisture penetration, or etch-back, which is an inexpensive way to achieve transparency but may result in low mechanical strength.
Embedded with a capacitive touch sensor, our Custom Glass Touch Screen glass overlays can transform your existing LCD or LED display into an interactive touch screen. They can be retrofitted onto most screens and come with a permanent or removable fix for installation directly on the screen bezel/frame.
Resistive touchscreens feature a glass panel and a conductive film layer with a thin gap between them. When the touchscreen is touched, it creates a connection with the underlying film layer and causes a change in the electrical current. This is detected by the touchscreen controller and interpreted as a touch event.
Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) touch screens utilize a series of piezoelectric transducers on the glass display surface. When a finger touches the screen, it causes the SAW transducers to send and receive ultrasonic waves. The computer then interprets these signals to determine the location of the touch. SAW touch screen monitors are activated by bare fingers, gloved hands, and soft-tip styluses and can be used simultaneously with a mouse or other pointing device.
Durability
Touch screen panels are designed to react to even the lightest human touch. They are engineered to precise standards, which creates proper spacing resulting in higher sensitivity. RSP’s high-quality touch screens can be crafted from a variety of materials and can be customized for your specific needs. We offer digital resistive, analog resistive and capacitive glass for your touchscreen.
Resistive Touch Screens
Developed in the early 2000’s, resistive touchscreens sense pressure by depositing transparent conductor layers on two separate pieces of glass. When touched, the top layer closes the circuit, and a signal is sent to the display layer. This technology is simple and cost-effective. It can be used with a finger, gloved hand or stylus. It can also withstand the rigors of industrial use, such as vibration and exposure to moisture and chemicals.
A downside of resistive touch panels is that the film substrates that are commonly used as the top layer are less transmissive than glass. This leads to a reduction in brightness and a visible haze, which can impact touch accuracy. Additionally, the film substrates are susceptible to scratches and dents over time, requiring periodic recalibration or replacement.
To mitigate these drawbacks, TSI’s GRBS (Glass Retention Bezel System) is available for touch and display bonding. This modular solution allows protective cover glass to be easily removed and replaced, protecting the display polarizer and OEM bezel from scratches and debris during servicing. The GRBS also supports the application of an oleophobic coating, which repels oil from fingerprints to promote a clean touchscreen surface.
Aesthetics
As touch screens are used in public places, aesthetics are a significant consideration. Glass looks more elegant than plastic and is available in many different shades and colours, enabling touch screens to blend seamlessly into the environment. Glass is also much stronger than plastic and can be fabricated to meet almost any impact resistance requirement, including industrial standards such as IK10, UL2299 and ATEX.
In addition, the slightly matt surface of anti-glare glass enhances the user experience. It reduces the friction between fingers and the touchscreen surface (often referred to as’stiction’) during draw, drag Custom Glass Touch Screen and gesturing applications. This results in a more natural and intuitive user interface that is easier on the hands.
Zytronic is able to produce custom touchscreens from standard or low iron glass with an anti-glare surface for the most demanding applications. Our manufacturing processes can even be modified to bend the glass to specific radii to match the latest curved displays for a more immersive wraparound touch display.
In addition, a range of coatings can be applied to the glass surface for a variety of aesthetic effects and functional improvements. For example, chemical etching of the surface creates surface anomalies that refract light and disperse it into smaller beams, reducing glare in brightly lit environments while maintaining image clarity. Anti-reflection coatings can also be applied to the sensor or PET overlay to improve light transmission for better contrast in high ambient lighting conditions.
Flexibility
Touchscreens come in a variety of sizes, technologies and price points. The technology selected depends on the specific use case, but for many business applications there are two main technologies that have proven pragmatic: resistive and capacitive.
RSP offers both digital and analog resistive, as well as a full range of capacitive custom glass panels. Each is precision engineered to react to the lightest touch. They are built to exacting standards which create proper spacing resulting in higher sensitivity.
Resistive touchscreens are available with both glass and plastic overlay layers. However, if you are looking to buy a capacitive touchscreen, you will be limited to a glass overlay. Glass overlays produce brighter images than those of plastic overlays and can be used with either resistive or capacitive touchscreens.
Capacitive touch screens have a transparent electrode film on the top of the glass substrate. A voltage is applied to the corners of the overlay layer and when a finger or stylus makes contact it interrupts the current flow which signals the touch screen to record the point of contact. This allows the controller to identify what type of touch was made. Capacitive touch screens can be actuated with a finger, gloved hand or conductive stylus. They are also unaffected by humidity, temperature or dust. The downside is that they require more power than resistive screens.
