TapCAN – Rugged touchscreen CAN device

Rugged, customizable touchscreen CAN device

A durable ESP32-based touchscreen controller with CAN bus, discrete I/O, analog and PWM in one enclosure. Program it with Arduino, PlatformIO and LVGL, then brand it with your own screen overlay and any boot color you like.

Powerful ESP32-WROVER-E 16MB 240 MHz dual-core SoC
Durable design incorporates LCD touch screen and electronics on a single circuit board
Easily programmed using Arduino, PlatformIO, and Light and Versatile Graphics Library (LVGL)

TapCAN device, front view, in black rubber boot

Hardware specs

Powerful ESP32-WROVER-E 16MB 240 MHz Dual Core SoC
320×480 LCD with integral capacitive touch layer
MCP2515 SPI based CAN controller
2 Active Low General Purpose Discrete Inputs (GPI)
2 Switch to Ground General Purpose Discrete Outputs (GPO)
1 Switch to Power General Purpose Discrete Output (GPO)
Analog Input 0-10V
Analog Output 0-10V
PWM Output 0-5V
PWM Input 0-12V
I2C 1-Mbit EEPROM
Beeper
High Density DB26
USB C Serial Connection
Power input 5V-16V via USB C or DB26

Additional features

Quick startup using our free Arduino based TapCAN demo program available on GitHub
Brand it as your own: the rubber boot is a stock part you can swap for any color, and the screen overlay prints from our free template
Onboard ESP32 CAN (TWAI) peripheral accessible via solder bridge
Software selectable CAN termination

What's in the box

TapCAN device
Black rubber boot, fitted
Standard TapCAN overlay decal, shipped loose so you can apply it, replace it with your own, or leave it off
USB C cable
Female DB26 breakout connector (only included if selected during purchase)

Demo screens

The free TapCAN demo firmware exercises every peripheral: CAN, GPIO, analog and pulse I/O with an LVGL touch interface.

TapCAN in the standard black rubber boot, angled front view — As shipped: TapCAN in the standard black rubber boot.

TapCAN on its stand, showing the DB26 connector on the end of the device — High-density DB26 and USB-C sit on the end. The stand holds it on a bench.

TapCAN with the rubber boot removed, showing the bare enclosure, DB26 and USB-C — The bare device, boot removed. The boot slips on and off by hand.

TapCAN in a red rubber boot, flat front view — The same device in a red boot, fitted by the customer.

TapCAN in a red rubber boot, angled view — Red boot, angled. Boots are stock parts, not custom tooling.

TapCAN in a blue rubber boot, standing at an angle — Blue boot on the stand.

Connector end of a TapCAN in a blue boot, DB26 and USB-C visible, stand extended — Connector end with the stand extended.

TapCAN opened up, showing the circuit board, ESP32 module and DB26 connector — Inside: ESP32-WROVER-E, the display flex and the DB26, all on one board.

Make it yours

Two things on the TapCAN are meant to be changed

Neither needs a tool, a soldering iron or a minimum order. The photos above show units customers finished themselves.

Any boot color

The rubber boot is a stock, off-the-shelf part rather than custom tooling. Black ships as standard. If you want a different color, order the same boot elsewhere and slip it on by hand. Nothing about the device changes, and it does not affect your warranty.

Your own overlay

The screen overlay decal ships loose in the box, not stuck to the device, so using ours is optional. Print your own with your branding from the free template and apply it instead.

Download the overlay template

Resources

Start building in an afternoon

TapCAN Demo Repo Overlay Template

Works with the tools you already use