Capacitive touch

Control with a simple
touch or swipe

Touch-sensitive user interfaces have become commonplace over the past decade, helped by the popularity of tablets and smartphones that use the same principle: a touch or swipe on the control panel triggers an action. This makes the user experience intuitive and suits many professional applications. With translucent or clear panels that enable selective backlighting and illuminated or animated icons, capacitive touch supports strong design and branding.

capacitive touch automotive

What is capacitive sensor technology?

Capacitive touch senses tiny changes in capacitance when a finger approaches or touches the surface. The body is conductive and disturbs the sensor’s electric field, so the controller pinpoints the touch and interprets gestures (tap, swipe) to trigger the intended action.

Typical applications

  • home appliances
  • automotive interiors
  • vending machines
  • wellness (whirlpools, saunas)
  • medical devices
  • communication and navigation devices
  • light switches

We offer a fully customised solution, from development to cost-efficient manufacturing such as in-house screen-printing and converting.

What we build

Considering the many applications, Quad Industries also offers a fully customized solution:

  • Capacitive sensors:

    • capacitive keys, sliders and wheels
    • screen-printed on flexible films or directly on cover glass
    • capacitive touch buttons applied on flat, curved and 3D surfaces
    • touch, proximity and gesture functionalities

  • Cover materials:

    • chemically or thermally tempered glass
    • surface treated PMMA / Acrylic and polycarbonate
    • leather, wood and many other surface materials

  • Controllers:

    • capacitive touch controls offer you the freedom to use your preferred touch controller
    • quad Industries is a Microchip Design partner
    • I²C, SPI, UART or digital I/O

  • Backlighting and haptics:

    • transparent conductor printing allows for uniform backlighting
    • black panel effects allow for secret-until-lit functionality
    • combination with haptics adds feedback properties
capacitive touch

Design possibilities

When people think of touch screens today, they often think of flat touch panels with backlit keys or icons. Capacitive controls aren’t limited to flat surfaces. Through rapid advancements in printed electronics and formed parts, controls can be integrated into curved or 3D fascias, with selective backlighting for icons and states. And a touch screen doesn’t need to be flat: it can take on any shape, from curved surfaces to 3D shapes. Where needed, wireless modules can be added to support connectivity and new functions.

Why Quad Industries?

Prototype to volume

Share a sketch, a proposed stack or your device specs. Together we select the sensor stack and cover-lens, set the controller and tuning, define selective backlighting and bonding/sealing, then ramp to production with consistent quality and reliable lead times. Builds are supported by our European base and touch-sensor lines in Slovakia and India for capacity and cost control.

Standards & Quality

We operate under ISO 9001, ISO 13485 and ISO 14001. For capacitive touch programs, we focus on readability, backlighting uniformity, and glove/moisture performance in the intended environment, and we can support technical documentation for regulated markets. Manufacturing is European-based, with touch-sensor production in Slovakia and India to support cost-efficient volume and resilient lead times.

Looking for more flexible keypads options? Explore our silicone rubber keypads.

Why OEMs choose Quad Industries

  • proven track record as a trusted supplier.

  • co-development from early concept to validated production

  • agile and robust processes designed for predictable scale-up

  • support with documentation and quality requirements for regulated markets

  • alignment with sustainability objectives and corporate governance standards

Are you ready to move forward together?

This is why we are
complementary

Co-creation & advice

Co-creation is how we work. We challenge assumptions, ask the right questions and share insights gained from previous projects to help customers avoid pitfalls.

R&D

R&D at Quad is about exploring what’s possible before committing to what’s buildable. Through applied research, material testing and participation in innovation programs, we deepen our understanding of new technologies and emerging applications.

This knowledge feeds future projects and helps customers make informed choices early on.

Engineering

Engineering is where ideas are translated into concrete designs. Our engineers define architectures, layouts and technical details that balance functionality, performance and feasibility.

Every decision is made with downstream production and real-world use in mind.

Prototyping

Prototyping is about learning fast. We create functional samples and proof-of-concepts to test assumptions, compare options and validate critical parameters.

This hands-on phase reduces uncertainty before committing to final designs or production.

Manufacturing

Manufacturing is where reliability is proven. In our European production facilities, we produce both low-volume and series runs with full control over critical processes such as printing, assembly and precision cutting.

This allows us to deliver consistent quality while managing cost, yield and lead times.

Quad Academy

The Quad Academy brings together cases, trends and insights from within Quad Industries. It’s a place to explore how technology, materials and production thinking come together in real projects.

PEDOT technology, a game-changer for the design of smart home appliances

  • ISO-certified

Synergistically repurpose functional ROI after B2C strategic theme areas. Dynamically formulate performance based functionalities for real-time ROI. Credibly communicate.

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