Sharp is putting the finishing touches on its standard for cutting large glass substrates into LCD HD screens for a 10th generation (10G) assembly plant in Japan, which has not yet been built.
“With a larger than originally planned [screen] size being scheduled,” according to equipment supplier sources cited by DigiTimes, a Taiwan-based technology news Web site, the substrates at the future 10G plant will be 2,880 mm x 3,080 mm (compared to its original size of 2,850 mm x 3,050 mm). While the new Sharp plant will focus on cutting substrates into mostly large (57- and 65-inch) panels, the slightly larger substrates also could be cut into 15 panels of 42 inches each, diagonally, if desired.
Improvements in substrate efficiencies have been proceeding on a busy schedule lately; LGE recently began using an “8 up” system that cuts eight HD panels from a single substrate (HD Notebook, July 4, 2007).
While LGE is expected to also use the 10G standard, whether some of Sharp’s other competitors choose to follow suit apparently will depend on near-term sales of Sharp’s 65-inch HD LCDs.
