The common touch

There’s an interesting trend in the design of instruments and other electronics that has implications for the cabinets and enclosures market. It could well change the way in which enclosures are designed, while at the same time increasing the volume of a particular model that is sold. This change could benefit both cabinet manufacturers and their customers.

The trend began with the use of softkeys — those control pushbuttons located next to an instrument’s screen whose functions are variable and are defined on the instrument’s screen. Because instrument functionality had become so complex or, to put a more positive spin on it, because the capability of instruments had grown so dramatically, control of an instrument could no longer be provided using buttons, switches and knobs whose functions were dedicated and fixed in hardware.

For several decades, this was the state of the art for instrumentation. But in the last few years, companies started to borrow from the most iconic products of the decade: the iPhone. While touchscreens have been around for generations, it was the iPhone that made them the essential symbol of digital coolness and comfort with advanced technology.

Widespread acceptance and availability of low-cost touchscreens led instrument makers to begin incorporating touchscreens in their products. LeCroy was one of the first companies to offer tocuhscreens in oscilloscopes; the WaveRunner 6000 series introduced in 2003 had an 8.4-in. TFT touchscreen. But these instrument’s also had the knobs and buttons a generation of engineers were used to manipulating.

The Aeroflex 7000 series, introduced last year, took a dramatic step in design by eliminating all but the on-off switch. All the rest of the instrument’s functionality was accessed through its touchscreen. As a result, the same enclosure could be used for different kinds of instruments in the series without having to redesign the front panel; the only difference was in the number of ports opened up on the panel.

Widespread use of touchscreen, to which everyone seems to have become accustomed, opens the possibility of creating complete enclosures that can be used for multiple types of devices, even though the ultimate function of those devices may vary significantly. This, in turn, means that the enclosures can be manufactured in greater numbers, and reduce the cost of manufacture per device.

Richard Comerford

To comment on this column, go to http://www.eebeat.com/?p=1405