Premium AMT products are currently in demand with the most high-end brands in each industry. In the coming editions of AMT News Express, we will present a few recent AMT projected capacitive (PCAP) success stories. As kitchen appliances have moved from simple on/off controls to LCD displays with PCAP touch operation for a better user experience, AMT has successfully brought a number of kitchen device projects to market with our customers.

The nature of food preparation in a kitchen filled with appliances means the two biggest challenges of PCAP touch panels are heat and noise interference.  One project that continuously faced both of these challenges but could not find the right PCAP touch solution until using AMT touch products is an induction range with a contiguous induction cooking surface.  This seamless cooking surface entailed the placement of a large number of induction elements under one piece of glass (unlike standard induction ranges with 2-4 cooking positions) to allow users to place pots anywhere on the range.  This produces multiple overlapping electromagnetic fields that change according to cookware used, all interfering with the adjacent PCAP panel.

Previous attempts at installing a PCAP panel into the cooktop resulted in multiple false touch points when the range was in use and especially when temperature changed during the cooking process.  When AMT touch solutions were used, there were significantly fewer issues due to our proprietary System Reference (SR) mechanism.  One of the unique features of AMT PCAP touch solutions is SR which categorizes and analyzes the environment in such a way as to improve performance when temperature and humidity change rapidly.

In order to meet the requirements of the noise resistance and quick temperature changes in this induction range application, we also provided the customer with installation instructions detailing both the type of shielding that must be applied around the touch panel to block heavy electromagnetic interference produced by multiple induction elements and cookware and an air gap for heat insulation.  Neither shielding nor air insulation adversely affected the AMT PCAP touch panel’s functions or operation and, coupled with SR, fully resolved the false touch signal issue during temperature fluctuations.

AMT was involved in this project from the beginning of development and participated jointly in the thousands of hours of product testing to offer solutions when difficulties arose.  The customer surmised that users will accidentally place hot pots and pans directly onto the touch display.  Therefore, the touch assembly was tested to ensure it could withstand thousands of instances of a high temperature pan placed atop the touch/display area for several minutes with no damage.  AMT service is the most professional and timely.  From product development to mass production and rollout, we provide superior technical support.

The number of kitchen devices with built-in PCAP touch control increase daily.  AMT touch panels can also be found in commercial ovens and other appliances.  If you would like to discuss a new or existing project, please contact us at any time.