An autoclave is essentially a chamber that uses steam to sterilize products. This device has a broad range of use cases across different industries: autoclaves in the medical field are typically referred to as sterilizers, while the R&D, testing, and quality fields call the chambers autoclaves.
While specialized autoclaves may have extra steps or features, all will have a basic set of components: the chamber, the controls system, the thermostatic trap, the safety valve, and the waste-water cooling system.
An autoclave for defoaming LCD panels is designed to remove air bubbles from underneath LCD panels of display devices through the use of controlled temperature and pressure. In LCD display production, air bubbles may be present during the process of attaching the polarizing plate to the display; by defoaming the panel, these air bubbles can be removed to lower defect count and increase product quality post-manufacture.
The Hirayama PTU-1507H is a large cylindrical autoclave for defoaming LCD panels with a chamber diameter of 1.4 m and depth of 2.4 m, resulting in a volume of 3695 L (130.5 ft3). The temperature is adjusted using a PID controller and SSR drive system, and the pressure with a motor valve with two-point measurement data. This chamber features many safety devices such as over-heat and over-pressure prevention, a pressure safety valve, lid-locking, and more.
Several industries benefit from the use of LCD Autoclaves, the most significant being the mobile phone industry. Smartphone manufacturers are implementing cutting edge technologies into their products’ displays such as organic LEDs and folding displays, and maintaining a high level of quality is important for staying above their competition. Another major use case for LCD Autoclaves is for automotive infotainment displays. Laptop computers, desktop monitors, and LCD TVs are various other products that undergo LCD defoaming.
