How to solve industrial touchscreen monitor problem of USB signal loss in cable carrier application scenarios
How to solve industrial touchscreen monitor problem of USB signal loss in cable carrier application scenarios
By Johnny Theodar,Marketing Mananger at anyTouch-August 12, 2025
1. Reciprocating motion causes internal cable breaks
2. Reciprocating motion causes poor contact or disconnection of the USB interface
3. There are many factors that interfere with USB signal transmission in industrial environments
In modern industrial automation systems, touchscreen monitor serve as critical human-machine interfaces. However, when operating in the dynamic environment of a cable chain, traditional USB communication solutions face significant engineering challenges. Cable carrier, as protective cable dragging systems, undergo high-frequency stretching, bending, and folding alongside equipment, with daily cycles reaching thousands of repetitions.
However, traditional USB cables are subjected to extreme mechanical stress, leading to conductor fatigue fractures or shielding layer damage, resulting in signal attenuation or failure. For our client K, standard USB cables typically fail within 1-2 months, requiring 2-3 unplanned shutdowns for maintenance each month. This increases costs and disrupts production continuity, causing unacceptable impacts on production efficiency and precision manufacturing processes.
Customized Solution: Anti-fatigue Design Based on Serial Port Communication
In response to the above technical challenges as touchscreen monitor supplier, anytouch has developed an engineering solution based on RS-232 serial communication, which has been systematically redesigned from the hardware to the software application.
Hardware: Material customized design of ultra-flexible cables
The foundation of the solution is use of specialized ultra-flexible serial cables. The core technical features of these cables include a multi-strand ultra-fine conductor structure, where each conductor is composed of ultra-fine copper wires with a diameter of 0.05-0.08 mm. These wires are twisted into a spiral configuration to form a complete signal transmission channel, significantly reducing the probability of single-point failures.
The insulation system utilizes industrial-grade TPU or PUR materials, which are thermoplastic elastomer with excellent dynamic bending performance. Compared to traditional PVC insulation materials, TPU materials can achieve dynamic bending lifespans of up to one million cycles, demonstrating a 10-20 times increase in lifespan during engineering tests. The shielding system is designed with a spiral-wrapped or braided structure to ensure that shielding integrity is maintained when the cable undergoes bending deformation, thereby preserving signal transmission quality and electromagnetic compatibility performance.
Software level: System-level restructuring of communication protocols
From a communication system perspective, converting the touch signal interface from the USB protocol to the RS-232 serial port protocol ensures signal transmission stability under complex operating conditions. This is the core technological innovation of the entire solution.
To implement this hardware interface modification, a dedicated serial communication circuit must be integrated into the anytouch touchscreen monitor. We redesigned the monitor's PCB layout to incorporate MAX232 series level conversion chips, enabling conversion between TTL logic levels and RS-232 standard levels (±12V). This hardware modification ensures electrical compatibility with industrial control computer serial interfaces while maintaining interference resistance.
Additionally, the data interface uses a DB9 connector with a self-locking structure to ensure stable connection the communication protocol stack level, the USB HID protocol and RS-232 serial port protocol differ in data organization, transmission mechanisms, and error handling strategies. Anytouch developed a dedicated protocol conversion firmware for our customers, enabling efficient conversion of touch coordinate data and multi-touch events from USB HID format to serial data packet format.
Engineering Value and Technical Significance
By converting the communication interface from USB to a serial port protocol more suitable for industrial environments, combined with a specially designed fatigue-resistant cable system, we have fundamentally solved the reliability issues in tank chain environments.
For industrial touchscreen monitor manufacturer like us, this deeply customized engineering service demonstrates the value of technology-driven solutions. anytouch is committed to understanding customers' specific engineering challenges in depth, elevating product competitive advantages from a cost-based approach to a technology-driven solution framework, and creating sustainable application value for customers in demanding industrial environments. We welcome customers to propose customized solutions and have the capability to help them achieve their goals.
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