This article outlines Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) Information

Overview

In today’s crowded marketplace, many touch display manufacturers claim similar specs—but not all displays are built alike. At Elo Touch Solutions, every product goes through extensive reliability testing both during development and after release. These tests are designed to uncover potential weaknesses under real-world and extreme conditions, ensuring long-term performance and quality.

Key Testing Methods

Elo performs a comprehensive set of tests, including:

• Accelerated Life Testing

• Accelerated Stress Screening

• Voltage, Current, Temperature, and Vibration Testing

• Ongoing Reliability Testing

• Regulatory Agency Testing

These evaluations help refine product design before release and support ongoing product improvement.

Factors That Influence Product Life

Beyond lab testing, real-world usage introduces variables that affect longevity:

• Operating environment

• Temperature and humidity fluctuations

• Sunlight exposure

• Electrical interference or surges (e.g., lightning strikes)

Because these conditions vary widely, defining a standard product “lifespan” isn’t feasible. Instead, manufacturers use MTBF as a statistical reliability measure.

What is MTBF?

MTBF (Mean Time Between Failure) is a statistical estimate of the average operating time between failures for a large population of units. It does not guarantee how long any specific unit will last.

Example:
150 units run for 20,000 hours each = 3,000,000 total unit-hours
If 50 failures occur, MTBF = 3,000,000 ÷ 50 = 60,000 hours

Note: MTBF is a statistical average and not a warranty.

Elo MTBF Standards

• All Elo Touchmonitors and TouchComputers have an MTBF rating of 50,000 hours

• A “failure” is any issue that prevents the product from functioning within its specifications

• Backlight dimming due to age is not classified as a failure

• Hard backlight failures (screen not readable) are counted as failures

• LCD pixel defects exceeding spec count as failures

• MTBF is calculated based on actual systems and may involve accelerated testing (e.g., elevated temperatures)

MTBF vs. Useful Life

MTBF is often misunderstood. It does not reflect the expected life of a single product. For example:

• A battery may last 4 hours (useful life), but have an MTBF of 100,000 hours

• This means, statistically, 10 of every 1,000,000 batteries may fail each hour—not that the battery will last 100,000 hours

MTBF reflects aggregate population reliability, not specific failure prediction.

Global Service & Support

Elo provides robust post-sale support to minimize downtime:

• Global technical and customer support

• Standard 3-year warranty on all touchmonitors and touchcomputers

• Optional 1- to 2-year Extended Warranty

• Advance Unit Replacement (AUR) available on many products

For questions or service needs, contact Elo Customer Care.