Knob-on-Display™ Technology Offers a Tactile Twist on Modern Touch Displays
Get the best of both worlds for your next HMI:
- Elegance and flexibility of a touch display
- Comfort and safety of a control knob
New, Cost-Effective Solution
- Reduces Bill of Materials (BoM)
- Operates on standard sensor patterns
- Eliminates need for openings in the front panel
Design Freedom and Flexibility
- Configurable knob position, size and number of detents (clicks)
- Optional push function
- Up to four knob instances
Fast Time to Market
- Turnkey solution
- Comprehensive suite of development tools
- Knob reference design
- Microchip Panasonic Magic Knob™ technology
maXTouch® KoD™ Controller Operation
KoD technology enables you to mount capacitive rotary encoders, also called rotary knobs, over a touch panel. The knob is a passive mechanical element, specifically designed to include at least one conductive pad. The maXTouch KoD touchscreen controller senses the pad capacitively through the touch sensor. Its patented algorithms ensure the correct sensing and calibration of the knob’s location while maintaining multi-touch operation for the rest of the touchscreen.
New, Cost-Effective HMI System Solution
- Reduces the number of active components needed to create sleek and modern HMI designs
- Eliminates the need for an opening in the front panel or display, which reduces costs and extends product lifetime by preventing moisture and dust from entering the system
- Does not require a specific touch sensor pattern under the knobs, so you can reuse a standard touch display
Design Freedom and Flexibility
Create up to four knobs on your touch panel with different properties.
Find the best trade-off between knob size, number of detents and sensor pitch using our KoD Knob Designer software.
Fast Time to Market and Lower Design Risk
Turnkey Solution With Ready-to-Use Firmware
You don't need to do any custom firmware development to get started with the maXTouch KoD family of devices. Our engineers have developed and fully tested firmware that has been embedded in these devices. Simply use the configuration file that makes it easy to configure the shape of a rotary knob. You can also customize the knob’s position, size and number of detents.
Comprehensive Tool Suite
We offer these tools to speed up the process of making your system operational:
- KoD Knob Designer: Analyzes the feasibility of a mechanical capacitive knob’s design
- KoD Position Wizard: Generates the position information for a knob and defines the dimensions of its shape
- KoD Widget Configurator: Provides a graphical interface to visualize and edit the maXTouch technology configuration of the knob
To access these tools, please contact your Microchip sales representative to execute an NDA. You will also need to create an account on myMicrochip to download these files from our secure server.
Knob Reference Designs
Microchip and BNL Bearings Ltd.
This reference design is for a capacitive rotary encoder with a push-button function. You can select a knob from your preferred manufacturer, and then use this reference design to evaluate KoD technology and prototype your design. It features:
- 46.5 mm outer diameter
- 22.05 mm inner diameter
- 24 detents (clicks)
- Push-button function
Microchip Panasonic Magic Knob™ (MPMK) Technology
This reference design, developed in collaboration with Panasonic Industry Ltd., delivers the excellent rotation and push haptic feedback of Panasonic’s Magic Knob technology in a thin and low-profile solution that can be freely positioned over a touch panel. It features:
- 54 mm outer diameter
- 31 mm inner diameter
- 32 detents (clicks)
- Push-button function
- Customizable capacitive material
- Supported by the maXTouch MK touchscreen controller variants
Evaluation Kits
The two following standard development kits include the appropriate touch panel and touch controller to evaluate the KoD technology. The knob must be sourced separately.
- OGS touch panel kit including development board with USB bridge
- Part number ATEVK-MXT2912TDAT-A for 15.6” panel size
- Part number ATEVK-MXT2113TDAT-A for 13.3” panel size
- Touch panels are compatible with BNL Bearing and MPMK reference designs
- maXTouch technology firmware must be upgraded to the appropriate version to go with the product variant you are using
Need Some Help?
We are here to support you. Contact our client success team to get answers to your questions about the maXTouch Knob on Display family of touchscreen controllers.
