OT: Touchscreens and keyboards - advice

[TConnolly]

On the factory floor I generally pair a 24" touch screen with an industrial keyboard with an integrated hula-point pointing device (mouse). Long story short, the industrial keyboards are expensive and don't have the life we would like to see - there are a number of reasons and failure modes, including just plain carelessness, and vandalism (which is dealt with when we can, rarely, prove it).

I'm tempted to completely remove the industrial keyboards and have only the touch screen with an on screen keyboard - the operator mainly needs it to login, change over product, and much of the changeover is barcoded. IMO a keyboard is lots more convenient, but I am growing tired of replacing them.

What do you or would you all do?

 

[The Plc Kid]

We use these for Login http://www.rfideas.com/products/pcprox_plus_readers/

They have an EIP version that works right in Logix and we use keyboards like these http://www.unotron.com/us/ft10.htm of which are hard for them to destroy.

We also have on screen keybaord so that if it were to go out it's not an emergency workorder. We have no need for a mouse and use Tab for everything that we need to change which is not much.

If engineers or tech need a mouse at the local unit we all have logitech use wireless mouse and adaptor that we plug in to do our work.

This works pretty well for us. Most other things I just do from my office via remote access to the HMI PC via VNC if I want them to see and RDP if I don't. Or use ESXI tools.

 

[shooter]

last week i have seen a 'touch' pad you dont have to touch just wave over it. it was pretty precise so even a wavekeyboard can be made, just point to the key on screen and it will give a letter, it was using capacitive field and even a laptop on top of it was possible, Now only the IC (from TI) is available.