Ultra Resistive Sensors

Armored Resistive Touch Screen Sensors

Ultra Resistive Sensors

A D Metro’s patented ULTRA touch screen, with its armor glass surface, is the most durable, reliable and economic resistive touch screen sensor on the market.

What differentiates ULTRA is its patented durable glass surface that is scratch, abrasion and chemical resistant. It combines the characteristics of a durable glass surface with the benefits of a resistive touch screen. ULTRA offers performance characteristics that are ideal for wide range of commercial, industrial and military applications where rugged durability and reliability are required.

ULTRA overcomes the traditional limitations of standard resistive touch screen sensors with its durable borosilicate glass surface, rather than the standard traditional polyethylene surface. The hard glass surface is resistant to scratches and abrasion, impervious to most chemicals and waterproof. Its glass surface is suitable for IP67 and NEMA 6 enclosures. As a pressure activated touch screen it can be reliably operated by finger, any glove or stylus; and even with contaminants on the screen, such as rain, oil, grease, food, dirt and dust. ULTRA’s construction allows it to be used over an extended range of operating environments; and it offers unparalleled reliability, that has been tested to over 200 million operations. These characteristics make ULTRA ideal for reliable operation in harsh environments including rugged, outdoor and unattended kiosk applications.

Ultra offers easy integration into many applications. Its immunity to EMI enables easy integration with any type of display and without compromising touch sensitivity. Its compatibility with standard resistive controllers, offering USB-HID support, enables rapid product development and accelerates time to market.

For less demanding applications see A D Metro’s Standard Resistive touch screen sensors.

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Compatible Controllers

Two-Touch functionality is available for our 1.85 mm and 2.85 mm ITO substrate glass, 5-wire ULTRA resistive sensors up to 21.3” in size with 0.1 mm ULTRA microglass, or up to 15.5” in size with 0.145 mm ULTRA microglass.

Please refer to our Resistive Sensor Catalog to identify these sensors.

Product Features

  • Pressure activated
  • Finger, stylus or glove operated
  • Durable, abrasion and scratch resistance screen
  • Operates with contaminants on screen
    (e.g. water, rain, dirt and dust)
  • Impervious to water, chemicals, solvents, etc.
  • Flame and spark retardant
  • Expanded operating temperature range
  • Extended operational life
  • EMI Immunity
  • Resists spalling if substrate glass is broken
  • Low power consumption
  • Easy integration into embedded applications
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Technical Specifications

Size: 3.5″ to 24″
Types: 5-wire, 4-wire or 8-wire
Input Device: Finger, Stylus, Gloved finger
Activation Force: <80g
Surface Hardness: 6.5 Mohs
Temperature: Operating: -35°C to +80°C*
Storage: -40°C to +85°C*
Enclosure Compatibility: NEMA 4, 6, 12
IP65, IP67
Transmittance: ≥84%
Sensor Lifespan (Touches):  5-wire: >200 million
4/8-wire: > 20 million

*Technical specifications apply to standard products and are subject to change without notice. Product performance will be subject to suitable installation and mounting. Consult manufacturer for technical drawings, best practices for installation and mounting, confirmation that product can meet intended application’s requirements or for the applicable product specifications when optional enhancements are applied.

Available Options

Some applications have more demanding requirements. To meet these needs A D Metro can make select combinations of the following enhancement options available:

  • Alternative thicknesses of Borosilicate glass
  • Anti-Reflective (AR) and Hydrophobic coatings
  • Anti-Glare (AG) coating
  • Foam or adhesive mounting gaskets
  • Chemically strengthened backer
  • Polycarbonate substrate
  • Graphic underlay / Printed laminations
  • Port to diaphragm

Please refer to the Resistive Sensor Catalog for specific details.

Tested: Over 200 Million Operations

The 5-wire ULTRA resistive touch screen sensor has been tested beyond 200 million touch operations on a single point with a “Thumper Test” and without any failure of the sensor.

How do Ultra Resistive Touch Screen Sensors Work?

An ULTRA resistive touch screen sensor works in the same way as a resistive touch screen sensor. A resistive touch screen sensor is an analogue switch technology that is pressure activated. Two conductive coated layers (usually using Indium Tin Oxide [ITO]), facing each other, are separated by a layer of dielectric spacer dots. When pressure is applied to the top surface, the two layers come into contact and the controller locates the touch point. To determine the x and y coordinates, in 4- and 8-wire sensors a voltage gradient is applied to each layer in turn; and in 5-wire sensors the resistance is measured between the top layer and each of the four corners of the base layer.

For more information on popular touch screen technologies, please download our whitepaper.

Ultra Resistive Touchscreens

Explore Other Resistive Products

A D Metro stands behind these high quality resistive touch sensors that target the most cost-sensitive applications. Sensors include 5-Wire models that deliver reliability and longevity well beyond expectations.
A D Metro’s one-touch resistive touch controllers provide feature-rich, high-performance, low-cost, universal resistive touch screen control solutions.
A D Metro’s patented two-touch resistive controller, along with A D Metro’s 5-wire resistive sensors (traditional or ULTRA) deliver a unique two-touch solution that’s ideal for applications in challenging environments requiring pinch, zoom and rotate functions, such as outdoor marine and military applications.

Ask the touch screen experts at A D Metro