Summary of Round panel meter by means of a display?
The article discusses a new 1.4-inch round display module from 4D Systems that mimics the analog meter's needle movement using a round pixel arrangement. While digital meters offer higher accuracy, analog meters remain favored for their quick readability. The round display serves as an ideal replacement for traditional analog meters, combining the design flexibility of graphic displays with the intuitive nature of analog readouts, enabling compact and customizable panel meter designs.
Parts used in the 1.4” Round Display Module Project:
- 1.4-inch round display module from 4D Systems
- Graphic display controller (integrated in the module)
- Power supply (unspecified, for display operation)
- Analog variable input source (e.g., sensor or analog signal)
New 1,4“ round display module from company 4D Systems with a round pixel placing is able to truly display various analog variables.
The evolution sometimes shows, that not everything “new” is automatically better than something „well-proven“. One of examples was also a „boom“ of digital panel meters, when it seemed for a while, that the life of analog panel meters is coming to an end. However it showed very soon, that an analog display has a huge advantage in a very fast legibility – i.e. already a brief look at a meter is enough to realize the position of a needle of a meter.
Naturally, accuracy of reading of value from an analog meter is lower, than that of a digital (7-sgment) display. mainly at the beginning of a range, but this doesn´t matter in many cases and a certainty of a fast check, whether for example a given variable is in normal is often much more important. Fortunately, classic electromechanical panel meter can be replaced by graphic displays thus obtaining a free hand at design of your own panel meter. At the same time, the combination of an analog and a digital meter can be created this way. Perhaps the best “replacement” for analog meters is a round display, which has a minimum space requirement in a target device.
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