Food processing Industrial Touch
Food-processing Industrial Touch Solutions
22 Mar, 2021Food processing transforms agricultural products into food or reconstructs food from one form to another. This industry has to take particular caution when it comes to choosing the best touchscreen for the factory. First of all, all the touch devices utilized need to be sterilized with heated steam at 100°C (212°F), so the touch devices need to endure the heat while performing regularly under such conditions. Additionally, glass fragments getting mixed into the food product accidentally has always been a significant concern of the food processing industry. Rigorous glass management plans are implemented to avoid glass products, even touchscreen devices, in the premises. To meet these unique demands, AMT launched a resistive touchscreen that is suitable for the industry: The Food-processing Industrial Touch (FIT) solution! Read more about the exciting features of FIT!
Why not PCAP?
You might wonder why projected capacitive (PCAP) touch products are not used by the food processing industry. The reasons are as follows: the PCAP screen surface is made of glass, and operators may touch the screen using hands containing salt, a common ingredient used as preservatives, spice, or agent during food processing. The heated steam used for sterilization induces rapid temperature change and saltwater creates even more electrical coupling than fingers. Both factors severely interfere with the signal detection of PCAP touch screens. Conversely, the resistive touch screen's surface is a film, so there is no issue with glass fragments. Moreover, the resistive touch screen detects the touch position through pressure, so the touch signal will not be affected by the water, temperature changes induced by heated steam, and saltwater.
FIT is built to last!
There are concerns that after repeated exposure to heated steam for sterilization, the resistive touch screen's top ITO film layer would deteriorate, and ripples or pillowing would appear. To address this concern, our R&D team incorporated two application specific updates to our standard product. The first is the top ITO film layer is thickened so the resistive touch screen would not deform easily. This extra thickness reduces the possibilities of ripples and pillowing from heated steam during repeated sterilization in the field. The second application specific update is to the environmental testing performed on the touch screen. FIT products have all undergone a 7-hour heated steaming test at 100°C 98% RH to ensure that the appearance and electrical components meet the specifications. This test demonstrates that AMT FIT solutions can accommodate the needs of the food processing industry.
Another alternative solution
There is yet another design that caters to the food industry's requirements. Adding a layer of film to the surface of the GFG resistive touch panel prevents accidental mixing of glass shards into the food. This film can also pass the same heated steaming test mentioned above. If you are considering our FIT series, please don't hesitate to contact us. We look forward to answering your questions!
